Ringo Starr reflects on drumming with Charlie Watts and John Bonham
"The bass drum was hopping away from him"
Ringo Starr wishes that TikTok existed in the 1970s, as he wants to look back on a video of himself drumming in his attic with Charlie Watts and John Bonham.
Speaking at a press conference about his new EP ‘Change The World’, the Beatles icon remembered the time the Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones legends jammed together with him at home.
He explained: “I had a drum kit up in the attic – it was like a cinema attic, music, whatever you want to do up there. Charlie came, and so did John Bonham, We’ve got three drummers, just hanging out.
“Bonham got on the kit, but because it was just like … you know, it’s not like onstage, where you nail them down, so they’re steady. It was just, like, there. So as he was playing, the bass drum was hopping away from him,” he joked.
He said he now realises the moment had viral potential: “You think, ‘Ah, man! That would have been a great little video, a TikTok or a photo [that] would have gone worldwide!”
Ringo confessed he used to stop people documenting everything: “But in the ‘70s, I had parties, and you’ll never find any photos because I wouldn’t let you take photos, you know, in my house. But I always think, that would have been a great shot to have.”
He went on to pay tribute to the legendary Rolling Stones drummer, who passed away at the age of 80 in August: “We will miss Charlie, he was a beautiful human being. He was like The Quiet Man…
Ringo added: “Me and Charlie, we hung out. It’s not liked we lived together, we lived close in London, or we’d find ourselves at dinner or a gig.”
‘Change the World’ is out now.