Ringo Starr Kicked His Son Out Because He ‘Couldn’t Stand’ His Arrogance

Ringo Starr and his son, Zak Starkey, had a fraught relationship throughout Starkey’s youth. Starr admitted that he was often absent during his children’s upbringing, and Starkey, who is also a drummer, resented being compared to his famous father. Tensions between the two grew so unbearable that Starr eventually kicked his son out of the house. 

Ringo Starr has two sons who are drummers

Starkey said he drew more inspiration from other drummers than his father, but both Starr’s sons followed in their father’s musical footsteps. Starr believed Starkey was talented but worried his younger son, Jason, was too shy.

“I’ve been telling Jason he’ll have to get over that if he wants to appear on stage,” he said, per the book The Beatles: The Authorized Biography by Hunter Davies. “The other day he came to me and said he had this idea. He would play the drums in one room, on his own, while they filmed him on video, then he could be shown with the group on stage. He had it all worked out.”

Starkey went on to drum with bands like The Who and Oasis. Jason worked professionally as a drummer too, but he also found success as a road manager and photographer.

Ringo Starr kicked his son out of the house

Starr and Starkey’s relationship grew increasingly complicated when the latter began working as a drummer. He couldn’t stand being compared to his father and blamed Starr when this happened. He also resented Starr’s marriage to Barbara Bach . 

“Zak complained that his father spent too much time abroad and was never around at an age where he needed him most,” Peter Butler, Starkey’s former manager, told the New York Daily News. “Above all, Zak had a terrible pent-up bitterness and resentment towards Ringo, especially when he married Barbara Bach.”

This resentment led to violent fights between the father and son. Eventually, Starr kicked Starkey out of the house.

“I’m afraid I had to take this action because, quite honestly, I couldn’t stand my son’s arrogance any longer,” Starr said. 

Looking back, Starr said the arguments were mainly trivial, but he didn’t like that his son ignored him unless they were fighting.

“I always loved him, I know that, but I didn’t always like his attitude,” he said. “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. He left for about six months, then he came back. He now lives in a cottage on the estate and we’re much closer.”

Their relationship improved somewhat after Zak Starkey’s marriage

Their relationship improved while living apart and also after Starkey surprised his family by getting married. Starr said he saw shades of his own marriage in Starkey’s relationship.

“We’ve known the girl, Sarah [Menakides] for some time,” Starr said. “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. 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.”

In more recent years, Starr and Starkey’s relationship has improved even further. Starkey said he is proud to have the drummer as his father.