Given that he was from rather down-at-heel Liverpool, was Ringo Starr's name made up, and if so why, and again if so, why did the other Beatles keep their real names?

BRY2K

He traveled from band to band, but he eventually landed a spot with "Rory Storm & The Hurricanes", a popular band at the time, and Storm encouraged Richard (Starkey) to enhance his career by legally changing his name to Ringo Starr. During this time, he got the nickname Ringo, because of the rings he wore, and because it sounded "cowboyish", and the last name Starr so that his drum solos could be billed as "Starr Time". The name Ringo Starr was given to him because of the rings he wore on his ring and pinkie fingers and his last name, Starkey. There is little evidence I can find as a Beatlephile that John, Paul or George ever considered changing their names. When they played with Tony Sheridan in Hamburg they took on pseudonyms but kept their Christian names their entire careers. That being said, McCartney has gone his entire musical career using his middle name "Paul". Perhaps the chief reason that the other Beatles didn't consider changing their names is that Ringo came to the band as "Ringo". Should he have made the name change when officially a Beatle, history might have been different. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_McCartney http://www.geocities.com/dirrtydozen/Ringo-Starr.html http://www.beatlesagain.com/bringo.html http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0823592/bio May 19 08, 3:40 PM

star_gazer

Don't forget Billy Shears. Note: Ringo Starr is introduced on Sgt. Pepper as Billy Shears. Billy Shears is only mentioned in the title song and, implicitly, as the singer of the segued-into "With a Little Help from My Friends". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Shears#Billy_Shears [Note/Link added -- Zb] May 19 08, 4:08 PM