TalkAwhile - The Folk Corporation Forum

Lots of reports that Zak Starkey has been sacked by Daltrey after nearly 30 years.

DW

i was just reading that in the Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/apr/16/the-who-appear-to-fire-drummer-zak-starkey-over-royal-albert-hall-performance?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

Silly old men!  It's bloody ridiculous - he's literally been sacked for doing his job properly.  If there needed to be soundproofing between him and Roger then so be it, but it's certainly not Zak's fault...

Since Daltrey has recently said he's increasingly deaf and blind, perhaps he should sack himself.

Quite. Roger needs to apologise to Zak.

Jules

Shades of Roger sacking Rabbit in 2010. Same complaint that Rabbit was drowning him out. At the time, Rabbit publicly noted that he was not responsible for the volume levels in Roger’s monitors or on stage. I think Roger just likes throwing his weight around.

There is more to this than meets the eye among rumours that Starkey will be touring with Oasis again.
And for the record, Daltry was 100% on top form 18 months ago and should keep on doing right what he does best.

Daltrey is a great singer.  But that doesn't mean he can't be an arse.  There are plenty of examples.

I thought I'd read somewhere who the Oasis drummer was going to be, and it wasn't Zak (I'd assumed it would be him too)? Tbh though, after you've been in the Who for 3 decades playing in Oasis would be a bit depressing wouldn't it?

Yes.

Jules

Apparently, Joey Waronker (who's played with REM, Beck, Elliott Smith, Roger Waters, Liam Gallagher & John Squire) will be behind the traps for the Oasis tour, putting Zak out of the running at this time...
 
However, in the topsy turvy world of rock 'n' roll, nothing much surprises me...

As David says one of these two is known only too well in the music business for being a total arrogant arse, believe you me! So I'm not so sure there is anything more to this than has been stated? Age certainly makes us less tolerant....

Playing in Oasis would be a bit depressing whatever you had been doing for the previous 3 decades.

I also think Zac can’t really be the issue. Any drummer positioned behind Roger on stage with a full kit is going to be problematic given Roger’s hearing. I have seen many performers move the kit to side stage, I presume for this reason. Also, Roger toured last year with no drummer, and Pete experimented with percussion, only, all the way back in 1998. People are speculating about Zac’s replacement, but maybe there will be no full-trap drummer at all in the future.

Some comments from Zak and The Who here. I don't think we're getting the full story. Blaming the decision to sack him on one performance seems like a massive over-reaction IMO. There must have been more going on leading up to this.

Anyway, it says Zak has other projects to keep him busy including working with Noel Gallagher and writing his autobiography.

https://www.smoothradio.com/news/music/the-who-zak-starkey-comments/

Respectfully, I suggest that Tony McCarroll might disagree.

Zak is back!

"News flash! Zak is not being asked to step down from The Who. There have been some communication issues, personal and private on all sides, that needed to be dealt with, and these have been aired happily."

Good.

Jules

Interesting commentary from someone who was actually there. Some good points about rehearsals, who’s doing the heavy lifting onstage, and the role of the monitor engineer… https://youtu.be/OxsQQspxp-0?si=pRoQgdB7UrdeA2yB

And, hopefully, The Who Inc. will now be getting some PR advice... ;)

The full statement is worth airing here actually:

"News Flash! Who Backs Zak!
He's not being asked to step down from The Who.
There have been some communication issues, personal and private on all sides, that needed to be dealt with, and these have been aired happily.
Roger and I would like Zak to tighten up his latest evolved drumming style to accommodate our non-orchestral line up and he has readily agreed. I take responsibility for some of the confusion. Our TCT shows at the Royal Albert Hall were a little tricky for me. I thought that four and a half weeks would be enough time to recover completely from having a complete knee replacement. (Why did I ever think I could land on my knees?) Wrong!
Maybe we didn’t put enough time into sound checks, giving us problems on stage. The sound in the centre of the stage is always the most difficult to work with. Roger did nothing wrong but fiddle with his in-ear monitors. Zak made a few mistakes and he has apologised. Albeit with a rubber duck drummer.
We are a family, this blew up very quickly and got too much oxygen. It’s over. We move forward now with optimism and fire in our bellies.
As for Roger, fans can enjoy his forthcoming solo shows with his fabulous drummer, Scott Devours, who it was rumoured might replace Zak in The Who and has always been supportive of the band.
I owe Scott an apology for not crushing that rumour before it spread. He has been hurt by this. I promise to buy him a very long drink and give him a hug.
Pete Townshend
19 April 2025"

I love how Pete writes. Nice save there by him.

