Not long after Ringo Starr joined The Beatles, the band skyrocketed to success. By 1964, they were the biggest band in the world. Starr said that many celebrities and musicians were among their fans. At least one public figure had no interest in the band, though. He shared how the band handled the negative feedback.
Ringo Starr recalled 1 person who disliked The Beatles
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By the mid-1960s, The Beatles were the most sought-after band in the world. Even other celebrities wanted to be close to them.
“A lot of established stars loved us; they really did,” Starr said in The Beatles Anthology. “Shirley Bassey was a big star in those days and she was always at the gigs. Alma Cogan was always throwing parties and inviting us.”
He said that the only celebrity he could remember disliking them was playwright, actor, and singer Noel Coward. He reportedly told a friend that they were “totally devoid of talent. There is a great deal of noise. In my day, the young were taught to be seen but not heard” (via Daily Mail).
His friend was a journalist with the Daily Mail and printed the comments. The Beatles were not happy when they saw them.
“I don’t remember too many artists of the day putting us down — except for Noel Coward, who put his foot in it with his ‘no talent’ remark,” Starr said. “We got him back later, when Brian [Epstein] came to us and said, ‘Noel Coward is downstairs and he wants to say ‘hi’ — ‘F*** off!’ We wouldn’t see him. I mean, ‘Sod off, Noel!’”
Paul McCartney met with Noel Coward
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Coward went to meet with the band after attending one of their concerts, which he did not enjoy. Still, he felt it was polite to congratulate them. He traveled to their hotel, where their manager, Brian Epstein, informed him that The Beatles did not want to meet with him.
Coward said this was “graceless” of them, so Paul McCartney ultimately agreed to greet him.
“I explained gently but firmly that one did not pay much attention to the statements of newspaper reporters,” Coward said. “The poor boy was quite amiable and I sent messages of congratulation to his colleagues, although the message I would have liked to have sent them was that they were bad-mannered little s***s.”
Ringo Starr said many people liked The Beatles, but they didn’t like everyone
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The Beatles were not welcoming to Coward. According to John Lennon, they weren’t all that welcoming to many of the people they met in their early years of fame.
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“We have met some new people since we’ve become famous, able to stand them for more than two days,” Lennon said. “Some hang on a bit longer, perhaps a few weeks, but that’s all. Most people don’t get across to us.”
He explained that they were so close-knit as a band that they didn’t like new people.
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“We can’t go around with anybody for a long time unless they are a friend, because we’re so closely knit,” Lennon said. “We talk in code to each other. We always did when we had strangers around us…”
