Pete Townshend Doesn’t Understand Why Zak Starkey Got Fired

Pete Townshend might be a founding member of The Who, but even he’s a bit confused about what really happened with drummer Zak Starkey. Starkey was let go back in April after frontman Roger Daltrey reportedly wasn’t happy with his performance of “The Song Is Over” at the Teenage Cancer Trust show in London. Oddly enough, Zak was brought back into the band just days later—only to be dismissed again. His spot is now filled by drummer Scott Devours.

Starkey Says Daltrey Was the One Off Beat

Zak recently opened up about the firing in an interview with The Telegraph, claiming the mistake wasn’t his at all. According to him, it was Daltrey who came in early during the song. Starkey recalled:

“I got a call from… the manager, [and] he says, ‘It’s my unfortunate duty to inform you… that you won’t be needed from now on.’
“‘Roger says you dropped some beats.’ I watched the show and I can’t find any dropped beats. Then Pete had to go along with it because Pete’s had 60 years of arguing with Roger.”

Townshend: ‘It Kind of Got Out of Hand’

Speaking to i Paper, Pete Townshend admitted he didn’t notice anything wrong with Starkey’s drumming either. He said:

“I couldn’t see anything wrong.
“What you see is a band who haven’t played together for a long time. But I think it was probably to do with the sound. I’ve lost my sound man as a result.”

Townshend added:

“I think Roger just got lost. Roger’s finding it difficult. I have to be careful what I say about Roger because he gets angry if I say anything about him at all. He’ll be sacking me next. But that’s not to say that he sacked Zak. It’s a decision Roger and I tried to make together, but it kind of got out of hand.”

He also reminded fans that Starkey originally joined The Who at Daltrey’s request. Townshend said:

“I didn’t invite him in, right? Roger invited him.
“And at that time, I don’t know quite why he chose Zak, but Zak is another Keith Moon. He comes with real, real bonuses and real, real difficulties.”