Drummer Zak Starkey is not parting company with The Who, despite issuing a statement to the contrary.
Pete Townshend clarified Starkey’s status with the band after the drummer, who is the son of The Beatles’ Sir Ringo Starr and godson of The Who’s original member Keith Moon, issued a statement earlier this week saying he was parting ways with them.
Starkey is ‘not being asked to step down from The Who’, Townshend, 79, said in a statement on Instagram, alongside a photo of him hugging Starkey on a stage.
‘There have been some communication issues, personal and private on all sides, that needed to be dealt with, and these have been aired happily,’ he explained.
He noted that he and The Who singer and co-founder Roger Daltrey, 81, asked Zak to ‘tighten up his latest evolved drumming style to accommodate our non-orchestral line-up’, which the drummer agreed to.
The guitarist also said that he takes ‘responsibility for some of the confusion’ following The Who’s Royal Albert Hall show last month.
‘We are a family, this blew up very quickly and got too much oxygen. It’s over,’ he continued. ‘We move forward now with optimism and fire in our bellies.’
Starkey, who has been with the band for 29 years, spoke out last week after it was announced he’d been sacked from the band.
The news broke yesterday that the My Generation hitmakers were parting ways with the 59-year-old after their Royal Albert Hall gigs in March.
Days before news of the sacking came, Starkey suggested on his social media page that lead singer Daltrey was ‘unhappy’ with his recent performances at the iconic London venue.
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Although largely misspelt, Starkey seemed to suggest in the social media post that they were going to ‘Zak [or sack] the drummer’ after accusing him of ‘overplaying’ at the Teenage Cancer Trust shows.
‘I’m very proud of my near thirty years with The Who,’ Starkey 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.’
A spokesperson for The Who told Metro on Tuesday: ‘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 one of the band’s London gigs, and noted vocalist Roger Daltrey complained of not being able to hear, and even stopped the gig on multiple occasions.
After a few frustrated arm gestures and comments throughout the evening, on the final track, the emotional The Song Is Over, Roger had to stop the concert, explaining: ‘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.’
At another point, Daltrey stopped the show and 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.’
Who is Zak Starkey?
Zak Richard Starkey was born in September 1965 to the Beatles’ drummer Ringo Starr (Richard Starkey) and Maureen Starkey, Starr’s first wife.
Former The Who drummer Keith Moon bought Starkey his first drumkit at the age of eight and by 12 he was playing in a band called The Next in pubs.
Starkey was called on in 1996 and continued to play with the band for 29 years until now.
It is a shock move especially considering the close family and historical connection The Who has to Starkey – whose godfather was Moon.
In 1984 Starkey recorded Under A Raging Moon with Daltrey, and went on to record with Entwistle on his solo album, The Rock.
In the mid-90s he began playing for the Daltrey Sings Townshend tour and in 1996 he drummed for The Who on their Quadrophenia tour.
Starkey – who also drummed for Oasis in the noughties – has recorded with the likes of Johnny Marr, The Lightning Seeds, The Hollywood Vampires, Joe Perry, Paul Weller, Graham Coxon and Mick Jones of The Clash.
He also plays guitar in his band SSHH. In 2017, Zak and Sshh founded record label Trojan Jamaica, releasing recordings by the likes of Toots and The Maytals, Santigold, and Shaggy.
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