The Who’s Pete Townshend Opens Up About Zak Starkey’s Departure, Calling It ‘A Mess’
via Rock News Weekly / YouTube
Confusion After the Split
Pete Townshend admitted he doesn’t fully understand why Zak Starkey was removed from The Who. Speaking to iPaper more than two months after Starkey’s departure, Townshend said, “It’s been a mess.” Starkey, the son of Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, had played with The Who since 1996 and was known for his strong live performances.
The trouble reportedly started after a show at London’s Royal Albert Hall in March. According to reports, lead singer Roger Daltrey had issues with Starkey’s playing. However, Townshend told the outlet that he didn’t see “anything wrong.” He added, “I think Roger just got lost.”
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Internal Decisions and Disagreements
Townshend went on to explain, “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.”
At first, Daltrey said Starkey had “retired” from the band to focus on another project. Starkey had been involved with the group Mantra Of The Cosmos and was expected to spend more time on it. After a short return to The Who, another departure was announced soon after.
Zak Starkey Responds
In May, Starkey posted on Instagram to give his side of the story. “I was fired,” he wrote. “Roger’s new word for it is ‘retired’ to complete my other musical projects… So this is simply a load of bollox … Am I fired, retired, deffo not tired as I’m 20 years younger than these guys as they keep saying.”
The drummer expressed frustration over the changing stories and lack of clarity. His message made it clear that he didn’t step away by choice and felt that the public explanation was misleading.
More Mixed Messages
In a June interview with Rolling Stone, Starkey revealed that he continues to hear conflicting messages from the band. He said Daltrey had reached out about the upcoming tour in Italy. “I spoke to Roger last week,” Starkey said. “He said, ‘Don’t take your drums out of the warehouse, we might be calling you.’ What the f—? These guys are f—in’ insane! I’ve been fired more times than Keith Moon in ten days.”
