Ken tried to change getting messed about (8)
I believe the answer is:
tinkered
'messed about' is the definition.
'ken tried to change' is the wordplay.
'to change' is an anagram indicator.
'ken'+'tried'='kentried'
'kentried' anagrammed gives 'TINKERED'.
'getting' is the link.
(Other definitions for tinkered that I've seen before include "Was meddling" , "Fiddled with, trying to repair" , "Fiddled trivially (with)" .)