Jules

Storm, teacup, etc

This just came up on FB posted by https://www.facebook.com/WoodstockElders1969 There's a photo if you want to see what his kit looks like.

"For this tour – Zak has arranged an all-electronic drum kit. It LOOKS normal, as it’s a custom-build gold DW drum set. But if you look closely at photos from rehearsals or our other shows, it has black drum heads and black cymbals. Black and gold – a cool look! – but these are actually Roland V-drums and cymbals triggering a set of acoustic drum samples. The sound is fairly accurate – it has dynamics and he can play different parts of the cymbal and get different sounds, just like “real ones.” In our case, we gained a few MAJOR things: controllable volume – we can have his levels adjusted for each other person (like Roger’s in-ear monitors, and Pete’s floor “wedge” speakers.) In addition – no microphones, so our sound guys have a lot less to set up and worry about. Also – no Plexiglas/Perspex. Zak is clearly seen and can talk back/forth to people without needing a microphone.

Yes, it’s still different to a real drum set. We now have some benefits, like consistency, control of the sound, and less drum tuning and changing of heads. Zak’s drum technician (Laurie Jenkins) has designed and implemented the setup, and is doing a major job keeping it all working and sounding good. I doubt most people would ever realize these are not “real” drums during a concert, it’s not that obvious. Were we not on an orchestral tour, I have no doubt they’ll go back to the acoustic drum set. It’s nice to be able to take advantage of recent improvements in technology, while keeping a firm foot in what’s good about the past."

Unbelievable - Zak has been re-sacked and replaced by Scott Devours for the final tour.

He said on social media that he was asked to state that he "resigned," which would be a lie so he refused to do it.

Absolute shitshow. Daltrey's such a pain in the arse.

Jules

'Zak, sack, back and sack' as I believe they (sort of) say in male grooming circles...

Joke of a band https://www.stereogum.com/2308488/the-who-fire-zak-starkey-again/news/?fbclid=IwY2xjawKXwVtleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETBDNzB0VHk2aWx1eWlwT3QwAR75f1ZRHg-5I7isJ8fos3eeuhFXG8PdNP-KIyOV8h0uRNrbvbNry_TLHo_8gw_aem_uXEiGO-R0prb1hVH5K9Sgw

He's not alone, Josh Freeze from Foo Fighters was "let go" last week.

"The Foo Fighters called me Monday night to let me know they've decided "to go in a different direction with their drummer." No reason was given. : ( Regardless, I enjoyed the past two years with them, both on and off stage, and I support whatever they feel is best for the band. In my 40 years of drumming professionally, I've never been let go from a band, so while I'm not angry-just a bit shocked and disappointed. But as most of you know I've always worked freelance and bounced between bands so, I'm fine. Stay tuned for my "Top 10 possible reasons Josh got booted from the Foo Fighters" list.

Josh"

The Sisters of Mercy will be sacking their drummer next.

We had a close family friend, who knew Mountbatten, fought with Stilwell in Burma, and wrote what would become the first operations manual for the Green Berets. When he became ancient, my father would check on him and share a forbidden dram.  One time, I asked how he was doing. My father responded that he cried a lot, which was surprising - particularly for such a old lion as he.  Dad told me when you reach a certain stage, you're either angry all the time...or you're really depressed.  

"I hope I'm one of the grumpy ones, Dad."  

He agreed.

A great little story, well told, but how does it relate to Zak Starkey?

Jules

I'm assuming it relates to Roger Daltrey?

Yeah, no matter who you are...or who you were....or just plain who your Who - being old ain't got lot of desirable options to it.
Being pissed and young - that was part of their image.
Being pissed and old - that's just part of being old.
I'm just thankful they're pissed enough to still wanna play.

I don't think they drink booze these days.

Jules

Maybe pissed as in angry. There's plenty to be pissed about at the moment and Bruce seems to leading the charge from the stage. I wonder where Daltry would be on this one?

I may have been feigning ignorance.



Mr Brexit? Not sure I'd care to find out. I love The Who, but Roger isn't the brightest.

Jules

Oh how I try to avoid discovering the political views of my favorite artists…

Thanks Jules, I wasn't aware of Daltry's politics. Like you, I will continue to enjoy vintage Who for what it is without supporting Mr Daltrey's current views.  

Amazing that he has been singing Won't Get Fooled Again for for more than 50 years without apparently listening to the words.

Zak is on BBC breakfast talking about this, among other things.