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January 23, 2008
Ringo riled
Ringo Starr walks off the set of "Live with Regis & Kelly" because they wanted him to cut his performance to under 2½ minutes and all I could think was: Why on Earth would a morning chat show put any limits on an ex-Beatle?
Ringo even agreed to trim some of his number, but it wasn't good enough for "Live" and producer Michael Gelman. Well, shame on the whole "Live" team. If you get a living legend willing to appear on your show, you cut him some slack.
Ringo is out promoting his new record, "Liverpool 8," and has managed to appear on several programs without incident. Ringo should never grace the set of "Live" again, unless he gets an on-air apology first.
And what was so important that they had to rush Ringo? Segments with designer Michael Kors and the winners of "The Amazing Race."
Shameful.
Scheduled to perform with Ringo's band was his producer, Dave Stewart, formerly of The Eurythmics. He wasn't nearly as forgiving as Ringo in a statement he released Tuesday. The best quote from Stewart: "Mr. Gelman apparently felt Ringo's musical legacy should take a back seat to additional banter about the size of Ms. Ripa's derriere.”
Such is the world of these vacuous morning shows.
By the way, Ringo's "Liverpool 8" is the best record he's done in many years, led by the nostalgic title track. A few of the songs are of the cloying "Love is beautiful" sentiment and the Latin-flavored "Pasodobles" should have never seen the light of day. Overall, it's true Ringo - lightweight and somewhat disposable, but still a nice listen.
Posted by Sean on January 23, 2008 6:15 PM
