After several days of uncharacteristic public drama, the Who have rehired drummer Zak Starkey, who was let go earlier this week following a 29-year-stint filling the late Keith Moon’s shoes. Starkey, 59, is the son of Beatles great Ringo Starr.
In a post on the Who’s web site, guitarist Pete Townshend says, “News flash! Who back Zak!’ Zak is not being asked to step down from the Who. There have been some communication issues, personal and private, on all sides that needed to be dealt with, and these have been aired happily. We are a family. This blew up very quickly and got too much oxygen. It’s over. We move forward now with optimism and fire in our bellies.”
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The issues stemmed from the Who’s March 30 concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall to benefit Teenage Cancer Trust, for which frontman Roger Daltrey has served as a longtime curator and patron. During the final song of the show, the live debut of “The Song Is Over” from 1971’s Who’s Next, Daltrey got off track rhythmically from the rest of the band and then halted the performance, telling the crowd, “to sing that song I do need to hear the key, and I can’t. There’s no pitch here. All I’ve got is drums going boom, boom, boom. I can’t sing to that. I’m sorry, guys.”
The Who restarted and completed the song without further incident, but last weekend, Starkey posted a cryptic, since-deleted message on Instagram indicating he was being fired because Daltrey was “unhappy” with the Albert Hall performance and “is bringing formal charges of overplaying.” He later posted, “Sorry Rog, I dropped a few beats. I’ll pick em up next time if I can. Apologies.” A rep for the band then told the Guardian, “the band made a collective decision to part ways with Zak after this round of shows at the Royal Albert Hall. They have nothing but admiration for him and wish him the very best for his future.”
In response, Starkey told Variety in a statement, “I’m very proud of my near thirty years with the Who. Filling the shoes of my godfather, ‘uncle Keith,’ has been the biggest honor and I remain their biggest fan. They’ve been like family to me. In January, I suffered a serious medical emergency with blood clots in my right bass drum calf. This is now completely healed and does not affect my drumming or running. After playing those songs with the band for so many decades, I’m surprised and saddened anyone would have an issue with my performance that night, but what can you do?”
Starkey said he planned to take some time off with his family, finish his autobiography (“written solely by me”) and work further with Mantra of the Cosmos, his band with Ride/Oasis member Andy Bell and Happy Mondays principals Shaun Ryder and Bez.
In his statement this morning, Townshend elaborated that “Roger and I would like Zak to tighten up his latest evolved drumming style to accommodate our non-orchestral lineup and he has readily agreed. I take responsibility for some of the confusion. Our TCT shows at the Royal Albert Hall were a little tricky for me. I thought that four-and-a-half weeks would be enough time to recover completely from having a complete knee replacement (why did I ever think I could land on my knees?) Wrong! Maybe we didn’t put enough time into sound hecks, giving us problems on stage. The sound in the center of the stage is always the most difficult to work with. Roger did nothing wrong but fiddle with his in-ear monitors. Zak made a few mistakes and he has apologized, albeit with a rubber duck drummer.”
Daltrey has solo shows scheduled throughout the spring and summer, and Townshend took time to credit his “fabulous drummer, Scott Devours, who it was rumored might replace Zak in the Who and has always been supportive of the band. I owe Scott an apology for not crushing that rumor before it spread. He has been hurt by this. I promise to buy him a very long drink and give him a hug.”
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