Ringo Starr will make his debut on the blockchain next month, announcing a collection of NFT artworks dubbed The Creative Mind Of A Beatle.

The collection features five of Starr’s original art pieces – two paintings, one Bansky-esque self-portrait, and two hybrid works – each being minted as editions of four. Each piece will come with a physical print of the corresponding artwork, signed by Starr, as well as an audio recording of Starr performing an original composition inspired by the piece, written for and released exclusively through the collection, on the drums.

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“I am excited to join this digital art community,” he said in a video announcing the collection, “and look forward to continuing to learn and build in Web3. I’ve been doing art for many, many years, with paint, stencils, digitally, spin art… I’m honoured to be part of this community.”

As for why Starr chose to join the NFT train, he explained: “It’s really important to have a platform to display your art and to be in control of how it is shared and appreciated.”

Launching alongside the collection will be a virtual gallery of Starr’s artworks, named RingoLand, which fans will able to access via the metaverse platform Spatial. Each of the 20 NFTs in The Creative Mind Of A Beatle will grant the purchaser “a special invitation to meet [Starr] in RingoLand”.

The gallery will not be tied exclusively to the NFT collection, however, with the legendary Beatle telling fans to “stay tuned for more details about how you can visit [his] galleries and future events in the metaverse”.

The Creative Mind Of A Beatle will be opened as an online auction, accessible via Julien’s Auctions, on Monday June 13. Each of the 20 NFTs will launch with a starting bid of $1,000 (£800), with an unspecified portion of the final proceeds being donated to Starr’s own charity, The Lotus Foundation.

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The collection’s existence has been widely derided by Beatles fans, with almost all of the 70-plus replies to its announcement on Twitter being negative. “I love Ringo and I find his art very tasteful, but the majority of us Beatles fans are not in favour of the concept of ŃFTs,” one fan wrote, while another pleaded with the artist: “In the name of peace and love please stop.”

Starr is days away from kicking off a sprawling tour of North America, beginning with back-to-back shows in Ontario on Friday May 27 and Saturday 28. The tour will roll into June with a further 20 shows, before picking back up in September for another 19 dates.

Starr – who celebrated his 81st birthday last year – put out his latest solo album, What’s My Name, in 2019. He shared two EPs in 2021: Zoom In and Change The World.

Away from his solo work, Starr was recently enlisted by Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder to perform on his third solo album, Earthling.