The Who frontman Roger Daltrey has said that comments made by the axed drummer Zak Starkey after leaving the rock group were “incredibly upsetting”.
Earlier this year, Starkey, the son of Beatles’ legend Ringo Starr, was sensationally sacked from the rock band twice in quick succession. The reasons behind the split have been disputed: longtime Who members Daltrey and Pete Townshend have claimed that Starkey made a mistake during their Royal Albert Hall performance in April, while Starkey has claimed that the error was Daltrey’s.
Later, the band said the drummer had exited the project willingly due to other commitments, but Starkey claimed he had been asked to agree with the statement, and did not want to leave the group.
Starkey told The Telegraph that poor planning and under-rehearsal had led to an onstage glitch, which meant Daltrey came in too early when performing “The Song is Over”. “What happened was I got it right and Roger got it wrong,” he said.
Addressing Starkey’s comments, Daltrey told The Times: “It was kind of a character assassination and it was incredibly upsetting.”
Daltrey stated that the dispute began over the band’s use of electronic drums, which he hears through in-ear monitors.
“It 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,” he explained. “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.”
When asked about the back-and-forth between the group, who reinstated Starkey before sacking him again, Daltrey said: “Pete and I retain the right to be the Who. Everyone else is a session player.
“You can’t replace Keith Moon. We wanted to branch out and that’s all I want to say about it. But [Starkey’s reaction] was crippling to me.”
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The Independent has contacted Starkey’s representative for comment.
Following the dispute, Starkey was replaced by Scott Devours.
Starkey told The Independent in June that he had been told not to retrieve his drum kit from storage just yet.
“I don’t know what the f*** is happening,” he said. “The thing is, this is The Who, man. The most unpredictable, aggressive, arrogant people, lovely people who are my family, but you never know what’s gonna happen, and that’s why it’s The Who. They have an addiction to friction.”
