The Who’s Pete Townshend is opening up about the drama that led to the band firing their drummer, Zak Starkey.
Problems arose during The Who’s Teenage Cancer Trust shows at Royal Albert Hall in March, with Roger Daltrey calling out Starkey’s playing during “The Song is Over.”
“It’s been a mess,” Townshend shares in a new interview with The i Paper. “I couldn’t see anything wrong. What you see is a band who haven’t played together for a long time. But I think it was probably to do with the sound.”
He adds, “I think Roger just got lost. Roger’s finding it difficult.” He notes, “I have to be careful what I say about Roger because he gets angry if I say anything about him at all. He’ll be sacking me next.”
As for whether it was hard to let Starkey go, Townshend says he wasn’t the one who actually hired Zak in the first place: “Roger invited him in. … And at that time, I don’t know quite why he chose Zak, but Zak is another Keith Moon. He comes with real, real bonuses and real, real difficulties.”
He adds, “I will miss Zak terribly. … But quite what the story is, I don’t f***** know. I really don’t know.”
As for the band’s upcoming final tour of the U.S., Townshend doesn’t sound excited about it.
“I don’t know whether I’ve been up for doing anything with The Who since 1973,” he says. “But I am looking forward to it. Not because it’s the end, but because I hope that we can continue to explore other things.”
But those other things likely won’t be new music. Townshend says he wants to make another album but Daltrey doesn’t.
“He feels that we’ve got enough legacy, and that’s where we differ,” Townshend says.
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