The Who fires, rehires drummer Zak Starkey after 'communication issues'

Article content

Meet the new drummer, same as the old drummer.

Just days after firing longtime drummer Zak Starkey, son of Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, The Who has rehired him.

“News Flash! Who Backs Zak!” group guitarist and co-founder Pete Townshend wrote Saturday in an Instagram post on the band’s official page.

“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,” Townshend wrote.

The miscommunication started when Townshend, 79, and Roger Daltrey, 81, fired Starkey, 59, following two charity shows for Teenage Cancer Trust at London’s Royal Albert Hall last month.

It’s alleged they were “upset” with Starkey’s playing at the gigs on March 27 and March 30.

“The band made a collective decision to part ways with Zak after this round of shows at the Royal Albert Hall,” a spokesperson for The Who told the U.K. Sun.

“They have nothing but admiration for him and wish him the very best for his future.”

Starkey, who’d been with the band for 29 years, said in a statement that he was blindsided by the firing, revealing he’d “completely healed” after he had “suffered a serious medical emergency with blood clots in my right bass drum calf” in January.

“(This) does not affect my drumming or running,” Starkey said in a statement. “After playing those songs with the band for so many decades, I’m surprised and saddened anyone would have an issue with my performance that night, but what can you do?”

Townshend shared more details about their performance issues from those nights in his social media post in the weekend Instagram post.

“Maybe we didn’t put enough time into sound checks, giving us problems on stage,” he wrote.

“Roger did nothing wrong but fiddle with his in-ear monitors. Zak made a few mistakes and he has apologized.”

Townshend also acknowledged scheduling a concert just over a month after his own “complete knee replacement” was probably not the best idea, either.

The guitarist said the news about Starkey’s departure “blew up very quickly” but he insisted the band is moving forward “with optimism and fire in our bellies.”

Starkey responded: “V grateful to be a part of the Who family, Thanks Roger and Pete.”