PDA

View Full Version : Ringo Starr No Longer Accepting Fan Mail



Brooke
10-14-2008, 03:45 PM
Well, I didn't really know where to put this, but since Ringo and Joe are buds, here it is:

http://music.msn.com/music/article.aspx/?news=334524&GT1=28102

Hmmmmmm, I hope others don't feel this way! :worried:

sodascouts
10-14-2008, 05:40 PM
Yikes.

I'm sorry, I know he and Joe are friends, but he sounds like a huge jerk in that video.

You don't want to sign stuff and send it back? Fine. You don't want to answer the fan mail? Fine. That's understandable and quite common among celebrities.

But to THROW IT AWAY unread? To slap in the face all the fans who admire you enough to take the time to write to you, probably agonizing over every word, just to say how much they love you? You're going to throw their letters in the trash without even bothering to read them?

I just lost a great deal of respect for that guy.

Prettymaid
10-14-2008, 05:59 PM
Although he sounds harsh, at least he's honest. He's warning fans ahead of time to not bother writing to him anymore. Is that any worse than allowing fans to write to you and never intending to answer, like some stars do?

Maleah
10-14-2008, 06:03 PM
Gotta agree with Soda on this one. It is one of my biggest pet peeves about stars, when they act like they are "above" all of this. If it wasn't for these very fans that you are throwing away the letters from, you would be NOTHING! You would have no career, you would have no money, you wouldn't have any letters to throw away! I understand not having the time to respond to the letters......but to tell your fans not to even send them or you will just throw them away.....that's harsh imo. It's not like he doesn't have enough money to hire someone to read them for him and let him know if there's anything he should or would want to read. lol Wow......and some of these stars talk about the "common man." Wow

JoeFan
10-14-2008, 06:45 PM
I'm not surprised, this isn't the first time Ringo has made an arse of himself. He needn't worry about getting fan mail from me!

EagleLady
10-14-2008, 06:53 PM
At least Joe is always open to his fans. What a sweetheart, Joe you can pick better friends.

sodascouts
10-14-2008, 06:55 PM
Although he sounds harsh, at least he's honest. He's warning fans ahead of time to not bother writing to him anymore.

What I don't get is why he's doing it in the first place. How would you feel if a friend said "Don't bother sending me a Christmas gift. I'll just throw it away." Yeah, I guess you'd be glad you were warned so you didn't waste your money, but you'd still be hurt.

So, yes, it was honest of Ringo to warn his fans... but the fact that he throws away the fan mail still makes him a prize jerk in my book, warning or no.


Is that any worse than allowing fans to write to you and never intending to answer, like some stars do?
Oh, I definitely think throwing away the fan mail unread is worse than reading it but not answering it. Most fans don't write simply to get a reply (although we all hope we do). Most fans write to express their appreciation to an artist they admire.

He may not take any more of his fan's letters, but I'm sure he'll still be happy to take their money at the ticket booth, eh?

EagleLady
10-14-2008, 06:57 PM
I agree Soda. He was my favorite beatle till today. What a jackarse. I wonder if Paul accepts fanmail?

sodascouts
10-14-2008, 06:58 PM
He was your favorite Beatle until today? Why?

EagleLady
10-14-2008, 07:00 PM
He was your favorite Beatle until today? Why?


Because I liked his sense of humor, but after his little outburst today, He's a class A Jackarse.

Freypower
10-14-2008, 07:08 PM
I think you are being overly harsh. If Ringo doesn't want to accept fan mail that is his choice. To say that you no longer admire him just because of that is going too far, in my opinion. You don't know his reasons for this.

EagleLady
10-14-2008, 07:11 PM
True, but he doesn't need to throw his fanmail away. Sorry if I offended anyone.

sodascouts
10-14-2008, 07:13 PM
Well, FP, EL said she admired Ringo because of his sense of humor. She did not concern herself with his musical abilities or history as a Beatle. Therefore, it's unsurprising that she's no longer a fan when he comes off as so humorless. ;)

As for me, I still admire the Beatles - who doesn't? - but I think a lot less of Ringo Starr as a man. JMHO.

EagleLady
10-14-2008, 07:17 PM
Once Again, Sorry if I offended anyone with my opinion. I admire his musical ability, but still he shouldn't throw away his fanmail.

