I’m not so sure about that.
I haven’t fully researched it, but as I also suspected it might be urban legend. Like Palin seeing Russia from her house.
And yes, I have heard the quote before. It certainly
sounds like a quip Lennon would have said.
https://www.reddit.com/r/TheBeatles/comments/1uawsq/ringo_isnt_even_the_best_drummer_in_the_beatles
From the above link:
We’ve all heard this quote but I’m yet to find a source. I don’t think John Lennon said it at all.
Here’s a quote from Mark Lewisohn which I’m taking as fact for now
*“The London Times newspaper quoted John Lennon ‘famously saying that Ringo wasn’t even the best drummer in the Beatles.’ John Lennon never said that, famously or otherwise, and that is the London Times quoting him,” Lewisohn said, making a point about his motivation for trying to separate fact from Fab Four mythology.
“For me, it’s [a case of tracking down] when did he say this? I’ve heard every John Lennon interview, I’ve read every John Lennon interview, I never saw that quote. So when did he say it, let alone when did he famously say it?” he said. “I determined to get to the bottom of it. And it’s actually a TV comedian’s joke from three years after John was killed, in 1983. So John Lennon never said it — and wouldn’t have said it.”*