Zak Starkey is back in The Who and Pete Townshend explains why

Just a few days after being fired by The Who, the band announced that the drummer Zak Starkey is rejoining them. Reports initially said he was fired because the singer Roger Daltrey wasn’t happy with his performance during the most recent Who shows, because he “overplayed”. Starkey released a few enigmatic and sarcastic posts on his social media afterwards, mentioning Daltrey. Now, according to Pete Townshend, he wasn’t fired from the band and everything was a communication problem.

Read The Who’s official statement about welcoming Zak Starkey back

“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.”

“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!”

Pete Townshend 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. As for Roger, fans can enjoy his forthcoming solo shows with his fabulous drummer, Scott Devours, who it was rumoured might replace Zak in The Who and has always been supportive of the band.”

“I owe Scott an apology for not crushing that rumour before it spread. He has been hurt by this. I promise to buy him a very long drink and give him a hug,” Pete Townshend said.

He has been the drummer for the band for 29 years and curiously, it was Keith Moon, a good friend of his father Ringo Starr, who gave him his first drum kit.