JoeFan
10-14-2008, 07:20 PM
Most people who like Ringo best like him for his personality, it's not as if he's the world's best singer, drummer, or songwriter. His charm was his main appeal, if he loses that, the only thing he has going for him is that he used to be a Beatle.

Freypower
10-14-2008, 07:20 PM
Well, put it this way. I can understand why you reacted that way. It does make him look a bit uncaring, I suppose. It's hard to get past the aura of him being a Beatle. But then Sir Paul hasn't exactly covered himself in glory in recent times either with his sad second marriage.

EagleLady
10-14-2008, 07:23 PM
You're right about that.

sodascouts
10-14-2008, 07:25 PM
A video like that creates a visceral negative reaction in the heart of anyone who's written a fan letter. He should not be surprised that he's getting bad press for the video, or that people perceive him as uncaring. If he thought he could avoid that by saying "peace and love" a few times, he's finding out differently.

Look, I'm sure he's a great guy to hang out with and a good friend to Joe. But good to his fans? Not so much, if this is any indication.

BTW here's the link to his home page if you want to see the video for yourself:

http://www.ringostarr.com/home.php

Prettymaid
10-14-2008, 07:51 PM
So, yes, it was honest of Ringo to warn his fans... but the fact that he throws away the fan mail still makes him a prize jerk in my book, warning or no.

I may be a cynic, but I would not be surprised if a lot of fan mail 'out there' gets thrown away. Of course nobody's going to actually come out and say that (except for Ringo)...

sodascouts
10-15-2008, 12:05 AM
You're right, PM, probably a lot of it does get thrown away. But to throw it in people's faces like this... I mean, he really went about this in a very poor fashion. In a much gentler tone, he could have said something like...

"Dear fans - I want you to know that I am grateful for your support over the years and I appreciate you. Unfortunately, I have become overwhelmed and will not be able to read any fan mail received after Oct. 20. I wish I could, but it's simply become too much. Thank you anyway; your continued loyalty means a lot to me.

Peace and love."

Instead he sounded angry and annoyed; his repeated "peace and love" lines sounded perfunctory and, considering the context, insincere. Throwing in the line about "tossing" the fan mail was an especially bad move. He came across as completely insensitive. Doesn't the man have PR people?

Leaves a bad taste in a lot of folks' mouths. Let's just say if I had been one of the many people who wrote to Ringo Starr in order to tell him how much the Beatles' music had changed my life, I'd be feeling pretty crappy right now.

ETA: Found this parody on YouTube by BeatleBabe:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEOSoCScyhY
lol!

JoeFan
10-15-2008, 04:22 AM
You're right, PM, probably a lot of it does get thrown away. But to throw it in people's faces like this... I mean, he really went about this in a very poor fashion. In a much gentler tone, he could have said something like...

"Dear fans - I want you to know that I am grateful for your support over the years and I appreciate you. Unfortunately, I have become overwhelmed and will not be able to read any fan mail received after Oct. 20. I wish I could, but it's simply become too much. Thank you anyway; your continued loyalty means a lot to me.

Peace and love."

Instead he sounded angry and annoyed; his repeated "peace and love" lines sounded perfunctory and, considering the context, insincere. Throwing in the line about "tossing" the fan mail was an especially bad move. He came across as completely insensitive. Doesn't the man have PR people?

Leaves a bad taste in a lot of folks' mouths. Let's just say if I had been one of the many people who wrote to Ringo Starr in order to tell him how much the Beatles' music had changed my life, I'd be feeling pretty crappy right now.

ETA: Found this parody on YouTube by BeatleBabe:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEOSoCScyhY
lol!


Your post is spot on, Soda.

Watching the video though I'm beginning to wonder if there's not more to this, something more serious, I hope all is well with Ringo and he hasn't fallen back into self-destructive behaviours.

Prettymaid
10-15-2008, 08:15 AM
This was all over the news last night. I wouldn't be surprised if he tries to do a little damage control.

TimothyBFan
10-15-2008, 09:43 AM
I happen to see this last night on Bill O'Reilly -he made his "almost a pinhead" segment for it. Maybe it wasn't meant to be completely serious. He sure comes off sounding like a jerk tho. I agree PM, I bet he ends up doing damage control on this one.

