The Other Side of Liverpool

Album: Y Not (2010)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song continues a tradition begun on the title track of his 2008 solo album, Liverpool 8, in which Ringo and the Eurhythmics Dave Stewart pen an autobiographical song about the former Beatle's early life. Starr explained to Billboard magazine that it part of a plan "to do a mini-biography on every CD from now on. It's not like a book where you can write forever; you sort of encapsulate certain moments of your life."
  • This track portrays Starr's rocky upbringing in a lower-working-class household: "It was a tough, violent neighborhood," Starr recalled to USA Today, "If you fell over in the street as a kid, everyone in that street was your mother and would come out and look after you. It's like fantasy now. But the thing I wrote this song for is that people believe I was born, joined The Beatles and then lived in a mansion."
  • Ringo Starr said in a January 2010 radio interview that he's not knocking the legendary seaport town in this song - he's just telling it like it is: "I just has the words and the melody to 'the other side of Liverpool is cold and damp, the only way out drums, guitar, and an amp' which was a saying we all had in those days. And it was cold, and it was damp, and it is a port. I have a plan now - whether it works out, I don't know - to do a mini-biography on every CD from now on. You can only pick Moments in your life when you're doing it on a record. It's not like a book when you can write forever. And you sort of encapsulate certain moments in your life, and that's what I believe 'The Other Side Of Liverpool' has done." >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    DeeTheWriter - Saint Petersburg, Russia Federation

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Dennis DeYoung

Dennis DeYoungSongwriter Interviews

Dennis DeYoung explains why "Mr. Roboto" is the defining Styx song, and what the "gathering of angels" represents in "Come Sail Away."

Steve Cropper (Booker T & the MG's, Blues Brothers)

Steve Cropper (Booker T & the MG's, Blues Brothers)Songwriter Interviews

Steve Cropper on the making of "In the Midnight Hour," the chicken-wire scene in The Blues Brothers, and his 2021 album, Fire It Up.

Famous Singers' First Films

Famous Singers' First FilmsSong Writing

A look at the good (Diana Ross, Eminem), the bad (Madonna, Bob Dylan) and the peculiar (David Bowie, Michael Jackson) film debuts of superstar singers.

Donny Osmond

Donny OsmondSongwriter Interviews

Donny Osmond talks about his biggest hits, his Vegas show, and the fan who taught him to take "Puppy Love" seriously.

Terry Jacks ("Seasons in the Sun")

Terry Jacks ("Seasons in the Sun")Songwriter Interviews

Inspired by his dear friend, "Seasons in the Sun" paid for Terry's boat, which led him away from music and into a battle with Canadian paper mills.

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Heaven And Hell

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Heaven And HellSongwriter Interviews

Guitarist Tony Iommi on the "Iron Man" riff, the definitive Black Sabbath song, and how Ozzy and Dio compared as songwriters.