Ringo
A Fab Life
Published on 23. October 2025
Book
Hardback
384 pages
978-1-917923-13-2 (ISBN)
Description
A Mojo Book of the Year 2025
"A must for any discerning Fab shelf" Record Collector
"A charming biography. Resolutely fab" Mojo
"A beautiful read" Samira Ahmed, BBC Front Row
"The definitive biography" i
Ringo Starr's eventful and remarkable life laid bare in a first-of-its-kind mosaic biography of one of the greatest musicians of all time.
Often overshadowed by his former bandmates, Starr's remarkable story is no less compelling. 'Ringo: A Fab Life' highlights a life so jaw-droppingly eventful that one is left wondering how he also had time to become one of the best musicians on the planet.
Through an episodic, mosaic format critically acclaimed author Tom Doyle takes readers through the ride of a lifetime, from Starr's brushes with death as a child bought up in poverty, through to dizzying heights of fame and success with The Beatles and beyond. By examining pivotal moments, anecdotes and cautionary tales, we see Starr soar as part of the biggest band in the world - and then try and cope with life outside of it: a film career, misadventures with friends, children's TV narrator, furniture designer, marriage to a Bond girl, before eventually finding peace and sobriety as one of the elder statesmen of rock.
So much more than another Beatles related biography, we follow Starr's career far beyond the rose-tinted sixties, through the various addictions and career left turns in the seventies and eighties, before reaching the 1990's, his legacy and reputation intact.
The life of Richard Starkey is long overdue a proper inspection and this book - with exclusive new interviews conducted by Doyle with, amongst others, Starr himself - provides a never-before-seen level of detail that will delight hardcore fans and curious readers alike.
Ringo: A Fab Life - hilarious, moving, insightful and constantly surprising - is the definitive account of one of the greatest living musicians and the uncontested best drummer in The Beatles.
"A must for any discerning Fab shelf" Record Collector
"A charming biography. Resolutely fab" Mojo
"A beautiful read" Samira Ahmed, BBC Front Row
"The definitive biography" i
Ringo Starr's eventful and remarkable life laid bare in a first-of-its-kind mosaic biography of one of the greatest musicians of all time.
Often overshadowed by his former bandmates, Starr's remarkable story is no less compelling. 'Ringo: A Fab Life' highlights a life so jaw-droppingly eventful that one is left wondering how he also had time to become one of the best musicians on the planet.
Through an episodic, mosaic format critically acclaimed author Tom Doyle takes readers through the ride of a lifetime, from Starr's brushes with death as a child bought up in poverty, through to dizzying heights of fame and success with The Beatles and beyond. By examining pivotal moments, anecdotes and cautionary tales, we see Starr soar as part of the biggest band in the world - and then try and cope with life outside of it: a film career, misadventures with friends, children's TV narrator, furniture designer, marriage to a Bond girl, before eventually finding peace and sobriety as one of the elder statesmen of rock.
So much more than another Beatles related biography, we follow Starr's career far beyond the rose-tinted sixties, through the various addictions and career left turns in the seventies and eighties, before reaching the 1990's, his legacy and reputation intact.
The life of Richard Starkey is long overdue a proper inspection and this book - with exclusive new interviews conducted by Doyle with, amongst others, Starr himself - provides a never-before-seen level of detail that will delight hardcore fans and curious readers alike.
Ringo: A Fab Life - hilarious, moving, insightful and constantly surprising - is the definitive account of one of the greatest living musicians and the uncontested best drummer in The Beatles.
Reviews / Votes
"Tom Doyle shines a long-overdue spotlight on Ringo Starr, proving that Ringo's story is not just a footnote to The Beatles, but a triumph in its own right" -- Chris Shaw, Host * <I>I am the EggPod</I> * "Engrossing, affectionate and well-researched biography reveals the human behind the caricature" * <I>Big Issue</I> * "Tom Doyle's superb new biography... is full of drama, emotion, comedy, tragedy and incident... An essential purchase for music fans, never mind Beatles fans 10/10" * <I>Classic Rock</I> * "(The) definitive biography. An engaging, meticulous view of the life of the Beatles drummer. It fleshes out with sharp analysis the well documented events whilst detailing - with no little sparkle - some of the lesser known aspects of his remarkable career" * <I>The I-Paper</I> * "Tom Doyle's biography shows how Ringo used his light entertainer charm and instinctive talent to become the engine of the Beatles sound. Mojo writer and McCartney biographer Doyle seeks to tease out the lesser known stories from Starr's extraordinary life. A wide ranging biography, a thoroughly researched book" * <I>The Observer</I> * "Extremely good. We loved it. You can never have too much Ringo" * <I>Word in Your Ear</I> * "Doyle's style is always a pleasure to read: friendly, informal, engaging yet fact-packed and forensic. A must for any discerning Fab shelf 5/5" * <I>Record Collector</I> * "This charming biography casts Starr as the Beatles anchor emotionally as well as rhythmically. Gear portrait of the octopus's gardener. Resolutely fab 4/5" * <I>Mojo</I> * "A fantastic book by the wonderful Tom Doyle" -- Iain McDermott * <I>Back to Now</I> * "This charming biography casts Starr as the Beatles anchor emotionally as well as rhythmically. Gear portrait of the octopus's gardener. Resolutely fab 4/5" * <I>Mojo</I> *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Putman Publishing
Dimensions
Height: 238 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 36 mm
Weight
622 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-917923-13-2 (9781917923132)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Tom Doyle is the critically acclaimed author of numerous music books, most recently Running Up That Hill, the award winning 2022 study of Kate Bush. Tom is also a musician and songwriter and has written for Smash Hits, Q and Mojo. He lives in London.