“I have to be careful what I say about Roger or he’ll be sacking me next”: Pete Townshend says he “couldn’t see anything wrong” with Albert Hall gig that caused Zak Starkey’s firing
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably caught wind of The Who’s recent drummer drama: Zak Starkey was fired, briefly reinstated, then fired again for good, all in the span of a few chaotic weeks.
Now, in a new interview with The i Paper, Who guitarist Pete Townshend opens up about the whole saga involving the band’s longtime drummer, offering some candid (and carefully worded) thoughts on working with frontman Roger Daltrey.
READ MORE: “Pete had to go along with it because he’s had 60 years of arguing with Roger”: Zak Starkey reveals why he was fired from The Who
“It’s been a mess,” Townshend says. Asked about the Albert Hall incident – where Daltrey publicly called out Starkey mid-show for allegedly overplaying during The Song Is Over – he admits, “I couldn’t see anything wrong. What you see is a band who haven’t played together for a long time. But I think it was probably to do with the sound. I’ve lost my sound man as a result.”
“I think Roger just got lost. Roger’s finding it difficult,” Townshend adds. “I have to be careful what I say about Roger because he gets angry if I say anything about him at all. He’ll be sacking me next. But that’s not to say that he sacked Zak. It’s a decision Roger and I tried to make together, but it kind of got out of hand.”
Pressed on whether it was a difficult decision to let Starkey go, Townshend pauses: “Well, I’ve never been a huge… I didn’t invite him in, right? Roger invited him. And at that time, I don’t know quite why he chose Zak, but Zak is another Keith Moon. He comes with real, real bonuses and real, real difficulties.”
That said, “I will miss Zak terribly,” says the guitarist. “But quite what the story is, I don’t fucking know. I really don’t know.”
As for what’s next, The Who are set to embark on what’s billed as their final tour in August. Though Townshend doesn’t sound entirely sold on that either.
“I don’t know whether I’ve been up for doing anything with The Who since 1973,” he laughs. “But I am looking forward to it. Not because it’s the end, but because I hope that we can continue to explore other things.”
In related news, Zak’s father, legendary Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, has also weighed in on the fallout. According to Starkey, Starr told him [via Rolling Stone]: “I’ve never liked the way that little man runs that band,” in what appears to be a thinly veiled jab at Roger Daltrey.
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