Snookeroo: Elton John’s Lively Contribution to Ringo Starr’s Solo Career

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Snookeroo is one of the most distinctive songs from Ringo Starr’s solo career, written for him in 1974 by Elton John and Bernie Taupin during the sessions for the album Goodnight Vienna. Elton not only composed the music but also played piano on the recording, giving the track his recognizable pop energy. Ringo had asked for a light, catchy song, and Elton delivered exactly that: an upbeat portrait of a working-class British character wrapped in a bright, melodic arrangement. The song’s mixture of humor, simplicity and strong melodic pull helped reinforce Ringo’s public image as an approachable and good-natured solo artist, distinct from his Beatles-era identity.

Although Snookeroo was released as a single in the UK in 1975 with Oo-Wee on the B-side, it did not chart there. In the United States, however, the song gained exposure through its placement as the B-side of No No Song, a single that reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The parent album, Goodnight Vienna, reached the top 10 on the Billboard 200, and this commercial success ensured that Snookeroo received significant attention from listeners and radio programmers. As part of a well-received album that showed Ringo’s confidence as a solo artist, the track contributed to the overall momentum of this phase of his career.

The collaboration between Elton John and Ringo Starr highlighted a natural musical chemistry. Elton’s bright piano work and Bernie Taupin’s playful lyrics matched Ringo’s relaxed vocal style, resulting in a track that fit perfectly into his developing identity as a solo performer. The combination of Elton’s melodic instincts and Ringo’s warm delivery produced a song that still stands out as a snapshot of mid-1970s British pop at its most effortless and entertaining.

Although Snookeroo stands as Elton John’s most direct studio collaboration with Ringo, it also exists within a broader context of Elton’s interactions with the other former Beatles. He famously performed live with John Lennon at Madison Square Garden in 1974, a landmark event that became Lennon’s final full-length concert appearance. Elton also appeared alongside George Harrison in moments such as the Prince’s Trust events and was filmed with George and Ringo during the 1987 promotional video for When We Was Fab. Additionally, Elton shared the stage with Paul McCartney during the 1986 Prince’s Trust All-Star Rock Concert, where both musicians took part in the star-packed finale. These appearances, while secondary to the story of Snookeroo, underline how closely Elton remained intertwined with the individual musical paths of the four former Beatles throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

Beyond these well-known collaborations, Elton John and Ringo Starr share additional moments of historical significance. In 1972, both joined Marc Bolan’s T. Rex in the concert film Born to Boogie, directed by Ringo himself. The film captured a unique blend of glam-rock theatricality and spontaneous jamming, including sequences where Elton, Ringo and Bolan performed together, creating one of the earliest and most iconic intersections of their careers. This remains the definitive record of Elton John, Ringo Starr and T. Rex appearing together in a musical setting.

Decades later, the last publicly documented appearance involving Elton John and Ringo Starr together took place in May 1998 during the amfAR Cinema Against AIDS gala at the Cannes Film Festival. In this charity event, Elton John, Ringo Starr and actress Sharon Stone participated in a rare onstage jam session presented as part of the evening’s fundraising activities. The performance was an unrehearsed, one-off moment that has since become a notable intersection of music, cinema and philanthropy, and it stands as the most recent confirmed occasion in which Elton and Ringo shared a stage.

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