The Who‘s Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey have parted ways with their longtime touring drummer Zak Starkey, son of Beatles drummer Ringo Starr. He last played with them during their Teenage Cancer Trust shows in London in March.
“The band made a collective decision to part ways with Zak after this round of shows at the Royal Albert Hall,” a rep for The Who told The Guardian. “They have nothing but admiration for him and wish him the very best for his future.”
Daltrey seemed to be upset with Starkey’s performance during the London shows, complaining on stage and pausing the final song to tell the audience, “To sing that song I do need to hear the key, and I can’t. All I’ve got is drums going boom, boom, boom. I can’t sing to that. I’m sorry guys.”
Starkey, who’s been touring with The Who since 1996, responded to the news of his job loss in a statement obtained by ABC Audio.
“I’m very proud of my near thirty years with The Who,” he said. “Filling the shoes of my Godfather, ‘uncle Keith’ has been the biggest honor and I remain their biggest fan.” “Uncle Keith” refers to the band’s late drummer Keith Moon. Starkey added that the band has “been like family to me.”
Starkey went on to explain he’d suffered from blood clots in his calf in January, but insisted he’s now “completely healed” and it didn’t affect his drumming.
“After playing those songs with the band for so many decades, I’m surprised and saddened anyone would have an issue with my performance that night, but what can you do?” he continued. “29 years at any job is a good old run, and I wish them the best.”
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