Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason doesn’t count Ringo Starr as a hero: ‘I wanted to be something a bit wilder’

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In talking about his influences, Nick Mason is quick to praise Ringo Starr for his impact with the Beatles. But Starr doesn’t make the list.

“I think, like most drummers, our styles reflect our heroes at the time,” Mason tells RTL2. “So, there was part of me that wanted to be Ginger Baker, and part that wanted to be Keith Moon.”

When Mason pauses to reach for another impactful drummer, however, the interviewer suggests Starr. Mason polite demurs: “Not really Ringo,” he says. “I think Ringo’s a great drummer, and he’s perfect for the Beatles — but I didn’t want to be one of the Beatles. I wanted to be something a bit wilder.”

In the end, Nick Mason — the only Pink Floyd member to have appeared on each of the group’s studio efforts — actually isn’t sure where he ranks among such luminaries, anyway.

“I still have a very low opinion of my drumming,” Mason adds, “but it works — even though I now realize that it works.”

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