Ringo Starr shares The Beatles' 'biggest fear' and it's pretty surprising

Ringo Starr has divulged what he considers to be The Beatles' "biggest fear"—the prospect of having to read musical notation.

The "Love Me Do" icons might have been behind some of the globe's most enduring tunes, yet the thought of music reading exposed a vulnerability in all four—Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Ringo Starr, and the late greats George Harrison and John Lennon.

Discussing with the New York Times, Ringo confessed: "The biggest fear, a long time ago, was that the union was going to make us all read music. Because none of us - John, Paul, George, and Ringo - none of us read music. I thought, well, I'll go play tambourine then."

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Ringo, who blossomed last in songwriting within The Beatles, found that his early attempts often had his mates in stitches due to his unwitting impersonations.

Paul, reflecting on those early efforts, would quip: "We'd say, 'Yeah, that's a great one. That's a great Bob Dylan song.' ".

Astonished by his own seniority at 85, Ringo says: "It blows me away. I look in the mirror and I'm 24. I never got older than 24."

Yet, reality counters, "But guess what? You did."

Nonetheless, it is his passion for music that keeps Ringo youthful at heart.

With infectious enthusiasm, he shares, "Well, I love what I'm doing." He recalls how his mother would visit his shows and tell him, "When I first started, my mother would come to the gigs. She would always say, 'You know, son, I always feel you're at your happiest when you're playing your drums.' So she noticed. And I do."

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And indeed, Ringo affirms, "I love to hit those buggers."

Ringo, who has dabbled in acting before, expressed a shift in focus, remarking: "It's hard to come to the front when you've got John and Paul."

When questioned about missing his acting days, he clarified: "I don't barely, no. I'm just playing now, live and in the studio making records."

The bond between Ringo and Paul has only grown stronger with the absence of their late bandmates.

Reflecting on their unique connection, Paul shared: "With John and George not here, I think we realise nothing lasts forever."

He continued, emphasizing the rarity of their relationship: "So we grasp onto what we have now because we realise that it's very special. It's something hardly anyone else has. In fact, in our case, it's something no one else has. There's only me and Ringo, and we're the only people who can share those memories."

Paul also recounted lighter moments: "I'd say, 'I've got this song.' And halfway through they'd all be laying on the floor laughing, because I wasn't writing new songs. I was writing new words to old songs."