The one drummer Stewart Copeland and Phil Collins agree is the greatest ever
When it comes to the art of drumming, progressive rock icons Stewart Copeland and Phil Collins have likely forgotten more than most will ever know.
Just 18 months (and the Atlantic) separated the births of Copeland and Collins. Different continents, fair enough, but both were knocked sideways by the music bug in the swinging sixties, lapping up the same jumble of sounds that ended up colouring the way they went about things.
But as we all know already, if the 1960s were to be distilled into one musical act, it would be The Beatles. They didn’t follow the musical trends of the decade. They led the way, and the rest of the pack merely did their best to try and cling to their tail. By the time others successfully managed to catch up, the Fab Four had popped another tab of acid and changed course, entering new, inventive directions.
You’ve read Far Out long enough now to know that Paul McCartney, John Lennon, and George Harrison rightly have their names bestowed with a level of prestige that is reserved for a select few. After all, Macca and Lennon wrote and sang the bulk of the compositions, while Harrison made his guitar fucking sing like no other. However, none of their achievements were possible without the unsung hero Ringo Starr.
Starr was the final piece of the jigsaw for The Beatles before world domination became a cause for consideration. He was never a self-indulgent drummer who hogged the limelight with ten-minute solos, which is what made him the perfect candidate for the Fab Four.
“It’s difficult to quite explain to anybody that wasn’t actually young then. It just framed my life,” Collins once said about his love of The Beatles, which shaped his adolescence and byone. “Those songs, the sound of those records still baffled me and impressed me.”
He then highlighted two examples of Starr’s star quality, adding, “‘Tomorrow Never Knows’, listen to the drum part, you know, ‘Day In Life’ listen to the drum part. I’ve been a staunch supporter of Ringo, while a lot of people have kind of haven’t seen the fuss.”
Collins said that Ringo’s special skill was how he “brought drums out from the back and made people listen to them slightly.” He also believes Starr made people believe drumming was easy because he was so technically proficient. Using ‘All My Loving’ as an example, Collins said it “is a difficult kind of song to play” but Starr makes it sound “like an easy shuffle”.
Copeland agrees with this view, which is further proof, as if it were even needed, that Collins knows what he’s talking about when the subject is drumming.
During an interview with Far Out in 2022, The Police’s sticksman said of the changing perspective on Starr as a drummer, “At long last, he’s being appreciated for the musician he is.”
He then shared precisely why he believes Starr is one of the best in the business, adding, “Normally, singers and guitarists just want a backbeat: ‘Give us a simple backbeat, nothing flashy.’ Ringo did more than that, and it was refreshing to hear a drummer who did.”
As Starr reluctantly proved on ‘Rain’, he did have the ability to be a Flash Harry if he wanted to be; however, he didn’t. Instead, Starr provided a canvas that allowed his bandmates to paint freely, and pushed The Beatles to greatness without ever making a song and dance about it. While it may have taken the wider world too long to appreciate his brilliance, those in the know, like Copeland and Collins, always admired his magnificence.
