Ringo Starr hits out at “little man” Roger Daltrey for firing son Zak Starkey from The Who

Ringo Starr has hit out at Roger Daltrey for firing his son Zak Starkey from The Who.

Last month, Starkey insisted that he was “fired” from The Who, following Daltrey’s claim that the drummer had been “retired” so that he could work on his other projects. “This is fukin total bollox,” Starkey said, after some back and forth with his ex-bandmates about the situation.

• Read More: Pete Townshend tells us about his new Quadrophenia ballet and the future of The Who

He also revealed that he’d “had a great phone chat with Roger”, which “truly confused both of us”.

The musician had previously told fans that he had been kicked out of the group, but Pete Townshend denied this shortly afterwards. However, The Who’s guitarist later officially announced Starkey’s departure from the line-up, stating that “the time has come for a change”. He cited Starkey’s “new projects” too, concluding: “I wish him the best.”

During a new interview with Rolling Stone, the sticksman was asked what his Beatles legend father thought of the situation. He responded: “He [Starr] said, ‘I’ve never liked the way that little man runs that band’.” This is seemingly a reference to frontman Daltrey.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by therealzakstarkey (@therealzakstarkey)

Starkey went on to speak further on the back and forth, explaining: “I spoke to Roger last week. He said, ‘Don’t take your drums out of the warehouse, we might be calling you’. What the fuck? These guys are fuckin’ insane! I’ve been fired more times than [late Who drummer] Keith Moon in 10 days.”

The musician also drums for Mantra Of The Cosmos – completed by Happy Mondays’ Shaun Ryder and Bez, along with Andy Bell. Starkey previously had a stint behind the kit for Oasis, but said he was “gutted” to have not been asked to join their huge reunion tour this summer.

Elsewhere, Starkey recently claimed that The Who had asked to “lie” about quitting after his abrupt departure from the line-up.

The musician last performed on stage with The Who at the Royal Albert Hall in March, as part of this year’s Teenage Cancer Trust gig series. It was here that frictions between Starkey and the rest of the band appeared to emerge.

In other news, Roger Daltrey has been awarded a Knighthood in King Charles III’s Birthday Honours list.

Meanwhile, Starkey’s group Mantra Of The Cosmos have teamed up with John Lennon’s son Sean Ono Lennon and Paul McCartney’s son James McCartney on a new song, ‘Rip-Off’.

The post Ringo Starr hits out at “little man” Roger Daltrey for firing son Zak Starkey from The Who appeared first on NME.