Roger Daltrey talks about Zak Starkey’s return and possible Who shows in 2027

After being fired twice by The Who last year, their longtime drummer, who had been with the band since 1996, is back. The news was shared by Roger Daltrey during his solo show last week and later confirmed by Starkey. In a new interview with Life Minute TV, the band’s vocalist talked about Zak and the possibility of The Who playing shows next year.

Roger Daltrey talks about Zak Starkey’s return and possible Who shows in 2027

“It’s never been the same since Keith died. I can’t pretend it has. We were firing on all cylinders. We could throw anything out there and make something of it. That kind of disappeared when Keith died.”

“We tried Kenny Jones, who is a great drummer, but a straight drummer just does not work with The Who. It just does not work. But Zak Starkey, he’s not Keith Moon, but he comes very close.”

“We love Zak. We do love Zak. Sometimes the road doesn’t love Zak. It gets on top of him, so it becomes difficult, but we love him. We did the rehearsal to see if we can possibly do shows next year, still hit the notes, still get the drive. Who music demands an incredible amount of drive, and without that, it would be like Herman’s Hermits without Herman,” Roger Daltrey said (Transcribed by Classic Rock).

What Zak Starkey said about his return

After Daltrey revealed in concert they were rehearsing together again, Zak Starkey, who is Ringo Starr’s son, shared a message on his social media, saying: “Nice one, Rog. Looking forward to tearing it up with The Who again. The rehearsal was great. I don’t think we’ve ever rehearsed as tough as that. Usually we drink tea and talk about what time we’re going home!”

Starkey was part of the band’s touring line-up for 29 years and was fired twice in 2025. One week after the first time he was fired the band announced he was back but one week later fired him again. Everything started during a show where Roger Daltrey felt he was playing some wrong parts.

At the time Starkey noted that he was playing it right and it was Roger who got the song wrong, saying it was probably because the singer couldn’t hear most of the instruments. Starkey was replaced by Scott Devours, who is Roger Daltrey‘s solo band drummer. Devours is one year younger than Starkey and is American. He was previously part of bands like Oleander and IMA Robot. He is a good friend of the band and works with Daltrey for more than a decade already.