Ringo dancing for John and Cynthia while in Miami, Florida, February of 1964
Photographed by Dezo Hoffman
Cynthia saw Ringo performed several times while he was a drummer for Rory Storm & The Hurricanes while dating John at various clubs in Liverpool- particularly the Cavern. But Ringo and Cynthia didn't officially met until after John and Cynthia were newly married and living in Brian Epstein's apartment; they unfortunately got off on the wrong foot. When John brought Ringo home, Cynthia was making dinner Vesta Beef Curry from a packet (just add water). Despite a limited amount of serving, Cynthia offered him some but Ringo refused, including a follow up offer of a sandwich. What Cynthia didn't know until later that Ringo had many illnesses and operations as a child and was very sensitive with spicy food. I don't know if Ringo was aware that John and Cynthia were married? I don't even know when this happened of the visit but probably just before Cynthia started to show in her pregnancy. Ringo wasn't invited to their wedding- he had literally just joined the Beatles a week before and wasn't yet "in" with John, Paul, and George's tight knit bond. He didn't know until gradually on tour while staying in hotels and, for sure, when The Beatles met with an accountant and John filed for a dependent (see post Mr. & Mrs. Lennon). Since the food incident, Ringo and Cynthia were wary yet polite with each other until eventually they got closer, getting along very well.
"One evening, soon after the wedding, I was standing at the stove stirring yet another Vesta curry when John came in with a short, skinny young man whose small, square hands flashed oddly in the light. I peered closer and saw that he was wearing a ring on every finger - an unusual habit in Liverpool.'This is Ringo,' said John. 'He's going to be our drummer.' Pete Best, their previous drummer, had recently left the group. Despite his good looks and skill on the drums he'd never really fitted in with the other boys. While John, Paul and George laughed and joked and swopped witty repartee, Pete sat silently on the edge, quiet, thoughtful and on a different wavelength altogether. Ringo in contrast wasn't handsome and at the time I didn't consider he was a brilliant drummer but they didn't need a brilliant drummer. They needed a good beat provided by someone compatible. Ringo was perfect. Very Scouse and down to earth, he was a natural clown and he made a great fall guy for the rest of them.The first time John and I heard the boys' music coming out of the radio instead of the Cavern it was almost too thrilling to take in! 'Hello, Ringo,' I said, tearing my eyes away from the glittering rings and giving the curry another stir. I was a bit embarrassed about that curry. The portions weren't large, I didn't think I could stretch the meal to three and there was no other food in the house. Ringo was embarrassed too. He didn't know what to say to me. I was from Hoylake so he probably thought I was posh, and I was also John's wife so he didn't want to make a bad impression. He declined my offer of a sandwich and sat there politely with a cup of tea while John and I ate our meal. It was all a bit starchy and I don't think I was ever to see Ringo so subdued again. In fact Ringo joined the group at a very good time. They were now well known in Liverpool and getting plenty of gigs. John and Paul were writing a lot of songs and Brian hawk their work round a few record companies. Eventually they ended up with producer George Martin."
Cynthia, 1994
John, Cynthia, Maureen, and Ringo in Trinidad and Tobago, January of 1966
In 1965, after Ringo married Maureen Cox, they moved to Weybridge, Surrey, about 10 minutes away from John and Cynthia. They became very close, hanging out together over the weekend, going out to clubs, and a vacation to Trinidad and Tobago in January of 1966. Usually, Ringo would walk home after being with John. One of Julian's earliest memories would be riding on John's motorbike to Ringo's home.
"John had Julian and I had Zak so we'd try to do the fatherly things. We'd try to do manly things too; we'd go to the pub and bring Maureen and Cynthia a Babycham or something- a real Liverpool attitude"
Ringo Starr
"I mainly saw John in that period because we lived a couple of blocks from each other. We used to spend practically every weekend together. We'd edit 8mm film and have fun- sometimes hysterical fun. I'd walk home. One Bonfire Night that we had at my place, John and I decided to show our kids some fireworks. We went and bought all these fizzy ones. We'd smoke a lot of herbalized stuff so we didn't want anything really loud. We were doing this whole set up and sitting around, relaxing a little and we went outside to give the babies this big show and everything we bought just exploded! Exploded! What the kids must have thought, I don't know because the grown-ups were going 'Ow! Ow! Aaaagh!' We were so shocked, we had to go back inside. And that's what makes our children what they are today."
Ringo Starr
"Ringo had this habit of lighting up two cigarettes, one for Maureen at the same time that he lit his own. I remember thinking it was a loving thing to do and wishing John did it for me. But that would have been too obviously demonstrative, maybe, for John."
Cynthia, 1985
"All I knew was that he was away a lot. When he came home, and we were together, I recall most of all the fun like flying a kite in the garden, or riding on the back of Dad's motorbike down to Ringo's home. The rest of my childhood with dad is a fog."
Julian
"But I do not have any more memories of them. Not even John. I remember him as someone who always came by the house, but unfortunately I was very small. I could not say that some scenes stayed with me."
Zak Starkey, 2019
Unfortunately, the fun ended in 1968 when John and Cynthia broke up; Cynthia was literally cut off from John's life and Ringo rarely saw Cynthia afterwards. Ringo and Maureen did attend Cynthia's housewarming party after she remarried to Roberto Bassanini in 1970. Ringo and Maureen (more on Cynthia's relationship with Maureen later on in it's own post) separated by 1974 before divorcing in July of 1975. Ringo went to Los Angeles and bunked with John, who was also having marital problems with Yoko and was with May Pang; they partied, got drunk, did drugs, and played music with Harry Nilsson, Keith Moon (who also went through a recent divorce), Mickey Dolenz, and more. During that time, with May and Cynthia's support, John and Julian reconnected; for Julian's first visit in America, Cynthia accompanied him to New York before they all went to California where Cynthia saw Ringo for the first time in some years. Not much is really know other than John and Julian reconnecting and Cynthia stayed at Jim Kelter's home. In December of 1980, Ringo called Maureen to inform her about John's death; Cynthia was staying with Maureen and spoke to Ringo over the phone. Ringo and Cynthia saw each other in 1986 for a charity event with his wife Barbara Bach. I don't doubt that Ringo and Cynthia saw and spoke to each other under sad circumstances while Maureen was sick and dying in 1994. The last time Ringo and Barbara saw Cynthia was in 2006 for the Cirque du Soleil LOVE show in Las Vegas. After her death in 2015, Ringo issued a short yet sweet tweet in Cynthia's memory.
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