Ringo Starr's 'Give More Love': Take An Inside Look at the Music Video

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Ringo Starr's 'Give More Love': Take An Inside Look at the Music Video
by Steve Marinucci
4/19/2018


Ringo Starr
Scott Robert Ritchie

A new video by Sir Ringo Starr for the title track to his Give More Love album was released April 19 by the newly knighted Beatles drummer. The clip, directed by Brent Carpenter, includes fan photos contributed especially for the video that were submitted in a contest sponsored by Ringo. “They (Ringo and the record company) told people to submit stills and video that to them meant 'Give More Love,'" Carpenter told Billboard in a phone interview. “And Ringo did a little announcement about it.” He said Ringo then helped choose the images to be used. “And then I just picked whatever I thought would work and put stuff together.” Additional graphics in the forms of flowery emojis were done by Zafer Mustafa and Carpenter's son, Kurt, contributed a pulsing peace sign also seen in the video.

Bruce Sugar, Ringo's sound engineer on the album, recalled the original recording session for the song. “When we were recording the song, Matt Bissonette came by to play bass and his brother Gregg (the second drummer in the All-Starr Band) was with him. Ringo had just received a gift of a Hang drum and it was laying around in the studio," he tells Billboard. "It's like a steel drum but played with the bare hand. Anyway, Gregg picked it up and before we knew it we were recording the hang drum which you can hear on the intro and the chorus. It's the steel drum sounding instrument. Just goes to show if anyone pops by the studio, they're likely to wind up on the song.”

Carpenter says there was never actually a shoot for the 'Give More Love' video since much of the performance footage came from material already available. “We were looking at what else we could put in there and I said, 'Hey, we've got several (rehearsal) performances from when you put the song in the show this last tour. Why don't we use that?' Carpenter said the black and white effects on the band were his idea.

And then there was Ringo and the crank box he's shown playing with in the video. Carpenter says, “I'd seen that little flip box when we were on tour. We were at a hotel gift shop and I said, 'That'd be really cool to use in a video' and Ringo said, 'Yeah, why don't you figure something out?'”

Starr also announced Thursday his plans for the 10th annual “Peace and Love” birthday event to take place July 7 at the Hard Rock Cafe in Nice, France, during his Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band's upcoming European tour. Fans around the world can join in by saying or thinking “Peace and Love” at noon on July 7. Besides the live event, Hard Rock outlets around the globe will stream a special “Peace and Love” birthday video just before noon from Sir Ringo. This year's event, co-sponsored by the Hard Rock Cafe and the David Lynch Foundation, which promotes transcendental meditation, marks a return to its roots. The first took place at the Hard Rock Cafe in Chicago on July 7, 2008. Other sites have been at the Hard Rock Cafes in New York; Hamburg, Germany; and Nashville, though for the last four years, it was held outside the Capitol Records tower in Los Angeles.

“I can’t think of a better way to celebrate my birthday, or a better gift I could ask for, than Peace & Love,” Ringo said in a statement. “I was blown away last year with how far this idea keeps spreading – we started in New Zealand, had people sending Peace & Love from Antarctica, Japan, Costa Rica, India, Russia, Brazil, Europe, London, Liverpool and Hawaii. It was so far out. So here we are 10 years later and it keeps growing. I want to thank Capitol who have hosted us the last four years, Hard Rock, the David Lynch Foundation and everyone for continuing to help spread Peace & Love, Ringo.”

Ringo and His All-Starr Band play the Borgata Casino Event Center in Atlantic City June 2 before winging off to Europe for 20 shows starting in Paris, France on June 6 and running through Europe until July 11. The band will go back on the road for another 20 shows in the U.S. beginning Sept. 1 at the Hard Rock Cafe in Tulsa, Okla. And running through that month ending with a final show Sept. 29 at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles.

Can fans hope for a video recording of any upcoming performances? “I hope we'll be shooting,” Carpenter says. “I don't know if it'll be released this year or beginning of next, but generally each time the band changes we shoot a new concert. And we've never had Graham Gouldman (of 10cc) in the band, which is exciting. And Colin's (Colin Hay from Men At Work), is back and we love Colin. So I don't know whether it'll be on the European leg or the American leg but we'll probably, yes, do another All-Starr concert.”

Carpenter, who has been working with Sir Ringo since “Ringorama” was released in 2003, says he has loved working with him. “It's always a blast shooting with Ringo,” he said. “We always have a great time. There's never a time when it's not fun,” he said. “There's nothing better than working a Beatle.”

Ringo and His All Starr Band Tour Dates:

June 2 -- Borgata Casino Event Center, Atlantic City, NJ

June 6 -- L’Olympia, Paris, France

June 8 -- Holland Blues Festival, Grolloo, Netherlands

June 9 -- Flens Arena, Flensberg, Germany

June 10 -- StadPark, Hamburg, Germany

June 13 -- Ice Hall, Helsinki, Finland

June 15 -- Lunden, Horsens, Denmark

June 16 -- Tempodorm, Berlin, Germany

June 17 -- Stadhalle, Zwickau, Germany

June 19 -- Congress Hall, Prague, Czech Republic

June 20 -- Stadhalle, Vienna, Austria

June 23 -- Menorah Arena, Tel Aviv, Israel

June 26 -- St. Jordi Club, Barcelona, Spain

June 28 -- WiZink Center, Madrid, Spain

June 29 -- Coliseum, La Caruna, Spain

July 1 -- Bizkaia Arena BEC, Bilbao, Spain

July 4 -- Rockhal, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg

July 6 -- Sporting Complex, Monte Carlo, Monaco

July 8 -- Piazza Napoleone, Lucca, Italy

July 9 -- Piazza Degli Scacchi, Marostica, Italy

July 11 -- Autorium Parco Della Musica, Cavea, Rome, Italy

Sept. 1 -- Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Tulsa, OK

Sept. 2 -- Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion, Rogers, AR

Sept. 3 -- Starlight Theatre, Kansas City, MO

Sept. 5 -- Iowa State Center, Ames, IA

Sept. 7 -- Fox Theater, St. Louis, MO

Sept. 8 -- TBA, Milwaukee, WI

Sept. 9 -- Morris Performing Arts Center, South Bend, IN

Sept. 11 -- Fraze Pavilion, Kettering, OH

Sept .13 -- Radio City Music Hall, New York, NY

Sept. 14 -- Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga, NY

Sept. 15 -- The Toyota Oakdale Theater, Wallingford, CT

Sept. 17 -- Wang Theater, Boston, MA

Sept. 19 -- Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts, Pittsburgh, PA

Sept. 21 -- Hard Rock Rocksino, Northfield Park, OH

Sept. 22 -- The Chicago Theatre, Chicago, IL

Sept. 23 -- Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, St Paul, MN

Sept. 25 -- Paramount Theatre, Denver, CO

Sept. 27 -- Humphreys, San Diego, CA

Sept. 28 -- City National Civic, San Jose, CA

Sept. 29 -- Greek Theatre, Los Angeles, CA