Ringo Starr ‘Almost Fainted’ When He Learned His Son Got Married
Ringo Starr and his eldest son, Zak Starkey, had a complicated relationship during Starkey’s upbringing. They fought often, and Starkey, who is also a drummer, resented being compared to his father. Their relationship has greatly improved over the years. It likely helped, at least in part, to see how similar they were, which Starkey proved with his marriage. Starr was so surprised to hear this that he nearly fainted.
Ringo Starr had a complicated relationship with his son
Starr and Starkey frequently clashed over the years. Their relationship was rocky enough that Starkey flew into a rage when he heard The Beatles playing at a bar. Eventually, Starr kicked Starkey out of his house.
“Oh, the usual, parent-child rows,” Starr said, per The Beatle: The Authorized Biography by Hunter Davies. “I’m sure you’ve been through them. I always loved him, I know that, but I didn’t always like his attitude. It didn’t get very friendly, living all together. In the end, I threw him out after a row. It was all stupid and trivial. We just began to feel that we were being ignored by this teenager. He would eat and sleep at home, but not talk to us at all. So I chucked him out.”
Ringo Starr could hardly believe that his son got married
When Starkey was 20, he married his first wife, Sarah Menikides.
“It wasn’t love at first sight,” he told the Chicago Tribune. “We were friends first, because we used to hang around with the same people. I was going off on tour so we decided to marry before we went.”
They married quietly and afterward, Starkey called Starr to tell him he had a surprise.
“I thought it must be some sort of recording deal,” Starr said, per the book Ringo: With a Little Help by Michael Seth Starr. “When I got home, it turned out that he’d got married that morning. We’ve known the girl, Sarah, for some time. We didn’t expect them to get married, not just then, but I was quite glad he’d done it secretly, with no fuss. I couldn’t be more pleased.”
Starkey said Starr was so shocked by the news that he nearly fainted.
“They couldn’t believe it,” Starkey said. “My dad almost fainted. But everyone was really pleased.”
This showed how alike they were
Starkey and Menikides moved into a cottage on Starr’s estate. By this point, their relationship had much improved, possibly because Starr realized how alike they were.
“We didn’t expect them to get married, not just then, but I was quite glad he’d done it secretly, with no fuss,” Starr said. “I couldn’t be more pleased. She’s very nice. They’re like chalk and cheese, but so are me and Barbara, and it works. Barbara’s not musical, doesn’t like staying up late. Basically she’s quiet, yet she’s married to a rock drummer. You know how noisy they can be. Sarah’s done the same thing.”
Like his son, Starr got married and started a family at a young age. In the more challenging periods of their relationship, Starr might have been upset with his son for the surprise wedding. His comparison here shows that he was thinking about the connections between father and son.
