Zak Starkey, eh? For decades, he’s seemingly lived a steady(ish) existence, known not just as Ringo’s son but also a dependable drummer in his own right, who’s held down a position in two of the UK’s biggest (and most combustible) acts. But we’ve heard more about and from him in the three months since his initial sacking from the Who than we have for the last 30 years.
Now he’s given a highly amusing interview to NME that covers everything from his long-drawn-out Who sacking to Oasis to his hobby band Mantra Of The Cosmos. Even if the Gallaghers are no longer talking to the press, one (ex) Oasis member is keeping up the band tradition of providing entertaining copy for the members of the fourth estate.
Inevitably, much of it concentrates on his recent sacking: “It was only one gig (at the Royal Albert Hall), it was only one fuck-up,” he says of the incident that kicked it all off. “At the end of the day, with technical problems and The Who, you see it all crash and we start it again. But on this particular occasion, I don’t know why, I dropped some beats, apparently. I’ve f***ing looked everywhere and I can’t find them!”
Of course, we know that Starkey won his job back, albeit temporarily. “Roger demanded a public apology and me admitting that I dropped two beats. So I did it, but with a duck playing drums – which is my character in the new Mantra Of The Cosmos video. Pete phoned me and he went, ‘Try that again without the duck’. I did it without the duck, got the gig back – 10 days later, sacked again. Roger said he couldn’t work with me no more after I’d done that.”
While this was going on, Oasis were sorting out the lineup for their reunion tour. This is Starkey on the fellow who got the coveted drummers’ position, Joey Waronker, and whether he has any advice for him: “He’s not a mod is he? Don’t fuck it up.
"Make sure you get your tempos right, them boys know. They’re smart. They’re some of the smartest musicians I’ve ever met. Whether it’s fast, it’s slow, they’re bang on it.”
Advice for Barry Keoghan, the actor set to play his dad in the forthcoming Beatles biopics? “Get a big rubber nose. I don’t know what else to say. He doesn’t look anything like my dad, does he? You can fix anything, can’t you? You can certainly give someone a big rubber nose.”
In the meantime, Mantra Of The Cosmos have another single lined up, which apparently is “better than this one – it’s a lot more political”. Then when asked what else he has coming up, Starkey replied: “If I say anything, Roger will say ‘You’re too busy!’ I’m going to have a wank and relax for a bit…”
Absolutely priceless.
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