Sir Ringo Starr, the former Beatles drummer, has announced a new album and released its inaugural single.
The 85-year-old musician's new 10-track record, titled Long Long Road, is set to feature collaborations with notable artists including Billy Strings, Sheryl Crow, and St Vincent.
The album's first single, It’s Been Too Long, which dropped on Tuesday, showcases guest appearances from Sarah Jarosz and Molly Tuttle. Co-written by Sir Ringo himself and American producer T Bone Burnett, Long Long Road is scheduled for release on 24 April.
This new offering follows his 2025 album, Look Up, which notably secured his first number one spot on the UK’s official country chart.
Sir Ringo said: “I’m blessed to have T Bone in my life right now and working with me on these records.
“After we did the last record, which I love listening to, this one just sort of happened.
“I like to say sometimes I make the right moves, like you can go left or right at any point, and one of the right moves was hooking up with T Bone for Look Up, and now for this one, which I’m calling Long Long Road, because I’ve been on a long long road.”
Recorded in Nashville and Los Angeles, the album has a country and Americana sound and features much of the same bandmembers from Look Up.
Sir Ringo added that the album includes musical influences from guitarist Carl Perkins and said: “I recorded two Carl Perkins songs with The Beatles, and both T Bone and I wanted one on this record and he found this beautiful track I’d never heard before, I Don’t See Me In Your Eyes Anymore.”
T Bone said the pair decided to write a song together after attending a poetry reading together, praising the musician for being of the “highest calibre”.
He said: “I’ve loved Ringo’s playing and his singing for my whole life.
“I wrote him a Gene Autry type song because I always heard Ringo as a Texas artist, the way he played felt just like Texas music to me.
“Ringo Starr is a recording artist of the highest calibre, and I wanted to surround him with these young masters, bringing in some of this extraordinary young energy that’s happening around Nashville for both of these records.”
Sir Ringo – real name Richard Starkey – rose to fame as part of The Beatles which was formed in 1960 and made up of Sir Paul McCartney, John Lennon, and George Harrison.
The Beatles are the best-selling musical act of all time and one of the most influential groups in the world, having achieved 18 UK number one singles and 16 UK number one albums.
Long Long Road will be released on April 24.
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