Pete Townshend of The Who is still not 100% sure why Zak Starkey was fired from the band.
The saga of Starkey’s departure has been playing out for several months now, with the drummer being fired from The Who back in April, re-hired just days later, and subsequently re-fired in May and replaced by Scott Devour. Townshend originally offered an explanation after Starkey was re-hired, with the co-bandleader claiming it was a result of “communication issues, personal and private on all sides, that needed to be dealt with, and these have been aired happily.”
Now relieved of his duties a second time, Starkey has told his side of the story, claiming that Roger Daltrey was frustrated by the drummer allegedly dropping beats during a show in London. “I watched the show and I can’t find any dropped beats,” Starkey told The Telegraph this month. Townshend agrees, telling i Paper that he also didn’t hear anything wrong with Starkey’s performance and that any issues Daltrey found were probably with the sound.
Related Video
“I couldn’t see anything wrong,” he said. “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 continued, saying “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.”
Townshend also noted that Daltrey himself had hired Starkey, whom he felt was as unpredictable as the band’s former drummer. “I didn’t invite him in, right? Roger invited him,” he said. “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.”
While we’ve heard from both Starkey and Townshend about the situation, we’ve yet to hear any explanations from Daltrey on why Starkey was let go. Whatever the reason, Daltrey has certainly caught the ire of Starkey’s father, Ringo Starr, over the decision, with The Beatle apparently telling his son that he’s “never liked the way that little man runs that band.”
The Who are set to begin their North American farewell tour in August, which they’re describing as their “truly grand finale.” Get tickets to see The Who here.
Content shared from consequence.net.