Today is the 70th birthday of former Beatle Richard Starkey, better known as Ringo Starr. To celebrate this fact, we thought we’d take a look at 70 other facts that you might not know about the drummer from Liverpool. Click past the jump to read tales about Ringo’s childhood, his experiences with drugs, and his portrayal of the Pope.

1. Immediately after joining The Beatles in 1962, Ringo shaved off his beard and restyled his hair into a mop top.
2. As a schoolboy, other students would get Ringo to talk and then laugh at him because his sentences would often contain malapropisms, later known as “Ringoisms.”
3. In the mid-’80s, Ringo provided the voice for the narrator and Mr. Conductor in the children’s TV series Thomas The Tank Engine.
4. Ringo was naturally left-handed, but played on a right-handed drum set. His grandmother helped him become ambidextrous by teaching him how to write with his right hand as a schoolboy.
5. At The Beatles’ record label, Apple Records, Ringo would sometimes get his receptionist to roll a joint of the best Afghan hash.
6. On Ringo’s first day at the Abbey Road Studios, producer George Martin said he’d prefer using a session drummer and hired 32-year-old Andy White. Ringo was worried about losing his spot with The Beatles.
7. Ringo played the role of the Pope in the film Lisztomania, which starred The Who’s Roger Daltrey.
8. As a child, Ringo was known as Little Richie, while his father, whom was also named Richard, was known as Big Richie.
9. Muhammad Ali once said “My dog plays better drums!” in reference to Ringo’s musical abilities.
10. Before dropping Ringo off at a friend or relative’s place for the day while she went to work, Ringo’s mother would always tuck in his shirt, shine his shoes, brush his hair, and make sure his clothes were clean.
11. One of Ringo’s earlier bands, Rory Storm & the Hurricanes, secured a booking at the Cavern, which was strictly a jazz club at the time, under the name the Jazzmen. The owner fined the band ten shillings after they played “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On.”
12. In 1980, officers at customs strip searched Ringo as he entered Mexico City to begin shooting the film Caveman.
13. Ringo entered rehab after waking up one morning to find his wife Barbara Bach battered and bloody beside him. He had beat her, but couldn’t remember anything from the night before.
14. Ringo grew up watching around three Westerns every week.