“One of the difficulties Roger had was Zak jumped straight into Instagram and started to mouth off”: Pete Townshend reveals the real reason why The Who fired Zak Starkey

The Who found themselves at the centre of the headlines earlier this year when drummer Zak Starkey was abruptly fired following a choppy gig at London’s Royal Albert Hall.

Starkey – the son of Beatles legend Ringo Starr – was re-admitted into the band on the condition that he “tighten up”, but was subsequently dismissed again a short time later.

Now, guitarist Pete Townshend has explained in further detail why frontman Roger Daltrey decided Starkey was out of the band following that Royal Albert Hall show and the subsequent aftermath.

• READ MORE: “Pete and I retain the right to be The Who. Everyone else is a session player”: Roger Daltrey comments on firing of drummer Zak Starkey

“One of the difficulties Roger had was [Zak] jumped straight into Instagram and started to mouth off and defend his position in a cheeky, chatty manner, which belies the seriousness of what actually happened,” Townshend tells AARP.

In a now-deleted post on Instagram made shortly after his firing, Starkey wrote: “Heard today from inside source that Roger Daltrey – lead singer and principal songwriter of the group – is unhappy with my performance at the Albert Hall a few weeks ago, is bringing formal charges of overplaying.”

Pete Townshend continues: “Roger had asked us to rehearse The Song Is Over because that’s what we were calling the tour. We shortened it to three and a half minutes. And about halfway through [during the Royal Albert Hall show], it appeared that Roger got completely lost.

“He stopped, he complained, spoke to his own sound engineer, and started to rage. It looked like he was raging at Zak, but that’s not the case. It became a story among fans, and it looked like Roger made a mistake, but something technical went wrong. [Zak’s] handling of it was, I suppose, light-hearted, but you know Roger.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Townshend is asked why he and Roger Daltrey continue The Who while they’re both now in their 80s, instead of retiring.

“It’s a brand rather than a band,” he says. “Roger and I have a duty to the music and the history. The Who [still] sells records – the Moon and Entwistle families have become millionaires. There’s also something more, really: the art, the creative work is when we perform it. We’re celebrating. We’re a Who tribute band.”