The social media rumour mill h that members of The Who had fired drummer Zak Starkey (son of Beatle Ringo Starr).
Pete Townsend has also taken to social media to “set the record straight”.
Townsend wrote that Zak Starkey is “not being asked to step down from The Who.”
In a post titled “News Flash! Who Backs Zak!” Townsend noted, “there have been some communication issues, personal and private on all sides, that needed to be dealt with, and these have been aired happily.”
He added, “Roger and I would like Zak to tighten up his latest evolved drumming style to accommodate our non-orchestral line up and he has readily agreed. I take responsibility for some of the confusion. Our TCT shows at the Royal Albert Hall were a little tricky for me. I thought that four and a half weeks would be enough time to recover completely from having a complete knee replacement. (Why did I ever think I could land on my knees?) Wrong!”
He continued, “maybe we didn’t put enough time into sound checks, giving us problems on stage. The sound in the centre of the stage is always the most difficult to work with. Roger did nothing wrong but fiddle with his in-ear monitors. Zak made a few mistakes and he has apologised. Albeit with a rubber duck drummer. We are a family, this blew up very quickly and got too much oxygen. It’s over. We move forward now with optimism and fire in our bellies.”