Ringo Starr says he and Paul McCartney first thought The Beatles wouldn't "last a week"

7 November 2023, 13:58

It's been sixty-one years since they released their debut single.

The Beatles' official debut single 'Love Me Do' came out in the United Kingdom on 5th October 1963, which marked the beginning of the band's journey toward superstardom.

Even over sixty years after their first release, and fifty-three years after they broke up, the Fab Four are still making music together - at least in spirit.

Following the release of 'Now and Then' - the former John Lennon demo intended for Paul McCartney that was neglected since the mid-90s - the surviving members of the band were astonished by the response.

Hearing Lennon's voice in tandem with McCartney's once more left a lump in the throat of even the most stoic and uninterested fans of the band.

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With the assistance of AI technology developed by Get Back director Peter Jackson, Lennon's vocal was salvaged from his previous lo-fi tape cassette recording and lifted into the future with crystal-clear definition.

Not only was it a remarkable feat in terms of technology, it conjured the magic of The Beatles for the world to hear once again, over half a century since they broke up.

In a new interview, both McCartney and Ringo Starr were enamoured by the band's continued adoration, with Ringo believing their success "would last a week".

The Beatles - Now And Then (Official Music Video)

Speaking to the Sunday Times, both Ringo and Paul discussed the early days of the band, and reflected on the initial doubts around how successful they could potentially become.

Forming in 1960, McCartney admitted that he thought the band would only realistically last a decade, predicting their split in 1970 funnily enough.

He was somewhat surprised then, to see how their music has stood the test of time, from generation to generation.

"When we started, we thought that, maybe, we'd have ten years," he told the newspaper. He also said that he predicted that as he saw it as "the maximum span for a rock 'n' roll group" at the time.

Ringo then jumped into the conversation, saying his predictions were even less optimistic, saying: "None of us thought it would last a week!"

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The iconic and typically hilarious drummer then continued: "Paul was going to write, I was going to open a hairdresser's, George would get a garage."

"But it went on and then it ended. And at the right time, I think. But, you know, that didn't stop us playing with each other."

Ringo was even in shock about how popular The Beatles are still today, not only just based on the overwhelmingly positive response to 'Now and Then'.

"How many streams did we do last year? One billion? Three billion? It blows me away… The beat's still going on, you know?"

And the beat may very well still be able to continue, with Peter Jackson recently suggesting that more unearthed and remastered music by The Beatles is "conceivable".

That may very well just be his opinion, and whilst die-hard and fair-weather fans alike may want their legacy to be left alone, the Liverpudlian legends are still on course to achieve a record-breaking number one single with 'Now and Then'.