The controversy around Zak Starkey and The Who remains incredibly disorienting. It has come to the point where his dad Ringo Starr had to speak up for his boy. "I've never liked the way that little man [Roger Daltrey] runs his band," Ringo says, according to his son. Digging deeper, it seems like this was an amalgamation of frustrations with how Starkey plays. Still, it seems strange to fire someone on two different occasions for this. It's all a mess, even to band members themselves like Pete Townshend.
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Recently, the guitarist spoke to The i Paper in the U.K. about the whole debacle. Apparently, he's just as confused as to what exactly sparked this dismissal. What he knows for certain is that he'll miss having Zak Starkey around with the band. "I will miss Zak terribly. But quite what the story is, I don't f------ know. I really don't know," Townshend says.
Pete Townshend Opens Up About Zak Starkey's Dismissal From The Who
Additionally, reading between the lines, it seems like lead singer Roger Daltrey is just generally ornery with everyone. He allegedly gets mad easily and this kind of frustration spun out into the state of The Who as well. "It's been a mess," Pete continues. "I think [Roger Daltrey] just got lost. Roger's finding it difficult. 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. But that's not to say that he sacked Zak. It's a decision Roger and I tried to make together, but it kind of got out of hand."
However, it doesn't seem like Pete Townshend was ever a huge fan of Zak Starkey from the outset either. "Well, I've never been a huge..." he says before reassessing his words, "I didn't invite him in, right? Roger invited him. 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."
