Beatles drummer Ringo Starr has been awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Liverpool on his 86th birthday.<\/p>\n
The musician, born Richard Starkey in Liverpool\u2019s Dingle district, received the Honorary Doctor of Music during a private ceremony at Beverly Hills Park in Los Angeles, ahead of his birthday.<\/p>\n
University Chancellor Wendy Beetlestone travelled to California to present the award, praising Starr\u2019s contribution to music and the way he has helped shape Liverpool\u2019s identity and worldwide reputation.<\/p>\n
Accepting the honour, Starr thanked the university for making the journey to present the degree and reflected on his Liverpool roots. <\/p>\n
He encouraged this year\u2019s graduates to follow their dreams, recalling how his family had initially discouraged him from pursuing a career as a full-time drummer. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt all worked out,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The Beatles, from left, John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney appear in Liverpool, England on July 10, 1964.<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cI want to thank the University of Liverpool for this Honorary Degree and for coming all the way to LA to bestow it. I\u2019m really honoured. <\/p>\n
“Today is my birthday, and as everyone knows, I was born in Liverpool. It is my hometown and I\u2019ll always love it.<\/p>\n
“I\u2019ve been thinking back on my life a lot lately \u2013 and when I chose to become a drummer full time \u2013 my family discouraged me. <\/p>\n
“And they could have been right! But they weren\u2019t \u2013 it all worked out. <\/p>\n
“So to all the graduates back in Liverpool \u2013 I send Peace & Love and want to say don\u2019t be afraid to follow your dreams \u2013 or take that right turn and see where it goes\u2026. it could lead to an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Liverpool.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Beatles Credit: PA<\/p>\n
Starr rose to global fame as the drummer with The Beatles, the band that transformed popular music after forming in Liverpool in the early 1960s. <\/p>\n
Alongside a successful solo career spanning more than five decades, he has remained an ambassador for his home city and is well known for promoting his message of \u201cpeace and love\u201d.<\/p>\n
The University of Liverpool said the honorary degree recognised Starr\u2019s outstanding contribution to music, culture and Liverpool\u2019s international reputation.<\/p>\n
University of Liverpool Vice-Chancellor, Professor Tim Jones, said: \u201cThe University of Liverpool is a renowned authority on the academic study of The Beatles and this honorary degree expresses our sincere respect for the contribution Ringo has made to music and to Liverpool\u2019s heritage and culture. I\u2019m delighted to welcome him into the university community.”<\/p>\n
Want more on the issues effecting the North? Our podcast, From the North answers the questions that matter to our region.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Beatles drummer Ringo Starr has been awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Liverpool on his 86th…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":680186,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[96,128,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-680185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-music","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/680185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=680185"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/680185\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/680186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=680185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=680185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=680185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}