Well, it’s official. After weeks of will-they-won’t-they drama that made Fleetwood Mac look emotionally stable, The Who have finally cut drummer Zak Starkey loose. But this time, Pete Townshend isn’t pretending otherwise.
In a post on Instagram that was somehow both diplomatic and slightly cold, Townshend wrote, “After many years of great work on drums from Zak, the time has come for a change.” Translation: cheers for the decades, mate — don’t let the cymbals hit you on the way out.
This comes just weeks after Starkey (yes, Ringo’s kid) said he was “surprised and saddened” by his exit, only for Townshend to deny it, then walk it back, then kind of re-fire him again. It’s been messy. Think more passive-aggressive texts than backstage punch-ups, but the result’s the same: Zak’s out, and Scott Devours — best known for playing with Roger Daltrey’s solo band — is in for The Who’s farewell North American tour.
Starkey’s been behind the kit since 1996, stepping into the near-impossible role of following Keith Moon. And by most accounts, he nailed it. But after their March shows at the Royal Albert Hall, Townshend reportedly asked him to “tighten up” his drumming — followed by some “communication issues” and public shade about “a few mistakes.” Yikes.
To be fair, Zak had a rough start to the year. A blood clot in his leg forced his other band, Mantra of the Cosmos (yes, the one with Shaun Ryder, Bez and Andy Bell — what a unit), to cancel a show. He’s now “completely healed” and insists his health had nothing to do with the Who split.
Still, this is how The Who rolls — poetic endings one minute, awkward press statements the next. Their The Song Is Over farewell tour kicks off in August. As for Zak, I mean he’s survived decades of filling Moon’s shoes. He will be just fine.
Rock and roll, baby. It’s all love… until the drummer misses a beat.
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