Unless you’re the gas, electic or cable company, Beatle Ringo Starr won’t be reading or answering your mail.
As he posted in a recent video on his Web site:
“Nothing will be signed after the 20th of October. If that is the date on the envelope, it’s gonna be tossed…I’m warning you with peace and love I have too much to do. So no more fan mail, thank you, thank you, and no objects to be signed. Nothing. Anyway, peace and love, peace and love.”
Every story I’ve seen about this gives the impression this is a bad thing because Ringo answering Marge Simpson’s letter inspired her to paint again. But what everyone is forgetting is that twenty years earlier, as shown in the rockumentary Help!, Ringo faced multiple assassination attempts because he wore a ring he received through the mail.
In his defense, Ringo was one of the Beatles and still tours and records music, so in addition to hand cramps, he’s probably very busy. If he had this attitude back in the ’60s, he would not have had crazies trying to paint him red and assassinate him.
On a personal level, I think letter writing can be a good thing. In my youth, I was somewhat lazy when it came to letter writing (which may have translated into being lazy about blog writing as an adult). Case in point- when I was about 10, I met MAD Magazine publisher William Gaines while at dinner with my mother and ex-stepfather. Gaines was a friend of theirs and talked to me throughout dinner. As he was leaving, he told me if I wrote him a letter, he’d give me a free lifetime subscription to MAD. For some reason, I didn’t do it. Years later, while reading a book about Gaines and MAD, I found out that he read every letter that came into MAD and was known for giving away subscriptions like they were candy. Stupidest thing I never did.
But if Ringo doesn’t want to answer any more letters, comment on paintings, or wear rings, more power to him. Peace and love Ringo. Peace and love. (Gear, Fab.)