And of course this comes at a time when I just sent a fan letter to Timmy and MH has me wondering if I should have sent it to Julie or where I did send it, etc. Hopefully someone passes it on to him and it doesn't just get tossed! :eyebrow:

Prettymaid
10-15-2008, 09:53 AM
And of course this comes at a time when I just sent a fan letter to Timmy and MH has me wondering if I should have sent it to Julie or where I did send it, etc. Hopefully someone passes it on to him and it doesn't just get tossed! :eyebrow:

History shows that Timothy cares very much about his fans. If anybody's going to answer a fan's letter it's would be him.

Mrs Henley
10-15-2008, 09:57 AM
History shows that Timothy cares very much about his fans. If anybody's going to answer a fan's letter it's would be him.

That's true, Timothy cares about his fans :)
(not that I'm saying the others don't care)

But what I'm wondering about .. does the letter we send to Azoff MusicManagement or the Eagles Touring Company or the ERC, do they ended up with the guys or do they stay at the management.

Brooke
10-15-2008, 10:04 AM
That really made me think a lot less of Ringo. I'm sure they get tired of it, so, ok, hire someone to take care of it. It's not like you can't afford it, thanks to those fans. But to come out and tell people he was going to throw it in the trash was just being a jerk and a very stupid way to handle it.

The best thing he could have said about it was nothing! :headshake:

ticky
10-15-2008, 10:40 AM
I personally, have never been a huge Ringo fan. I dont have anything against the guy, I just dont think he's all that talented. Maybe Im missing something.
But dont you think maybe this all is his way of dealing with a severe LACK of fan mail? I cant imagine Ringo getting all that flooded with fan mail. Even if he was personally trying to deal with it all, Im pretty sure he's not getting as flooded with it as say, Paul or even Yoko! and it's not like he has a hit recording out right now, or has been on a whirlwind tour. I dunno.. this sniff's of sour grapes IMHO.

tbs fanatic
10-15-2008, 10:56 AM
Well, I have to disagree with everyone on this one. I think it's refreshing he's being so honest. He's had YEARS of this stuff coming at him why not just put a stop to it. Why bother to pay someone to deal with this stuff even if you can afford it. I'm sorry but I'm with Ringo on this one. I could rant on and on about this but perhaps I'd better stop :saberfight:

ticky
10-15-2008, 11:03 AM
Well, I have to disagree with everyone on this one. I think it's refreshing he's being so honest. He's had YEARS of this stuff coming at him why not just put a stop to it. Why bother to pay someone to deal with this stuff even if you can afford it. I'm sorry but I'm with Ringo on this one. I could rant on and on about this but perhaps I'd better stop :saberfight:

It's not so much what he did, but how he did it! The fans are what keep Celebrities Celebrities! If they alienate their fans by basically saying "I have absolutely no respect for the love and admiration you show me and I will from now on throw it away. Peace Love" you're going to loose a LOT of your fan base.
If he'd just said something like what Soda posted above or just hired someone to deal with it. Maybe put a bounce back on the mail so it was all returned to sender, but no. He publicly declared his disdain of his fans! big mistake.

tbs fanatic
10-15-2008, 12:07 PM
Mmmmm - I suppose he could of worded it better but I really think he's just saying 'Enough is enough'. I'm sure he gets plenty of fan mail. He's not just a celebrity he's a 'Beatle' - that makes a huge difference. It's like Elvis - he's not just a celebrity. LOL - before you say I shouldn't put Elvis and Ringo in the same boat - both The Beatles and Elvis had a HUGE impact on the music world so I think they are in the same boat. :lol: - okay, I'll stop.

tbs fanatic
10-15-2008, 12:11 PM
:rofl:Yep, I'm really stopping this time. :rofl:

Mrs Henley
10-15-2008, 12:13 PM
My opinion: I think that there wouldn't be such a drama as he just thanked his fans for writing letters, but that he doesn't want to reply back to them anymore or something like that.

and that trowing away is terrible.. ok that you want to stop with signing stuff, your choice but fan mail trow away unread.. sorry that's not my favorite thing of him.

TimothyBFan
10-15-2008, 12:48 PM
And why the October 20th deadline? That really gets me! I was having a conversation on the phone a little bit ago (and you know who you are:bye:) and she made another point--he's probably lucky he will no longer be reading fan mail, because from here on in he will most likely be getting HATE mail--I hadn't thought of that! Good point!!

