“Pete and I retain the right to be The Who. Everyone else is a session player”: Roger Daltrey comments on firing of drummer Zak Starkey
If you’ve lost track of the current status of The Who’s lineup, you’re not alone. But let us try and catch you up.
Back in April, following a choppy performance at London’s Royal Albert Hall, Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend fired Zak Starkey, who was the then-touring drummer of the band. Starkey quickly put out a statement in response, saying: “I’m surprised anyone would have an issue with my performance that night, but what can you do?”
READ MORE: “I’ve never liked the way that little man runs that band”: Ringo Starr slams Roger Daltrey for firing his son from The Who
Just days after, Townshend and Daltrey announced that Starkey was back in the band, on the condition that he would “tighten up”. However, it was not to last, as a month later, it was announced that Starkey had been fired again.
Starkey later suggested that his firing was primarily the work of Roger Daltrey, saying “Pete had to go along with it because he’s had 60 years of arguing with Roger”.
Now, in a new interview with The Times, Daltrey has had his say, going as far as to accuse Starkey of “character assassination”.
Starkey told Rolling Stone in June that he was not to blame for the Royal Albert Hall slip up, and instead accused Daltrey of “getting lost”. “He blamed it on the drums being too loud, and then it got made into this huge social media thing,” he said.
Now, Daltrey describes the whole situation and fallout with Zak Starkey as “incredibly upsetting”.
He explains of the incident at the Royal Albert Hall: “It is controlled by a guy on the side, and we had so much sub-bass on the sound of the drums that I couldn’t pitch.
“I was pointing to the bass drum and screaming at [Starkey] because it was like flying a plane without seeing the horizon. So when Zak thought I was having a go at him, I wasn’t. That’s all that happened. Pete and I retain the right to be The Who. Everyone else is a session player.”
You can see the Royal Albert Hall incident in the video below:
As it currently stands, Zak Starkey is out of The Who, and drummer Scott Devours is handling drums for the band’s upcoming farewell tour.
You can view a full list of dates via the band’s official website.
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