The Who Launch ‘The Song Is Over’ Farewell Tour with New Drummer—WATCH

Farewell Tour Begins in Italy

The Who have started their farewell tour, The Song Is Over, with a show in Italy. This tour marks a big change for the band, as they’re now performing with a new drummer. The band had announced the tour back in May, and their first show took place at Anfiteatro Camerini in Piazzola sul Brenta.

This performance was also the first without longtime drummer Zak Starkey. He was removed from the group shortly after the farewell tour was revealed. Starkey later shared that the band had asked him to lie about the reason he left. His father, Ringo Starr of The Beatles, also criticized Roger Daltrey over how the situation was handled. Scott Devours, who had played drums in Daltrey’s solo group, has now taken over as the drummer for the tour.

Classic Songs and Rare Return

The show in Italy featured many of The Who’s biggest songs, including My Generation, Pinball Wizard, and Baba O’Riley. Fans were especially excited to hear I’ve Had Enough from their 1978 album Who Are You, a song they hadn’t performed in over a decade.

Here is the full setlist from the Piazzola sul Brenta show:

‘I Can’t Explain’
‘Substitute’
‘Who Are You’
‘Love Ain’t for Keepin’’
‘Bargain’
‘The Seeker’
‘Pinball Wizard’
‘Behind Blue Eyes’
‘The Real Me’
‘5:15’
‘I’m One’‘I’ve
Had Enough’
‘Love, Reign O’er Me’
‘Eminence Front’
‘My Generation’
‘Cry If You Want’
‘See Me, Feel Me’
‘You Better You Bet’
‘Baba O’Riley’
‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’

Inside the Drummer Drama

Zak Starkey’s firing followed a show at the Royal Albert Hall in March, where Daltrey publicly called him out for overplaying during The Song Is Over. Pete Townshend later said he didn’t see anything wrong with the performance. Starkey spoke with NME and said, “Pete said, ‘Are you strong enough to fight for your job back?’ I said, ‘Not if you’ve got to do it for me.’”

Starkey added, “Roger demanded a public apology and me admitting that I dropped two beats. So I did it, but with a duck playing drums – which is my character in the new Mantra Of The Cosmos video. Pete phoned me and he went, ‘Try that again without the duck’. I did it without the duck, got the gig back – 10 days later, sacked again.”

 

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Still in Contact, More Shows Ahead

Even after being let go, Starkey remains in contact with both Daltrey and Townshend. “I still talk to Roger every week on the phone, I still text with Pete all the time,” he said. “Roger said, ‘Don’t take your drums out of the warehouse just yet in case we need you.’ What the fuck’s going on, man?”

After Italy, The Who will head to North America. Their tour begins on August 16 in Florida and ends on September 28 in Las Vegas. Special guests include Billy Idol, Joe Bonamassa, Feist, Candlebox, and more. It’s still unknown if they’ll tour the UK or Europe.