Mrs Henley
10-15-2008, 12:51 PM
Of course, Hate mails.. also a point.

Ive always been a dreamer
10-15-2008, 02:38 PM
You know - this is just too sad. I always liked Ringo, but this is just stupid. I'm sure Ringo must get a fair amount of fan mail - after all, he was a member of what is largely considered to be the greatest band of all time.

But I don't care who you are - entertainers depend on their fans for their livlihood, and should be immensely respectful of them, IMHO. Of course, I'm sure Ringo has more money than he will ever need, but that is not the point. I totally agree with those of you who said how disrespectful of his fans that this is. If this is how he feels, I guess I can sort of understand that this can get tiresome. After all, he is human. However, he could have chosen to keep his mouth shut instead of doling out an ungrateful, unappreciative slap in the face to all of those people who have admired him and made him a very wealthy man. I don't know if sending hate mail is the answer since it will apparently just end up in the trash, but I hope his fans figure out a way to return the favor to him.

Maleah
10-15-2008, 11:35 PM
I guess I figure this........sometimes a fan just wants to put pen to paper and tell someone how they've changed their life. When I wrote to Don, I didn't write it with the intention of getting a response. I wasn't even sure if he'd read it.....but I felt better getting it all out. lol If you don't want to read the fan mail then don't! But don't rob you fans of feeling like they can give something back to you by telling you how much they love you and your music. Yes, if he had worded it differently I probably wouldn't have been so offended by it...but I still think it's ridiculous. Honesty is one thing........but it's not enough to save this for me. :eyebrow:

Freypower
10-15-2008, 11:41 PM
Folks... as we're on the subject....I've bought Glenn a birthday card. Now I'd like you all to persuade me to send it and I would like you to give me some ideas for an accompanying letter. I know that I won't receive a reply. I feel that I have to do this for the BIG 6 -0 (in 1998 when he turned 50 the band was inactive and it wasn't a big deal at the time for me, as I'd just had my daughter).

I know you'll say to me 'only you can decide what to write' and 'only you can express to Glenn how you feel about his music' (NB I said MUSIC) but this seems important. I don't want to lose my nerve. If you would rather PM me than discuss it here feel free. If you think I shouldn't send it, please say so. Thanks.

Maleah
10-15-2008, 11:43 PM
Without a doubt I think you should send it FP! I'll have to get back to you on ideas of what to say, but I think it's a great idea!

sodascouts
10-16-2008, 12:12 AM
What a lovely idea, FP! You should definitely send it.

Some ideas:

You can tell him why you appreciate his music so much, why you find it affecting, why you love to listen to it. If there's been occasions when it's especially helped you through a tough time or even helped make a great time better, you can talk about that. If there are certain songs that especially move you, you can mention those as well. You can tell him how you saw him in concert way back in 1988, and how wonderful it was to get to see such a rare appearance. You can tell him that you got to be at the filming of Farewell 1, and how magical that was. You can express hopes of one day going to another solo show - perhaps put in a plug for Oz. ;) You can tell him how much you love Long Road Out of Eden and that you hope he puts out another solo album.

Just some suggestions!

TimothyBFan
10-16-2008, 08:08 AM
I agree with everyone else here- SEND IT! I think Soda came up with quite a bit of good ideas. That is the kind of stuff I put in my letter to Timothy last week--by the way -also soon to be a birthday boy!!

Mrs Henley
10-16-2008, 08:47 AM
What a lovely idea, FP! You should definitely send it.

Some ideas:

You can tell him why you appreciate his music so much, why you find it affecting, why you love to listen to it. If there's been occasions when it's especially helped you through a tough time or even helped make a great time better, you can talk about that. If there are certain songs that especially move you, you can mention those as well. You can tell him how you saw him in concert way back in 1988, and how wonderful it was to get to see such a rare appearance. You can tell him that you got to be at the filming of Farewell 1, and how magical that was. You can express hopes of one day going to another solo show - perhaps put in a plug for Oz. ;) You can tell him how much you love Long Road Out of Eden and that you hope he puts out another solo album.

Just some suggestions!

