Zak Starkey has hit out at The Who for asking him to “lie” about quitting following his abrupt exit from the band.
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Several weeks ago, a series of contradictory reports emerged about Starkey’s status with the legendary rock band – the drummer appeared to publicly confirm in April that he had been let go, only for Townshend to later deny it.
Yesterday (May 18), it became apparent the band and Starkey had officially parted ways for good. In an Instagram post shared Sunday, Townshend wrote: “After many years of great work on drums from Zak the time has come for a change. A poignant time. Zak has lots of new projects in hand and I wish him the best.”
He went on to ask fans to welcome Scott Devours – who had worked with Roger Daltrey‘s solo band – as he joined the band for their final shows.
Starkey – who is the son of Ringo Starr – had been the full-time sticksman for The Who since 1996, but after a series of shows at the Royal Albert Hall for the Teenage Cancer Trust earlier this year, frictions between him and the rest of the band appeared to emerge.
Townshend addressed the rumours in an April post, saying there had been “some communication issues, personal and private on all sides, that needed to be dealt with”, but did say at the time that they had been “aired happily”.
Now, Starkey has taken to Instagram with claims the band asked him to say he had quit. “I was fired two weeks after reinstatement and asked to make a statement saying I had quit the who to pursue my other musical [endeavours],” he wrote. “This would be a lie.”
“I love the who and would never had quit. So I didn’t make the statement ….quitting the who would also have let down the countless amazing people who stood up for me (thank you all a million times over and more) thru the weeks of mayhem of me going ‘in an out an in an out an in an out like a bleedin squeezebox,” he added.
He went on to clarify he did have other projects and “always have”, adding that this worked because The Who had been been “sporadic” in touring, bar two extensive treks in 2000 and 2006-2007.
Starkey went on to name artists he’d worked with while touring with The Who, including Johnny Marr, Oasis, The Lightning Seeds, Mike Scott and his own group, Mantra Of The Cosmos – made up of Happy Mondays’ Shaun Ryder and Bez as well as Oasis’ Andy Bell.
“None of this has ever interfered with The Who and was never a problem for them,” he wrote. “The lie is or would have been that I quit the who- I didn’t. I love the who and everyone in it.”
The band later responded, also on Instagram, pointing to an age gap between them and Starkey, as well as the fact he has numerous projects to work on.
“The Who are heading for retirement, whereas Zak is 20yrs younger and has a great future with his new band and other exciting projects,” Townshend and Daltrey wrote. “He needs to devote all his energy into making it all a success. We both wish him all the luck in the world.”
Back in August 2024, Townshend said that although he doesn’t “know what’s gonna happen with The Who”, he was hoping that he and Daltrey “can find some common ground and find some way to work again”.
Before then, he told NME that he was “pretty sure” there would be more Who shows, although hopes of an album were slim. “The story of the end of The Who is gonna be when either Roger or I drop dead or can’t function anymore on the stage,” he said. “If there was a need or a place for a Who album, could I write the songs for it within six weeks? Of course I fucking could, it’s a piece of cake… The problem is I don’t think Roger wants to do it again. For me it would be a joy because I love writing songs.”
