Roger Daltrey Comments on Zak Starkey’s Reaction to Being Fired
via The Beatles Rarities / YouTube
Disagreement on Stage
The story of Zak Starkey’s departure from The Who continues, and now Roger Daltrey is sharing his side. In a recent interview with The Times, the 81-year-old singer opened up about his upcoming knighthood, his health, the band’s final American tour, and the fallout with Starkey. Daltrey claims that Starkey’s comments after the March show at the Royal Albert Hall were a form of “character assassination.”
“An audience can see what’s happening on stage and have a complete misunderstanding of what’s actually going on,” Daltrey said. Starkey had said that it was Daltrey who made a mistake that night, not him. In response, Daltrey said, “It was kind of a character assassination and it was incredibly upsetting.”
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What Went Wrong
Daltrey explained that the issue came down to the sound he heard in his in-ear monitors. He said the drum sound was electronic and controlled from the side of the stage. “We had so much sub-bass on the sound of the drums that I couldn’t pitch,” he said. “I was pointing to the bass drum and screaming at him because it was like flying a plane without seeing the horizon. So when Zak thought I was having a go at him, I wasn’t. That’s all that happened.”
In the back-and-forth that followed, Starkey said simply, “I got it right and Roger got it wrong… he came in a bar too early.” Meanwhile, Pete Townshend added his thoughts: “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.”
Why Zak Was Let Go
When asked why Starkey was fired, brought back, and fired again, Daltrey responded firmly. “Pete and I retain the right to be the Who. Everyone else is a session player. You can’t replace Keith Moon. We wanted to branch out and that’s all I want to say about it. But (Starkey’s reaction) was crippling to me.”
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Health Struggles and Touring Concerns
Daltrey also spoke about his health. His eyesight is “not good,” and he shared that he has “incurable macular degeneration.” Since getting meningitis in 2016, he’s dealt with lasting effects. “It’s done a lot of damage,” he said. “It’s buggered up my internal thermometer… The potential to get really ill is there and, I have to be honest, I’m nervous about making it to the end of the tour.”
