Zak Starkey, drummer of The Who and son of Beatles legend Ringo Starr, recently clarified the circumstances surrounding the circumstances of his departure from the band. On May 26, Starkey shared that Roger Daltrey informed him that he had been “retired,” and “fired” from the group, on an Instagram post. Clarifying the series of events that led the public to be confused about the status of The Who. 

“I had a great phone chat with Roger at the end of last week which truly confused both of us!!!” Starkey began. “Rog said I hadn’t been ‘fired’… I had been ‘retired’ to work n my own projects [sic],” stated from NME. 

This situation dates back to earlier March during a performance at London’s Albert Hall, where Daltrey expressed some frustration over issues with sounds, and saying he couldn’t hear the keys due to the drums. This incident reportedly led to Starkey’s initial departure. However, he was shortly brought back after Pete Townshend, the band’s guitarist, added to the issue of communication between the band. 

On May 18 Townshend announced that Starkey would be departing from the band to focus on personal projects, and Scott Devours would be replacing Starkey for the band’s The Song Is Over, North America Farewell Tour.