The Who share a HUGE update on their retirement plans after making a shock U-turn on drummer Zak Starkey's sacking

Daily Mail UK ^ | May 08, 2025 | Staff

[Red Badger]

The Who have shared the shock news that they will be retiring from touring after 60 years, following a final run of shows in the US later this year.

The legendary rock band shared the news at a London press conference as they announced their farewell tour, which will kick off in July.

The news comes just weeks after Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend made a shock U-turn to welcome drummer Zak Starkey back into the band, after he was sacked following a bitter fallout.

While announcing the band's retirement, Pete, 79, made the shock confession: 'Everyone needs to know the truth…. I can't lie…. I am not crazy about touring.'

Meanwhile Roger, 81, who appeared via video link, said: 'It will have to come to an end one day.'

The Who are set to play 16 shows in the US, and insiders have told The Mirror they hope the tour will be extended to include dates in Europe and the UK.

Roger went onto add: 'Pete (Townshend) is still playing great guitar, the music's still got the vitality that suits it, because it's something about the way Pete's music is written, the way it's shaped, the sentiment behind it, it doesn't seem to age like a lot of rock music does.'

'Us out there performing for the last time is a thank you for fans.'

He went onto cast doubt over whether the tour could be extended to the UK, saying: 'Let's see if we survive this one.

'Touring America is a damn sight easier than touring the UK, because, for some reason or the other, the UK has decided to make it as difficult as possible to go from A to B.'

[Big Red Badger]

Yuppers...
That Is Bizarre coming from
Roger.
Wish Him the Best
and you Too.
Thanks

[Bullish]

The main reason old geezer bands keep touring is because they need the money. Their records aren't producing much anymore, if they even still own any of the rights. Rock star's lifestyles ain't cheap either. I can't speak for all of them of course, but it's a road many of them go down to keep making money.

I envy the fact that they're still playing, myself. The playing part of touring is all the fun but that's only two hours here and two hours there of fun at a time. The drudgable work is all the constant travel.

[equaviator]

“Eyesight To The Blind” from the movie version of Tommy is also great with a little help from their friend, Eric Clapton.

[Vaquero]

I don’t remember much. Which means I was there.

I do remember the Who’s performance It was great.

[Skooz]

Yep. I remember it cooled down a lot after the sun set. I was with three friends and we sent one to buy us hot chocolate. By the time he returned, it was ice cold.

My ears rang for days. The Who just obliterated the Cotton Bowl.

Remember the guy that threw a boot at Billy Squier? Squier stopped the show to cuss him out. Cracked us up.

And at the end: Schlitz Rocks America!

[Drew68]

Clapton also played a Strat for the Cream reunion in 2005, which looked weird.

He didn't even use a wah pedal for his White Room solo.

Jeez. Talk about just phoning it in.

[Drew68]

The PT Windmill just ain't the same, and a Strat, while a beautiful melodic instrument, doesn't have the humbucking crunch.

Townsend always sounded best with his P-90 SGs or mini-humbucker Gibsons through his Hiwatts (his later 70s-era Les Paul Deluxes had those DiMarzio Dual Sounds wired into the middle spot but he always said those were for mostly looks and he rarely engaged them).

The Strat he's been playing now for the better part of the 2000s is an Eric Clapton signature with a stock midrange boost and these guitars pack quite a bit of output for a Strat.

I think he's been playing the EC signature Strats for longer than he ever stuck with any other model.

[dfwgator]

He relies too much on the whammy bar, I don’t recall him ever using one in the 70s.

[dfwgator]

I saw them at the Cotton Bowl in 1989, SRV opened up for them.

That was the tour where Pete mostly played the acoustic because of his hearing issues.

[plain talk]

Yeah that may be the case for some bands but not the Who. They say Pete Townsend is worth around $150M.

[dfwgator]

Pete gets a fortune just for the TV shows that use his songs.

[drjimmy]

Pete wasn’t kidding when he wrote The Who Sell Out.

[dfwgator]

He should have used Odorono.

[hercuroc]

You know in the old days
When a young man was a strong man
All the people they’d step back
When a young man walked by
But you know nowadays
It′s the old man,
He′s got all the money
And a young man ain’t got nothin′ in the world these days
I said nothing

[Drew68]

I saw them at the Cotton Bowl in 1989, SRV opened up for them. That was the tour where Pete mostly played the acoustic because of his hearing issues.

I saw them on that tour. They played CU Boulder. They had a side guy playing electric guitar.

Sadly, SRV was not the opener for that show and I'd never get the opportunity to see him live.

[StAnDeliver]

"Roger Daltrey was probably having a “cranky old man” day. It’s hard to tour as rocker who cannot hear. Not as hard as it was for Beethoven to conduct in his later years, but hard."

You haven't seen a Roger solo show on Apr. 22 where he lathered up against Zak and Pete, when it was his fault all along.

[StAnDeliver]

" I remember going to their “farewell tour” in the 1990s. "

The only tour labeled as the "farewell tour" was 1982, which was freaking glorious. And had The Clash opening for most of the dates.

The only tour of the 90s was the '96 tour -- Quad, Tommy, hits -- which set the pattern for every tour to follow.

[StAnDeliver]

"I never got used to Pete playing a Strat."

Shut it. Get with the times. 45 years later lofl.

[dayglored]

> his later 70s-era Les Paul Deluxes had those DiMarzio Dual Sounds wired into the middle spot but he always said those were for mostly looks and he rarely engaged them

That surprises me; the middle pickup is handy.

My Les Paul Custom is the 3-pickup "Black Beauty" similar to Frampton's, and the selector is Rhythm=neck, Treble=bridge, but the center position puts the bridge and middle pickups together to approximate the Strat "quack". Of course humbuckers don't quack exactly like Strat single-coils but it's a great sound of its own. It has lots of body behind the unique tone, so it works well for powerful leads.

> Eric Clapton signature with a stock midrange boost and these guitars pack quite a bit of output for a Strat

Hey, if Pete's gonna play a Strat, it should be a Clapton Strat, right?

I replaced the original single-coil pickups on my Strat with DiMarzio DP-116W stacked (~humbuckers), and while it lost a little top-end shimmer (which I can't hear any more anyway), there's no annoying 60Hz hum in any of the 5 positions, which I consider a worthwhile trade-off.

[StAnDeliver]

"That was the tour where Pete mostly played the acoustic because of his hearing issues."

I saw that tour and hoped it was a blip on the screen. It was, but fast-foward into now with Roger (whom I've seen solo twice, and the 1998 show was outstanding, and vastly eclipsed the two times I've seen Pete solo), I'm not so sure.

The recent Roger solo show I referenced above, worth a link and a look where "Todger" flips out at 4:10. I question whether this new tour might actually complete, 'said Pete' lol...