Ringo Starr today told of his disgust over British jihadis being given nicknames based on The Beatles.
The drummer said he was saddened that the fanatics — led by a man dubbed “Jihadi John”, who is suspected of beheading two American journalists — had been labelled with the names of the Fab Four.
Starr, 74, told the Standard: “It’s bullshit. What they are doing out there is against everything The Beatles stood for.”
The nicknames were revealed by a former captive, who said three Britons guarding captives in Syria had been dubbed John, Paul and Ringo due to their accents.
Starr said he was powerless to prevent the names of the band or his bandmates being attached to the fanatics. He said: “If we stood for anything we never stood for that. The four of us absolutely stood for peace and love. But we are not in control.” “Jihadi John” is being hunted by US forces after also threatening on video to behead British hostage David Haines.
The nicknames have angered Beatles fans. John Lennon was noted for anti-war anthems Give Peace A Chance and Imagine.
And Starr’s humanitarian work was recognised with a GQ Man of the Year award this week.
His Peace and Love fund raises money for meditation treatment for war veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress.
He told of his disgust at the nicknames during the opening of designer John Varvatos’s new store in Conduit Street. Starr is the face of the label’s autumn 2014 advertising campaign.
