Zak Starkey, who’s been the touring drummer for The Who for the past 29 years, has been fired.
U.K.’s Mirror quotes a rep for the band about Starkey’s dismissal, saying, “The band made a collective decision to part ways with Zak after this round of shows at the Royal Albert Hall. They have nothing but admiration for him and wish him the very best for his future.”
While that quote gives the impression that the split was civil, the Mirror cites sources who say Starkey is not happy about this decision. These sources also noted that there were a “few issues with the drumming” during the recent Royal Albert Hall shows, which led to this split.
Starkey, who is the son of Ringo Starr, has seemingly addressed his firing in a rather daffy post to Instagram. He shared a photo of himself with Roger Daltrey, and the phrase “The Daily Who Breaking News” was featured on the photo.
The post’s caption is in all caps and refers to Who frontman Roger Daltrey as “Toger Daktrey.” The lengthy caption mentions that Daltrey was “unhappy with Zak the drummer’s performance at the Albert hall a few weeks ago” and he’s “bringing formal charges of overplaying.” He closes by writing, “This has been confirmed by whose [sic] long-time manager Willya Youwontyouknow.” (Again, very daffy.)
