Ringo Starr has Covid and postponed the remainder of his current tour. I never knew about his childhood until I read this today :
At the age of six, Starkey developed appendicitis. Following a routine appendectomy he contracted peritonitis, causing him to fall into a coma that lasted days.
His recovery spanned twelve months, which he spent away from his family at Liverpool's Myrtle Street children's hospital.
Upon his discharge in May 1948, his mother allowed him to stay at home, causing him to miss school.
At age eight, he remained illiterate, with a poor grasp of mathematics. His lack of education contributed to a feeling of alienation at school, which resulted in his regularly playing truant at Sefton Park.
After several years of twice-weekly tutoring from his surrogate sister and neighbour, Marie Maguire Crawford, Starkey had nearly caught up to his peers academically, but in 1953, he contracted tuberculosis and was admitted to a sanatorium, where he remained for two years.
It was at this point young Mr. Starkey picked up a liking for percussion.
