I’ve been pondering Ringo Starr’s latest advert, in which he suggests that all of his fame and fortune are down to him changing his name from Richard Starkey to Ringo Starr – rather than the songwriting genius of John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison.

Perhaps it’s unfair to have a pop at the the Scouse drummer. He’s been the butt of jokes about his rubbish drumming for donkey’s years, regardless of the fact that he’s actually an excellent drummer and we have his appearances in the likes of That’ll be the Day to prove that he had more than one string to his bow.

And could Thomas the Tank Engine ever be as enjoyable with Ringo’s ‘Is-he-drunk?’ Liverpudlian drawl.

It’s become rather fashionable and easy to knock Ringo over the course of the last year, what with his feeble Liverpool 08 single, ridiculing (not unfairly) the idea that he’d return to live in Liverpool and his bizarre Youtube appearance to demand that no more fanmail should be sent to him because he was too busy to sign any more Beatles crap.

A quick search on the net reveals exactly what Ringo is busy doing: earning cash from anyone who’s willing to throw it at him.

What the following adverts prove is that Ringo was, once upon a time, the funniest and coolest Beatle, who wasn’t bothered about sending himself up. In the light of Ringo’s disasters in 2008, I prefer to remember him like this.