The Who originally released a statement on April 16 saying “The band made a collective decision to part ways with Zak after this round of shows at the Royal Albert Hall. They have nothing but admiration for him and wish him the very best for his future.”
“I’m very proud of my near thirty years with The Who,” shared Starkey in a written statement of his own. “After playing those songs with the band for so many decades, I’m surprised and saddened anyone would have an issue with my performance that night, but what can you do?....Twenty-nine years at any job is a good old run, and I wish them the best.”
Who associate Brian Kehew posted behind the scenes details of the shows on his regular Backstage Blog, which featured a production change that saw Daltrey not using his regular in-ear monitors, which appeared to have caused some hearing issues for the rocker during the March 30 performance, which included a series of missteps on some songs and of couple of restarts, including the live debut of the 1971 track, “The Song Is Over.”
“To sing that song, I do need to hear the key,” said Daltrey. “And I can’t hear. There’s no pitch here. I just hear drums, ‘boom boom boom.’ I can’t sing to that. I’m sorry guys. We’ll try one more even though it’s getting late”; the band ran through it a second time and the singer had no trouble.
On April 19, The Who released an extended statement that began “News Flash! Who Backs Zak! He's not being asked to step down from The Who. There have been some communication issues, personal and private on all sides, that needed to be dealt with, and these have been aired happily.
“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….“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 apologized. 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.”
As the dust tried to settle, Daltrey and Townshend fired Starkey a second time, saying “The Who are heading for retirement, whereas Zak is 20 years younger and has a great future with his new band and other exciting projects. He needs to devote all his energy into making it all a success. We both wish him all the luck in the world. Scott Devours – Who fans will know him from Roger’s solo shows – will be replacing Zak. We hope all our fans will welcome him.”
Starkey issued another response to the pair’s statement, writing "I was fired two weeks after reinstatement and asked to make a statement saying I had quit the who to pursue my other musical endevours this would be a lie. I love the who and would never had quit. So I didn't make the statement ....quitting the who would also have let down the countless amazing people who stood up for me (thank you all a million times over and more) thru the weeks of mayhem of me going 'in an out an in an out an in an out like a bleedin squeezebox x"
The Who will launch The Song Is Over North America Farewell Tour on August 16 in Sunrise, FL.
Add some of The Who to your collection here.
See also:
The Who announce farewell North American tour
The Who honored with Royal Mail stamp series
Roger Daltrey announces semi-acoustic tour dates
The Who preview expanded edition of Who’s Next and Life House
Search The Who at hennemusic