Zak Starkey, the son of none other than The Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, was fired from British rock band The Who (Pete Townshend). Then he was rehired. Then fired again. This all took place in a matter of a couple of weeks. It was primarily due to sound issues and disagreements with The Who’s vocalist, Roger Daltrey, according to guitarist Pete Townshend. So what happened? Let’s unpack this drumming dispute.
Zak Starkey and His Start in Drumming
Ringo Starr (named Richard Starkey) and his wife, Maureen, had a son, Zak. Ringo and Maureen asked The Who drummer Keith Moon to be his godfather. At a young age. Zak showed a great interest in music, particularly drumming. With a super musical family, Zak became a professional musician and played with bands like Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band, The Lightning Seeds, Oasis, and was Roger Daltrey‘s drummer in the 1990s.
Pete Townshend Asks Starkey to Join The Who
In 1994, Zak Starkey joined Daltrey and bassist John Entwistle of The Who to play Pete Townshend’s songs at a special concert at NYC’s Carnegie Hall. In the spring of 1996, Pete asked Zak to join The Who on their Quadrophenia tour. Shortly after the tour concluded, Townshend and Daltrey agreed that Starkey was the ideal permanent replacement for their late drummer, Keith Moon.
The Who Experiences Sound Issues
During their show at London’s Royal Albert Hall for the Teenage Cancer Trust Benefit, Daltrey complained that he couldn’t hear cues for his vocals and that Starkey’s drums were too loud. Daltrey reported that all he heard was the “booming” of the drums. Starkey said that The Who manager Bill Curbishley had called him to inform him of the issue: “Roger says you dropped some beats.” It turns out, according to Starkey, Daltrey’s vocals came in a bar early.
Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend are known not to see eye to eye, as this is a decades-long problem. More recently, they had a discussion on Starkey and decided to let him go from the band. A few days later, he was hired back, but it became clear that there were going to be further issues between him and Daltrey. Townsend later told iPaper about the firing:
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.
Unfortunately, this did result in a permanent boot from the band for Zak Starkey. Rest assured, this talented drummer does have other projects in which he can partake. Currently, Starkey is preparing to tour with Oasis – a band which has had their own share of drama. As for The Who – Scott Devours, the drummer who played with Roger Daltrey’s solo band, is filling in for the upcoming tour.
