Ringo Starr’s Son Was Banned From a Bar for Flying Into a Rage When They Played a Beatles Song
Ringo Starr’s son was banned from his local pub after they committed what was, in his eyes, an unforgivable sin. The offense? Playing a song by his father’s former band. Zak Starkey had a tenuous relationship with his father and detested comparisons drawn between the two of them. Surprisingly, all this proved was that Starkey was more like Starr than he might have thought.
Ringo Starr’s son didn’t like when people compared him to his father
Like his father, Starkey is a drummer. These days, he appreciates comparisons to Starr, who he described as the greatest living drummer. In his youth, though, he prickled against the constant comparisons and blamed Starr for them.
“He would be mentioned in a newspaper as ‘Zak Starr, son of Ringo Starr’ and he would get furious,” Starr said, per the book The Beatles: The Authorized Biography by Hunter Davies. “I told him that I didn’t ring up the papers, telling them to put my name in, but he seemed to think it was my fault. He just didn’t understand how newspapers work. Then he came to me one day and said he thought the group was just using him, for his name. Son, I said, you’ve got a lot to learn.”
Starkey wanted to be a drummer in his own right. He also had a fraught relationship with Starr, who admitted to often being absent. As a result, he found ways to rebel against his family name.
A bar banned Ringo Starr’s son for his behavior
While at his local pub, Starkey’s frustrations with his father got the better of him. After hearing a Beatles song, he flew into a drunken rage.
“Ringo Starr’s rebel-rousing son, Zak, has been banned from his local pub after swearing at the landlord for playing a tape of Beatles hits,” the Sun reported, per The Beatles: Off The Record 2 — The Dream is Over by Keith Badman. “Seventeen-year-old Zak went wild when songs by his father’s former group boomed out during a Christmas Eve party. He shouted for the music to be changed but the Fab Four sang on and Zak started hurling abuse at publican, Mike Gillings.”
Eventually, staff kicked Starkey out of the pub and told him not to come back.
“Mr. Gillings’ wife, Sandy, 39, said, ‘He was drunk and abusive and we won’t take that from anyone, not even the son of a Beatle.’ Mr. Gillings, 36, revealed that Zak has caused trouble in the past.”
This proved that the father and son were alike, even though Starkey resented comparisons
Like his son, venues have also kicked Starr out for disorderly conduct. He’s a lot like his son for a different reason, though. Somewhat surprisingly, Starkey’s unwillingness to hear The Beatles makes him more like Starr than one might expect.
While a Beatles song won’t send Starr into a fury, he does not like speaking about his former band. It’s nearly impossible to avoid the subject — all the Beatles had to reflect on the band even decades after they split. Still, multiple journalists have noted that Starr is unwelcoming and even hostile to questions about his former group. He wanted interviews to focus on his solo career, both in music and film.
Like his son, Starr wanted to build a reputation outside of his legacy with the group. While Starkey didn’t want people comparing him to Starr, they were alike in more ways than even they might have expected.
