Zak Starkey, drummer with The Who since 1996, has been fired by the band for a second time. The news arrives just a month after Starkey was fired and then quickly reinstated, reportedly after a dispute with frontman Roger Daltrey became public during a Teenage Cancer Trust Performance at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
Guitarist Pete Townshend broke the news of Starkey's second firing, taking to social media to say, "After many years of great work on drums from Zak the time has come for a change. A poignant time. Zak has lots of new projects in hand and I wish him the best."
Starkey responded by posting, "I was fired two weeks after reinstatement and asked to make a statement saying I had quit The Who to pursue my other musical endeavours this would be a lie. I love The Who and would never have quit.
"So I didn’t make the statement ….quitting The Who would also have let down the countless amazing people who stood up for me (thank you all a million times over and more) through the weeks of mayhem of me going ‘in an' out an' in an' out an' in an' out like a bleedin' squeezebox. "To clarify ‘other projects’, yes, I do have other projects and always have."
Starkey goes on to detail the other projects at length, before adding, "None of this has ever interfered with The Who and was never a problem for them. The lie is or would have been that I quit The Who – I didn’t. I love The Who and everyone in it."
The news of Starkey's dismissal comes just two weeks after The Who announced their farewell tour of America during a press conference at the Iconic Gallery in London. Full dates below.
Support acts for the tour include Billy Bob Thornton and The Boxmasters, ZZ Ward, Booker T. Jones, The Joe Perry Project, Feist, Tom Cochrane, Joe Bonamassa, Candlebox and Billy Idol.
The Who: The Song Is Over tour 2025
Aug 16: Sunrise Amerant Bank Arena, FL =
Aug 19: Newark Prudential Center, NJ =
Aug 21: Philadelphia Wells Fargo Center, PA ^
Aug 23: Atlantic City Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall, NJ +
Aug 26: Boston Fenway Park, MA ¶
Aug 28: Wantagh Northwell at Jones Beach Theater, NY º
Aug 30: New York Madison Square Garden, NY º
Sep 02: Toronto Budweiser Stage, ON >
Sep 04: Toronto Budweiser Stage, ON >
Sep 07: Chicago United Center, IL <
Sep 09: Chicago United Center, IL <
Sep 17: Los Angeles Hollywood Bowl, CA ¶
Sep 19: Los Angeles Hollywood Bowl, CA ¶
Sep 21: Mountain View Shoreline Amphitheatre, CA ¢
Sep 23: Vancouver Rogers Arena, BC ¢
Sep 25: Seattle Climate Pledge Arena, WA ¢
Sep 28: Las Vegas MGM Grand Garden Arena, NV ø
= with Billy Bob Thornton and The Boxmasters
^ with ZZ Ward
+ with Booker T. Jones
¶ with The Joe Perry Project
º with Feist
> with Tom Cochrane
< with Joe Bonamassa
¢ with Candlebox
ø with Billy Idol
