Posted on 08/03/2025 5:37:47 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Roger Daltrey has accused Zak Starkey of character assassination, declaring that the fuss over the Who drummer's recent dismissal was "incredibly upsetting."
Starkey served in the band for 29 years before he was fired in April after an onstage incident during the band's performance at Royal Albert Hall.
Daltrey is said to have complained about Starkey overplaying during the show, telling the crowd: “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.”
Less than a week later, the group rehired Starkey. "He's not being asked to step down from the Who," guitarist Pete Townshend explained. "There have been some communication issues, personal and private on all sides, that needed to be dealt with, and these have been aired happily."
A month later, Starkey was out again, this time insisting that he had been asked to lie about his dismissal. “I was fired two weeks after reinstatement and asked to make a statement saying I had quit the Who to pursue my other musical endeavors,” he wrote. “This would be a lie. I love the Who and would never had [sic] quit."
In a new interview with the Times, Daltrey gave his side of the Royal Albert Hall story and everything that has happened since. “[The sound] is controlled by a guy on the side, and we had so much sub-bass on the sound of the drums that I couldn’t pitch. I was pointing to the bass drum and screaming at [Starkey] because it was like flying a plane without seeing the horizon. So when Zak thought I was having a go at him, I wasn’t. That’s all that happened."
“It was kind of a character assassination and it was incredibly upsetting,” he added of the ensuing fallout. "Pete and I retain the right to be The Who. Everyone else is a session player.”
The Who launched their The Song is Over farewell tour last month in Italy, with Scott Devours taking over for Starkey on drums. The tour hits the United States on Aug. 16 in Sunrise, Florida and is currently scheduled to conclude on Sept. 28 in Las Vegas.
“The Who’s period was from 1965 through Quadrophenia”
No disagreement with your take on those specific bands. There are exceptions of course. Jeff Beck is an obvious one. He kept getting better and since i saw him in 1966 with the Yardbirds.
LOL ... but, but ... it was self defense!
It wasn’t Zack’s fault. It was the monitor soundman. There’s a separate soundman that just handles the monitors, whether they are speakers or an earpiece.
The mix must have been way off and to blame Starkey for it is the height or arrogance and ignorance.
-SB
If Zak is still using an electronic kit, there is no physical drum sound (like an acoustic kit). This is totally on the sound guy running their monitors.
Someone commented on this that Starkey was put on leave earlier for being too flamboyant on the drums. The guy cited the late Keith Moon as being the same.
“known for his flamboyant and unpredictable drumming style and antics. He was famous for his energetic drumming, incorporating rapid rolls, fills, and emphasizing cymbal crashes. He was nicknamed “Moon the Loon” because of his wild behavior both on and off stage, including destroying drum kits and hotel rooms.”
Eric Clapton has said “If we’re honest most of us from the old rock days are deaf or nearly so.”
I thought Daltry was dead.
LOL ... but, but ... it was self defense!
And they say it is a Capital Offense.
Zak is Ringo Starr’s son.
What are sheeps’ favorite The Who songs?
Baaaa baaa O’Riley
Who Are Ewe?
>Go back to Reddit!
No.
What are sheeps’ favorite AC/DC song?
Dirty Deeds (Done With Sheep)
I see freepers treat rock bands like they do pretty women
With usual fury and scorn and not good enough
Quit whining
Anyone over 50 knows we were lucky to have such music coming up
I sure as S am
Possibly. Or Mr. Daltrey is just gone in the head.
Daltry is back tracking. He originally blamed Zac. Zac plays electric drums and any fault would be on the sound engineer.
They brought him back only to screw him around 2 weeks later. Now Daltry is still pretending it wasn’t him. This is all on Daltry being a prima donna.
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