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Zak Starkey, Ringo Starr's son and former drummer for The Who, recently clarified rumors about being fired from the band. For the unversed, Starkey's departure from the band happened in April 2025 after The Who's performance at the Royal Albert Hall the month before.
On May 26, 2025, Starkey took to Instagram to explain what really happened. The drummer wrote that he had a phone chat with The Who's lead singer, Roger Daltrey, at the end of last week, which "truly confused" both of them. Starkey continued:
"Rog said I hadn’t been ‘fired’…I had been ‘retired’ to work n my own projects."
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Zak Starkey added that he told Daltrey about spending nearly 8 weeks at his studio in Jamaica and completing the said projects. He also informed Daltrey that his group, Mantra of the Cosmos, was going to release a single at the beginning of June and that he was "completely available for the foreseeable future" once the track had run its course.
Citing Daltrey's response and ending the statement on a positive note, Starkey wrote:
"Rog said ‘Oh!’ and we kind of left it there- On good terms and great friends as we have always been . Gotta love these guys. As my mum used to say ‘The mind boggles!!!’ XXX"
While fans of the drummer mentioned that they are confused about what Starkey's conversation with Daltrey is portraying, they wished Starkey happiness in whatever he pursued.
What happened between Zak Starkey and The Who? Details of the drummer's separation from the band explored
According to The Independent's report dated April 16, 2025, The Who seemingly fired Zak Starkey after the band's performance at the Royal Albert Hall. The band's representative gave a statement to the publication after the separation, dubbing it a "collective decision." In a statement from the drummer's end, Starkey's representative described the split as:
“Typical rock’n’roll falling out, healing can take time! Zak is without doubt one of the UK’s greatest drummers and his tutor none other than the late Keith Moon!”
On the other hand, Metro's report dated March 31, 2025, claimed that during the Royal Albert Hall performance, The Who's lead singer Roger Daltrey paused the final track titled The Song Is Over midway. Expressing his frustration over Starkey's reported overplaying, Daltrey said:
"To sing that song I do need to hear the key, and I can’t. All I’ve got is drums going boom, boom, boom. I can’t sing to that. I’m sorry guys."
On April 13, 2025, Zak Starkey took to Instagram, hinting at his separation from the band that was about to follow at the time. In the now-deleted post, he wrote in all caps that he had heard about "Toger Daktrey" the lead singer and principal songwriter of the band's discontent with "Zak the drummer's performance" at the Albert Hall.
Ringo Starr's son added that Daltrey was about to bring "formal charges of overplaying" and "literally going to Zak the drummer.”
However, in a turn of events, Starkey was re-hired by the band as reported by Variety on April 19. The Who's guitarist, Pete Townshend, declared on Instagram that Zak Starkey wasn't being asked to step down from the band. The guitarist's post read:
“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.”
While it has been difficult for fans to keep up with what went on with Starkey being fired and restored as a part of The Who, Pete Townshend announced via an Instagram post on May 18 that it was time for a change. Townshend mentioned Zak's departure from the band, citing that the drummer has multiple projects in hand and welcomed Scott Devours to join the band for its final shows.
On the same day, Zak Starkey wrote a lengthy note on Instagram stating that he was asked to make a statement about quitting The Who due to "other musical endeavors." However, he added that it would've been a lie and he would've never left the group, emphasizing that he loved the band.
