Ringo Starr has paid tribute to the late Rolling Stones’ drummer Charlie Watts, who died last month aged 80 surrounded by his friends and family.
‘He was a beautiful human being,’ The Beatles musician, 81, said of his fellow drummer as he recalled their days of wild partying together in the 70s.
Speaking to MailOnline and other media to promote his new EP Change The World, Ringo said: ‘Charlie was a great guy and a lot of fun and he had a harder band than I did to keep together.’
‘He was a beautiful human being’: Ringo Starr has paid tribute to the late Rolling Stones’ drummer Charlie Watts and recalled their days of wild partying together in the 70s (pictured in 2019)
Looking back fondly on one memorable night with Charlie and Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham, Ringo said: ‘I had a party in the 70s and I had a drum kit up in the attic.
‘Charlie came and so did John Bonham and so we’ve got three drummers just hanging out and Bonham got on the kit.
‘But because it wasn’t like when you’re on stage and you nail them down so they’re steady it was just there. So, as he was playing, the bass drum was hopping away from him.’
Ringo then described how he and Charlie held the bass drum down onto the floor as John played, affectionately adding: ‘We will miss Charlie. He was a beautiful human being… He was like The Quiet Man.’
Pals: Charlie Watts died last month aged 80 surrounded by his friends and family and was described by Ringo as ‘a great guy and a lot of fun’
‘We’re going to miss you man’: Ringo also shared a touching tribute to Charlie on Twitter last month
Despite turning 81 years old in July, Ringo shows no signs of slowing down his career and is set to release a new EP on Friday.
The music legend recorded the tracks in his at-home studio Roccabella West alongside his many talented friends in the business.
Ringo shared: ‘I’ve been saying I only want to release EPs at this point and this is the next one.
‘What a blessing it’s been during this year to have a studio here at home and be able to collaborate with so many great musicians, some I’ve worked with before and some new friends.’
Hitmaker: Ringo’s new EP is set to be released this Friday and was recorded at Ringo’s Roccabella West studio where he joined forces with his A-list musical pals during lockdown
The lead single Let’s Change The World is an optimistic track that features backing vocals from Amy Keys, Zelma Davis, Billy Valentine and Darryl Phinnessee.
Another of the tracks, Just That Way, sees Ringo join forces with the likes of Tony Chen and Zho Davis.
Coming Undone represents Ringo’s first collaboration with Linda Perry, who wrote the new track having penned hundreds of other hits, including Christina Aguilera’s Beautiful.
The final track on the EP sees Ringo once again join forces with guitarist Joe Walsh to cover the classic 50s track Rock Around The Clock.
New music: The lead single Let’s Change The World is an optimistic track that features backing vocals from Amy Keys, Zelma Davis, Billy Valentine and Darryl Phinnessee.
Ringo also revealed the details of the upcoming documentary by Peter Jackson: The Beatles: Get Back, which is slated for release in November.
The three part series will show the ’emotional ups and downs’ of the band’s final years, including unseen footage from their famous rooftop performance in 1969.
Looking back on the final years of the band, Ringo said: ‘The Beatles, we were always going to Turkey or somewhere or we’re going up Everest or we’re in a desert or Hawaii or a volcano or sod it lets just walk across the road.
‘And with this one [performance]… lets just do it on the roof! And that’s what we did and it was great.’
Gushing about the documentary, he joked: ‘I love it because I’m in it, of course. So, six hours is never long enough.’
Ringo added: ‘Everyone will enjoy it because you see this band work really hard and went through emotional ups and downs to get to where we got, every time.
‘But that’s just how it was. Four guys in a room. You’re going to have a few ups and downs.’
Collab: Ringo also revealed details of the upcoming three part documentary by Peter Jackson: The Beatles: Get Back, which is slated for release in November (pictured together in 2019)
‘That’s just how it was’: The three part series will show the ’emotional ups and downs’ of the band’s final years
Peter’s new documentary came into being when Apple discovered 56 hours of unused footage from Michael Lindsay-Hogg’s 1970s documentary on the band: Let It Be.
Let It Be provided insight into the dissension in the group, which ultimately culminated in Paul McCartney leaving The Beatles later that year.
Of the original film, Ringo said admitted: ‘I was always moaning about the original. There’s no real joy in it. It was all based on this downer little incident.’
Peter would come into LA and bring stuff to show me on his iPad. In January, as musicians, we’d made a record and done that roof gig. So, we’d played live again.
There’s a great piece in the film for me, where Paul says “well, who wants to play live?” and you can hear me in the background going “I do!”.
And we did and always the Beatles we were going to Turkey somewhere or we’re going up Everest or we’re in a desert or Hawaii or a volcano or sod it lets just walk across the road. And with this one lets just do it on the roof and that’s what we did and it was great.