Ringo Starr's cheeky dig at difficult Rolling Stones 'Charlie kept them together!'

Legendary member of The Beatles, Ringo Starr, is releasing a brand new EP this week titled Change the World. During a press event promoting the upcoming record, Ringo gave a touching tribute to the late drummer of The Rolling Stones, Charlie Watts.

Charlie died earlier this year on August 24, 2021, at the age of 80 with his family around him.

Speaking to Express and other press, Ringo recalled Charlie being a “lot of fun”.

He said: “Yeah, we will miss Charlie. He was a beautiful human being. He was like The Quiet Man.”

With a smile, he went on to compare the two drummers’ bands, who famously had a friendly rivalry throughout the 1960s.

READ MORE: The Beatles Paul McCartney: ‘After Pete Best, Ringo Starr was magic’

Ringo said: “He had a harder band than I did to keep together!”

Despite Ringo’s cheeky comment, it was The Beatles who famously split up in 1970 after a string of arguments and the release of their final album, Let It Be.

The Rolling Stones, on the other hand, are still performing to this day. Although, they did come close to the end in 1987.

At the time the band’s frontman Mick Jagger was promoting his solo album and was interviewed by Q’s Tom Hibbert. The singer laughed at the notion of The Rolling Stones’ split “mattering” in any way.

Ringo then pleased fans with an anecdote about him and Charlie hanging out with another legendary drummer.

He remembered: “I had a party in the ’70s, I had a drum kit in the attic, and Charlie came and so did [Led Zeppelin drummer] John Bonham, so we got three drummers hanging out. And Bonham got on the kit!

“And it’s not like on stage where they nail [the drum kit] down. So, as he was playing the bass drum was hopping away. So we had Charlie and Ringo holding the drum for him.”

Ringo noted that today, this jaw-dropping moment would have gone viral on TikTok or Twitter.

Ringo added that he “didn’t allow” photos at his various parties throughout the 1970s.

Later in the interview, the star gave some insight into the upcoming Beatles documentary Get Back.

Referring to the documentary’s director, he said: “Peter Jackson is our hero! He’s done a great job. Everyone will enjoy it.

“You’ll see this band working really hard, going through emotional ups and downs to get where we got every time – that’s just how it was: Four guys in a room. You’re going to have some ups and down.”

Ringo Starr – Change The World is out on Friday. 

source: express.co.uk