Zak Starkey has revealed his father, The Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, called Roger Daltrey a “little man” after Starkey was relieved of his duties in The Who after 29 years.
Following a difficult concert at the Royal Albert Hall earlier this year, The Who announced Starkey’s initial exit in April, which was met by bemusement from the drummer. Then, in an unexpected twist, a matter of weeks later, Pete Townshend took to Instagram to reveal the drummer was back in the fold.
The guitarist told his followers, “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.”
However, Townshend said “the time has come for change” in May, and Scott Devours would replace Starkey on drums for The Who’s upcoming farewell tour in North America.
Now, in a new interview with Rolling Stone, Starkey said his father has been fighting his corner during the difficult time, stating, “I’m very proud of him standing up for me.”
When probed about Starr’s thoughts on his complicated exit from the group, the drummer shared, “He said, ‘I’ve never liked the way that little man runs that band’.”
In another recent interview, Starkey said that Starr believes he was unfairly dismissed, telling The Sun about his father’s thoughts on the Royal Albert Hall performance that led to his dismissal, “He wasn’t happy. He saw the show on TV and was a bit like, ‘What the f*ck?’. He didn’t think anything was a sackable offence. Apart from the ticket price.”
While the sacking is still sore for Starkey, he holds no grudges, sharing with Rolling Stone, “It’s The Who. Weirder shit than this has gone down. I’ve heard them say weirder shit than this. It’s The Who — the maddest band there’s ever been.” He did also say they have an “addiction to friction” and claimed they are “fucking insane”.
Immediately after his firing, Starkey alleged on social media that he was asked to lie about his departure and issue a statement that said he’d left to focus on his other band, Mantra of the Cosmos. He wrote on Instagram: “I was fired two weeks after reinstatement and asked to make a statement saying I had quit The Who to pursue my other musical endevours this would be a lie.” He added: “I love The Who and would never had quit. So I didn’t make the statement.”