With Ringo Starr heading back out on the road and turning 83 in a matter of weeks, rockers half his age can learn a thing or two about keeping in shape.
Ringo, who's been sober for the past 34 years, spoke with The San Diego Union-Tribune, and explained his ongoing regimen: “I watch what I eat. I’ve been vegetarian for the last 25 years. I was 'veggie' before, then I got off it and back on, and I’ve been vegetarian since 1992. I think it’s important and I’m always promoting proper eating.”
Ringo, who was one of rock's most famous, jet-setting partiers of the 1970's and '80s revealed how things have changed: “I go to the gym. I have a trainer who comes to my home three times a week. And I (work out) myself. On tour, usually I go at least four mornings a week to the gym. So, I think you’ve just got to keep moving and eat right. I do the best I can.”
Ringo's career today, which is filled with recording and touring with his friends, is a world away from life in the '70s: “In the end, I mean, if you listen to anything I did — or T.V. interviews — I was gone. And I would go to the premiere with a bottle of. . .y'know, (a) Coca-Cola bottle in my pocket, but loaded with cognac, and they'd day, 'Oh, he's just drinking Coca-Cola.' You would maintain while you were out the house and then you. . . For me, I ended up, I just had to get home so I could really put one on.”