After nearly three decades behind the kit for The Who, Zak Starkey has reportedly been let go. This follows a rocky run of Royal Albert Hall shows and some very public onstage tension.
The news, first reported by The Mirror, suggests the decision to part ways came from “the collective” within the band, though it’s pretty clear where the friction first started. Frontman Roger Daltrey reportedly recently complained mid-show about Starkey’s playing, calling him out in front of a sold-out Royal Albert Hall crowd for drowning out the melody. “All I’ve got is drums going boom, boom, boom. I can’t sing to that,” Daltrey said onstage. So subtle.
Sources close to the band described the split as “acrimonious to say the least,” with some pointing to Starkey’s recent health issues—specifically a blood clot in his leg earlier this year—as part of the reason the drumming “wasn’t at the standard” they expected.
Starkey, for his part, didn’t exactly go quietly. Over the weekend, he posted a photo with Daltrey on Instagram, joking that the singer was planning to “zak the drummer.” He called it a “formal charge of overplaying,” clearly aware of the writing on the wall.
Zak Starkey, who is the son of Ringo Starr, joined The Who as their full-time drummer in 1996. By the Who’s standards, that’s a long run. Especially when you consider that the band has only ever had two real constants since the beginning: Daltrey’s voice and Pete Townshend’s windmill.
No replacement has been named yet, and neither The Who nor Starkey have issued official statements. But between the public call-outs, backhanded quotes, and the Instagram shade, this certainly does not look like a clean break.
For a band built on tension and chaos, this kind of exit weirdly tracks. The machine keeps moving, even if the parts fall off mid-tour.
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