Zak Starkey might well be the most well-connected man in rock’n’roll. The son of Beatles legend Ringo, he’s also clocked up lengthy stints drumming with two more of the UK’s biggest ever bands: joining Oasis from 2004 to 2009, and playing with The Who for the best part of 30 years, until a recent well-publicised firing.
The latest addition to his hefty CV has been Starkey’s current band Mantra of the Cosmos: a wild, acid rock joyride co-passengered by Shaun Ryder and Bez of the Happy Mondays, plus his former Oasis bandmate and Ride frontman Andy Bell. Starkey, a disarmingly honest and ego-less conversationalist with absolutely zero filter, is loath to call them a supergroup. “It’s a fantastic group. I try not to use ‘supergroup’ but now I’ve realised I’m not gonna sell many records unless I say it…” he shrugs.
