Video: 'Ringo Starr in Southampton, 5/14/69 plus Rare Interview' (May 16, 1969, at 0:05)

(Friday, May 16, 1969) — Ringo Starr of The Beatles gave an on-camera interview to the Associated Press today before setting sail on the recently-launched ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2, heading to New York from Southampton.

The trip was paid for by Commonwealth United, the company which funded the film The Magic Christian, which Starr had a lead role in. With principal photography recently completed, the holiday was by way of thanks to the cast and crew for finishing on time and on budget.

John Lennon of The Beatles and his wife, Yoko Ono, had hoped to be part of the QE2 party, but Lennon was denied a visa by the U.S. immigration authorities due to his November 1968 conviction for possessing cannabis.