Love those ideas Soda! :D

Brooke
10-16-2008, 10:39 AM
I think it's a great idea, Fp! Of course you should send it. Soda's suggestions were wonderful and I really can't come up with more.

I wrote to Timothy recently, too, and believe me, once you get started, the words will come. :nod:

Mrs Henley
10-16-2008, 10:43 AM
I wrote to Timothy recently, too, and believe me, once you get started, the words will come. :nod:

I'm so agreed with you Brooke!
I wrote Timothy also recently and I'm not a really big fan of Timothy, But I wrote him everything I could think of him (of course all the positive things) and it's a long letter :) :lol:

Ive always been a dreamer
10-16-2008, 11:59 AM
I think you should go for it too, FP. And I think everyone is right, once you get started putting pen to paper, the words will come.



I'm so agreed with you Brooke!
I wrote Timothy also recently and I'm not a really big fan of Timothy, But I wrote him everything I could think of him (of course all the positive things) and it's a long letter :) :lol:

Now I have to admit that this confused me. Why exactly would you bother writing a long letter to Tim if you aren't really a big fan of his?

Mrs Frey
06-24-2009, 11:41 AM
I know this is an old thread, but it was posted at a time when I was rarely on The Border, so I only got the chance to go through it yesterday. I needed a bit of time to gather my thoughts, as I found Ringo's video very disappointing, considering that I've been a Beatles, and therefore a Ringo, fan for 20 years.

To be honest, I'm not sure what to make of it. I've always thought that Ringo loved his fans. Indeed, this is evident in all the interviews I've ever seen of him. Even when the other three Beatles began feeling the pressure of the constant madness surrounding them, he is on record as saying that he loved all of it, with the exception of a few incidences.

I wonder what drove him to make such a video. Did something happen, related to a fan or fans, that upset him to such a degree that he decided he no longer wanted to receive anymore fan mail? Ringo has never struck me as the sort of person to resort to such measures - therefore, I feel that there must be more to this story.

It's strange, but the media in this country, as far as I know, never made a peep about Ringo's actions. I wonder what Paul McCartney made of it.

I'm willing to give Ringo the benefit of the doubt, but the video still came across as very harsh, and since I've written fan letters in my time, I feel that he should have taken much more care in addressing his fans with such a request.

A certain Belgian singer once broke my heart after having tossed my fan letter away, which I gave to him in his hand after a concert he gave in Cape Town. The caretaker at the venue actually took the time to return the letter to me, after he found it lying on the floor backstage. He assumed that the performer had dropped it, but I found that unlikely since I saw him put the letter in his pocket. To say that the incident hurt me would be a gross understatement.

sodascouts
06-24-2009, 05:08 PM
I remember you mentioning that incident before, MF, and I have to agree that if it happened to me I too would be disappointed, to say the least.

If indeed Ringo experienced something that triggered his outburst, he would have been well-advised to explain himself a bit and treat his fans with more respect and less like bothersome encumbrances he is forced to endure.

Mrs Frey
06-25-2009, 04:19 AM
You have a good memory, Soda, and I agree with you about your thoughts regarding Ringo's actions.

I still feel somewhat blank when I think of his video. I just find it so strange. All his "peace and love" mentions didn't do anything to blunt his obvious irritation with his fans.

I never got around to writing to Ringo because I never had an address for him, but if I had, I would just have written to tell him how much I admire him as a musician as well as a person - I would not have expected him to write back or sign anything for me. Most artists don't.

I wrote to Paul McCartney twice, and his fan club responded to the letters. They thanked me for my "charming" letters, and it was very pleasing to read, but at the same time I was wondering if the letters ever reached Paul. I would rather not receive a reply, but know that Paul had read them. That is the point of writing to a star, after all. I also wrote a letter to Linda, which I thought that Paul would have appreciated. I doubt that Paul and Ringo receive the van loads of mail that they received as Beatles. They are, after all, well into their 60s, and the majority of young people who write fan letters have young musical heroes.

No one can expect musicians to answer all their mail or even read all of it, considering the sort of schedules that musicians have, not to mention commitments to their families. However, they should respect their fans, since it's the fans who put them on their pedastals in the first place, and the mere suggestion of Ringo throwing his fan letters away upsets me.

Ringo Starr, I am very disappointed in you. I expected so much more from you.