John, Paul and George may have performed the music but Ringo was the music.

Last year David Hepworth wrote and presented “It’s All About The Drummer, Stupid” a brilliant episode of The Essay on Radio 3. In it, he contended that Ringo Starr – often dismissed as the least talented Beatle – was always scandalously underrated. According to David – and indeed to producer George Martin – The Beatles only came together properly once Ringo had replaced Pete Best on the stool. Ringo was the best drummer in Liverpool, which is why Lennon & McCartney were desperate to get him on board. He was naturally left-handed but, because he’d learned on a right-handed kit, played rhythms that no other drummer – and certainly no drum machine – could accurately replicate. Even if you play drums, just try drumming along to this. In 2018, Ringo Starr will finally become Sir Richard Starkey. I can only think that whoever took the decision to ennoble him must have heard David Hepworth’s programme on Radio 3.