Photo by Dino Perrucci

Ginger Baker didn’t have too many good things to say about The Rolling Stones, or anyone for that matter, in a recent interview with Rolling Stone. The former Cream drummer told the magazine that he did not consider the legendary English rockers to be good musicians or songwriters.

When asked if he’d seen The Stones on their recent 50 and Counting Tour, Baker responded, “You’re joking right?” The drummer continued, saying “I mean Charlie is a great friend of mine. I think the world of Charlie [Watts]. When I was living in the States, Charlie came to see me at my house and he said, ‘I’d give you some tickets but I know you would never go!’ I won’t go within 10 miles of a Rolling Stones gig.”

When asked to elaborate, Bakes explained that, “They’re not good musicians, that’s why. The best musician in the Stones is Charlie by a country mile.” He also noted that he did not consider them be good songwriters either.

Later in the interview, Baker also stated that he was not a fan of The Who, saying “I knew Pete Townshend’s dad better than I knew Pete Townshend. I worked with Pete Townshend’s dad in the early Sixties and late Fifties. Keith Moon was a friend of mine but I wouldn’t say he was a great drummer.”

When asked if he was a big Bob Dylan fan, Baker explained that he was “not a big anybody fan.” He later noted that he does like a few girl singers such as “Kelly Rowland, Emeli Sandé.”

Baker recently wrapped up a residency at The Iridium Jazz Club in New York City with his new band Ginger Baker’s Jazz Confusion, which features saxophonist Pee Wee Ellis, bassist Alec Dankworth and percussionist Abbas Dodoo.