BEATLES - STARR FEARED MCCARTNEY WOULD REPLACE HIM

BEATLES drummer RINGO STARR worried SIR PAUL MCCARTNEY would replace him in the legendary band - because he kept borrowing his drumkit. Starr feared his bandmate was angling to take his position after realising he was secretly playing his drums. But after hearing MCCartney's attempts on the instrument, the 67-year-old was convinced his place as drummer was safe. He says, "Every time I went for a cup of tea, he was on the drums. You couldn't get the bugger off. "I wasn't there for those songs. It wasn't like I was in the room and he did it. I'd left or something had happened, and so he would play. "But he's not half as good as me. He's an incredible bass player, but he's not a great drummer." Starr went on to insist none of the other Beatles could have done his job either. He adds, "George Harrison had his own way of playing the drums, John Lennon had his own way of playing them, too. "They'd hit them about a bit but they couldn't really play." MCCartney played drums on Beatles tracks Back In The USSR, Dear Prudence and The Ballard Of John And Yoko. He has also taken control of the sticks himself on his more recent solo recordings.