Ringo Starr, 1992: Rock After Rehab

Now I Get His Sober Hints

Ringo Starr has been quiet in the Get Back movie, but hardly invisible. You see him smiling, flashing a peace sign, musing, bored, pensive, while his more verbose Beatles brothers parry and thrust. But he's always listening. In the frustrating first segment, when ideas and tempers are short, you can tell something is happening when Ringo begins tapping a rhythm, taking his sticks to the drum kit: A signal to the songwriters that they might have something worth developing.

When I met Ringo, who is now 81, for an interview in 1992, he was promoting two overlapping projects. He had a new album, Time Takes Time, his first studio album in nine years. It had four ace producers: Don Was, Phil Ramone, Peter Asher, and Jeff Lynne. Ringo's wit was sharp, but gentle. "I used to tease Jeff Lynne that ELO broke up because they ran out of Beatle…