As Oasis gear up for one of the most-hyped reunions in UK music history, not everyone’s feeling the warm fuzzy glow of nostalgia.
Zak Starkey — former Oasis drummer, longtime member of The Who, and son of a Beatle — has revealed he’s “gutted” to have been left off the lineup for the band’s 2025 tour.
Starkey played with Oasis from 2004 to 2008, stepping in after Alan White’s departure and sticking around for Don’t Believe the Truth and Dig Out Your Soul — two records that kept the band relevant in a decade when Britpop was already long in the rearview. But when the reunion lineup was announced back in March, it was Joey Waronker behind the kit. Not Zak.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Starkey said he reached out directly: “I texted them and said, ‘Why am I not in it?’” There was no drama in his tone — just a bit of deflation. “If you get a new drummer, you get comfortable, don’t you? And I think that’s what’s happened.”
Still, there’s no bitterness toward the band. “Greatest rock and roll band of my generation,” he said. “Greatest rock and roll singer of my generation.” Fair.
The Oasis Live ’25 lineup will feature Waronker (known for stints with Beck, R.E.M. and Elliott Smith), plus Noel, Liam, Bonehead, Gem Archer, Andy Bell, and Christian Madden. Their first show lands in Cardiff on July 4, kicking off 41 dates across the globe.
Starkey, meanwhile, has been navigating his own career turbulence. After months of ambiguity, The Who finally confirmed he’s no longer their drummer. Pete Townshend called it “a time for change.” Starkey says he was told he’d been “retired,” not “fired,” and is now focused on his own projects — including new music from his band Mantra of the Cosmos.
So while Oasis barrel into their reunion without him, Starkey’s taking the high road. But let’s not pretend he wouldn’t have said yes in a heartbeat.
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