Pete Townshend has described The Who’s turbulent split with longtime drummer Zak Starkey as “a mess”.
In an interview with i Paper, the legendary guitarist and songwriter opened up about the sequence of events that led to Starkey’s firing, rehiring and eventual departure.
Starkey, a veteran session and touring drummer, had been part of The Who’s lineup for nearly 30 years.
“I will miss Zak terribly. But quite what the story is, I don’t fucking know. I really don’t know,” Townsend admitted.
The confusion began in April when Townshend and The Who frontman Roger Daltrey made a “collective decision” to part ways with Starkey, who is the son of Beatles drummer Ringo Starr.
Days later, Townshend reversed course, stating Starkey was “not being asked” to step down. But just a month later, Townshend again changed his stance, saying, “The time has come for a change.”
The fallout appears to have been sparked during a charity performance at London’s Royal Albert Hall in March.
“(Daltrey) came in four bars early,” Starkey told Rolling Stone in June. “But he just got lost. He blamed it on the drums being too loud, and then it got made into this huge social media thing.”
Townshend addressed the same performance.
“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,” the musician shared.
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