Ringo talks about Charlie Watts, John Bonham and plays in Canada

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Imagine it’s the ’70s and three of the best rock-pop drummers in the world are gathered in the attic of Ringo Starr’s house around a drum set during one of his parties.

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In addition to Starr from the Beatles, there’s Charlie Watts from the Jazz-inclined Rolling Stones and the hard-hitting John Bonham from Led Zeppelin.

“Bonham got on the team, so as he played, the kick drum would jump, and Charlie Watts and Ringo were holding the kick drum for him as he played,” Starr, 81, said Wednesday during a Zoom news conference promoting the Friday’s release of their four-song EP, Change the world.

“And you think, ‘Oh man. That would have been a great little video, or TikTok, and it would have spread to the whole world. But in the 70s, I had parties and you will never find photos because I wouldn’t let you take photos at my house. But I always think it would have been a great opportunity. Then we will miss Charlie. A beautiful human being. And he’s like the quiet man. “

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Starr’s EP release comes as the Beatles are about to return to the limelight with Peter Jackson’s release of a newly released version of the 1970 documentary, The Beatles: Get Back, now a whopping six hours, and airs for three nights, November 25-27, on Disney Plus.

Starr highlighted the famous Beatles rooftop concert, which was extended to 43 minutes and only lasted about eight and a half minutes in the original film.

“I love it, but I’m at it, of course, so six hours is never enough,” he said. “And I think everyone will enjoy it because they will see this band work so hard and go through emotional ups and downs to get where we are each time. This is how it was. Four guys in one room, you’re going to have some ups and downs. “

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Starr had planned to begin his last All-Starr Band tour in Canada at the Casino Rama, two hours north of Toronto, in May 2020, but has rescheduled at least twice due to the pandemic.

He said he now hopes to hit the road in 2022.

“I love Casino Rama,” he added. “It is impossible to tell now if it is on. I say in my heart that it’s on, but we’ll see where we are. Overcoming the pandemic has not been easy. But what makes things easier for me is that I have the opportunity to make music. It’s been a very strange year, but when the tour dates come around, I realize, ‘God! I want to be on tour! ‘”

Among the four tracks on Starr’s new EP is a cover of the 1955 song by Bill Haley and his Comets, Rock all day.

Starr said that after spending his seventh birthday (a strong infection after appendicitis) and his fourteenth birthday (tuberculosis) in the hospital, he was determined not to spend his fifteenth birthday in the same way.

“My grandmother and my grandfather took me to the Isle of Man,” Starr said. “And it was incredible because I went to see Rock all day, the movie; I was there. And it was full of crazy tourists in ‘Kiss Me Quick’ hats and a little crazy. And I’m sitting there, and I’ve been to the hospital, and I don’t know too much about what’s going on lately, and they trashed the movie theater. I mean, they threw the chairs … I was saying, ‘Wow! This is great!'”