Shocking footage filmed by Metro shows the moment The Who’s lead singer Roger Daltrey kicked off at drummer Zak Starkey just two weeks before he was sacked from the band.
Yesterday, news came that The Who have sacked their drummer Starkey following their Royal Albert Hall gigs, in which Daltrey got visibly frustrated at the former Oasis drummer.
Starkey, 59, who is godson to the late The Who drummer Keith Moon and the son of Sir Ringo Starr, has drummed with the My Generation rockers for 29 years.
At the London gig on March 30 – reviewed by Metro – during hit song Can You See The Real Me, Daltrey stopped singing and guitarist Pete Townshend was forced to fill in for him.
Footage shows Daltrey, 81, holding his head in his hand in exasperation, seemingly refusing to continue.
After they stopped the song, Daltrey said: ‘We’ve got a big problem up here. I can sing to some things, but I can’t sing to that f***ing racket.’
The vocalist then reiterated that he couldn’t hear properly, and asked Townshend if he was experiencing the same.
‘The wedges just need pushing up,’ said Townshend, asking backstage to ‘make the drums louder, please’. But later on in the gig it seemed Daltrey was complaining of the drums being too loud.
After the problems persisted, on the final track, the emotional The Song Is Over, Roger stopped the concert.
He then explained in the video: ‘To sing that song I do need to hear the key, and I can’t. All I’ve got is drums going boom, boom, boom. I can’t sing to that. I’m sorry guys.’
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A spokesperson for The Who announced yesterday: ‘The band made a collective decision to part ways with Zak after this round of shows at the Royal Albert Hall. They have nothing but admiration for him and wish him the very best for his future.’
Metro reviewed the Royal Albert Hall gig, noting that it was impacted by stoppages throughout, with Daltrey complaining of not being able to hear the music properly.
‘I’m very proud of my near thirty years with The Who,’ Starkey has now said in a written statement via Rolling Stone.
‘Filling the shoes of my Godfather, “uncle Keith” has been the biggest honour and I remain their biggest fan.
‘They’ve been like family to me. In January, I suffered a serious medical emergency with blood clots in my right bass drum calf. This is now completely healed and does not affect my drumming or running.’
He added: ‘After playing those songs with the band for so many decades, I’m surprised and saddened anyone would have an issue with my performance that night, but what can you do?
‘I plan to take some much needed time off with my family, and focus on the release of [single] Domino Bones by Mantra Of The Cosmos with Noel Gallagher in May and finishing my autobiography written solely by me.
‘Twenty-nine years at any job is a good old run, and I wish them the best.’
Zak suggested on his social media page two days ago that lead singer Daltrey was ‘unhappy’ with his recent performances at the iconic London venue.
Although largely misspelt, Zak seemed to suggest in the post that they were going to ‘Zak [or sack] the drummer’ after accusing him of ‘overplaying’ at the Teenage Cancer Trust shows.
The Who’s original drummer Moon – who was also a good friend of Sir Ringo Starr – bought Starkey his first drumkit at the age of eight.
While Starkey first performed with The Who in 1996, 18 years after Moon’s death, he recorded Under A Raging Moon with Daltrey in 1984.
He also recorded with the late John Entwistle, who co-founded The Who with Daltrey and Townshend, for his 1996 album The Rock.
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