Ringo's son joins Oasis tour

Oasis are to take their fascination with The Beatles a step further by using Zak Starkey, the son of Ringo Starr, as their drummer at the Glastonbury Festival this summer, it emerged today.

Noel Gallagher told the BBC’s 6 Music that he had been working with them in the studio and would join them on tour and for the festival next month.

He said: “We’ve known Zak for a while and we asked him if he’d play on a few songs and he said yeah, and he has done and it’s been absolutely fantastic.”

He reckoned Zak was stylish enough to join them even though he wasn’t from Manchester. “He’s a good boy, he’s got a good haircut... Good shoes – which is important.”

He said it was a pity the band did not have any new material to play at Glastonbury – “but I think we kind of George Best’ed it the last time we headlined it so this time will be great I think, but then again we’re not doing ourselves any favours because Zak’s first gig will be to 150,000 people but y’know... He’s rehearsing all the Oasis songs now.”

Asked whether Oasis were becoming The Beatles Mark II, Gallagher said: “As long as I’m not becoming Paul McCartney it’ll be all right.”

A spokeswoman for the group said today that a permanent replacement for the last drummer, Alan White, had yet to be confirmed.