A month after he was fired, and then quickly rehired, following a 29-year stint filling the late Keith Moon’s shoes in the Who, Zak Starkey has been let go again — this time for good. He will be replaced by Scott Devours, the longtime drummer for Who frontman Roger Daltrey’s solo band.
“After many years of great work on drums from Zak, the time has come for a change,” the Who’s Pete Townshend wrote on Instagram. “A poignant time. Zak has lots of new projects in hand and I wish him the best.” Later in the day, the Who’s website posted a separate statement attributed to Townshend and Daltrey, whose issues with Starkey’s playing style propelled the original firing.
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“The Who are heading for retirement,” the statement said, referencing the legendary band’s upcoming farewell tour of North America. “whereas Zak is 20 years younger and has a great future with his new band and other exciting projects. He needs to devote all his energy into making it all a success. We both wish him all the luck in the world.”
Starkey quickly responded on Instagram, writing, “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 had 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) thru the weeks of mayhem of me going ‘in an out an in an out an in an out’ like a bleedin squeezebox x.”
After the original incident, Starkey said he planned to take some time off with his family, finish his autobiography (“written solely by me”) and work further with Mantra of the Cosmos, his band with Ride/Oasis member Andy Bell and Happy Mondays principals Shaun Ryder and Bez.
The Who’s tour begins Aug. 16 in Sunrise, Fl., and has shows on the books through Sept. 28 in Las Vegas. For now, no international dates have been confirmed.
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