MANTRA OF THE COSMOS
RETURN WITH PSYCHEDELIC BANGER ‘DOMINO BONES (GETS DANGEROUS)’
SUPERGROUP FEATURING ZAK STARKEY,
SHAUN RYDER, BEZ AND ANDY BELL WILL PLAY LIVERPOOL’S THE CAVERN CLUB TO CELEBRATE
OASIS STAR NOEL GALLAGHER JOINS
FOR NEW SINGLE
19th January 2025 will see the vinyl release of Domino Bones (Gets Dangerous), the new psychedelic single by supergroup Mantra Of The Cosmos – featuring Oasis star Noel Gallagher.
To mark the release, the band, led by son of Ringo Starr and drummer extraordinaire Zak Starkey will take to the stage at the legendary Cavern Club (19th January), famous for hometown performances by The Beatles. ‘Domino Bones (Gets Dangerous)’ marks the band’s latest outing following the heady, driving singles ‘Gorilla Guerilla’ and ‘X (Wot You Sayin?)’ in 2023, a year which also saw the band make their Glastonbury Festival debut as a headline act on the Glade Stage.
The single will be available for fans to purchase from Sunday 19th January in red or blue vinyl, available at the gig and from the Cavern Club store, along with T-shirts featuring Noel Gallagher.
The epitome of the term ‘supergroup’, Mantra Of The Cosmos is a turbo-charged combination of some of Britain’s most exciting and unpredictable bands. Shaun Ryder takes on lead vocal duties with Happy Mondays bandmate Bez on percussion. The group has Andy Bell of Ride, Oasis and Hurricane #1 on guitar and Noel Gallagher joins on vocals for the new single. Starkey himself has a portfolio which boasts stints in The Who, Oasis, Johnny Marr and the Healers and The Lightning Seeds. Starkey also collaborated with his father in Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band during the early to mid ‘90s.
Starkey describes the song as “Free Bird for Mods”, with a Noel Gallagher vocal, around which Starkey built the track, playing drums, bass, guitar and keyboards. Gallagher sings the chorus and Ryder the verses, while Bell adds an extended solo. The song title is the name of Bez’s first band.
Speaking about Domino Bones, Starkey says: “It’s not every day that the greatest songwriter of my generation – not to mention Shaun, the greatest beat poet of our times – sends a tune to me and I was in a daze for a bit cos it’s not something you want to f*** up! It came together great – everyone digs it!
“Noel loves Shaun. He texted me to say ‘Do you know what you’ve got? The British Bob Dylan’ – and he’s not f***ing about because now I’ve witnessed what Shaun does. Noel calls him the ‘king of lyrics’.”
Noel Gallagher says of the band: “Mantra Of The Cosmos is like Dylan, Dali and Ginsberg on a rocketship to the moon to have it with the Clangers.”
Starkey has only visited Liverpool once before to visit his grandparents, and at the Cavern Mantra of the Cosmos will play two sets on January 19th, at 3pm and 8pm, with Bell and Ryder scheduled to DJ in between. The night will be compered by Philip Regen, AKA “The Queen Of Scotty Road”, and support will come from Liverpool band Keyside, as well as Chloe Slater for the later set.
The Cavern, often described as ‘the cradle of British pop music’, is arguably one of the most significant venues in pop, rock music history.
The choice of show for the band’s return was a personal one for Starkey, who says: “Can’t believe I’ve never even been there. There’s a great deal of family heritage at the cavern aside from the Beatles my parents courted there…who knows, I may have even been conceived there!”
Starkey says: “It’s great to be playing there and they’re great people, really looking after us. The Cavern was rebuilt but it’s the original in spirit and I’m buzzing to be doing it.”
At a time when grassroots venues are under huge financial pressure, with many closing or at risk, Starkey champions their importance for new music.
Starkey says: “It’s what’s missing now in music – there should be Caverns everywhere. You used to be able to play almost every night of the week without a record deal. I started gigging when I was 12 and we used to play at the Hope and Anchor, Dingwalls, The Half Moon in Putney, The Golden Lion in Fulham, Goldsmiths College, the lot. The Electric Stadium in Chadwell Heath – everywhere. It’s vital that bands can learn their craft – and that they can get on a bill. It’s essential really for a group.”
Mantra Of The Cosmos – rock legends come together
Starkey says: “I first met Noel in a rehearsal room, John Henry’s in Brewery Road in London. I was in a band called Face during Britpop times and it was early 1995 and he came in and watched a bit. I met his brother for the first time at Oasis’s Earls Court shows in 1996. We’re Mods so we got on straight away.
“Every time I saw Liam, I used to go: ‘Alright Liam, still the greatest rock and roll singer in the world?’ He’d go: ‘Alright Zak, still the greatest rock and roll drummer in the world?’ That was going on for years as a joke. Who knew what was going to happen? Nobody knew that was going to happen, that’s for sure. That was a surprise for everyone wasn’t it?”
Starkey began drumming for Oasis in 2004, playing on Don’t Believe The Truth and Dig Your Own Soul.
In 2015, Starkey met Shaun Ryder during the filming of a returning TFI Friday. Starkey was the bandleader for a group featuring Liam Gallagher, Roger Daltrey, Ian Broudie, Bonehead, and Jay Mehler, which played ‘My Generation’.
Starkey says: “Shaun was on the show, and we literally said hello for five minutes and then a photograph – and that was it. Then I just cold called him about this group, which I didn’t want to be about guitars – I wanted to be about his words. He immediately said yes.
“I asked if his mate (Bez) was going to be in it and he said: ‘He doesn’t know yet – but he is.’”
Starkey knew Andy Bell through their work in Oasis and the pair share a mantra, along with Oasis guitarist Gem Archer, having learnt transcendental meditation from Nancy Cooke de Herrera, who also taught The Beatles and was the mother of the famous ‘Bungalow Bill’ of the John Lennon penned song. Ryder and Bez make up the ‘Cosmos’ side of the band’s name.
In 2023 Mantra Of The Cosmos launched with the singles ‘Gorilla Guerilla’ and ‘X (Wot You Sayin?)’, and a Glastonbury Festival debut. Further singles are planned for 2025.
DOMINO BONES WILL BE EXCLUSIVELY AVAILABLE ON VINYL AT THE CAVERN SHOW AND FROM THE VENUE’S WEBSITE