Ringo Starr Defends Son After Firing From The Who By Roger Daltrey

Music

Jun 22

Starkey and Starr — Image Source: YouTube

Ringo Starr is singing “The No No” song to The Who regarding the firing of his son, Zak Starkey. To recap the whole saga, Zack Starkey, the son of former Beatle Ringo Starr, was fired from The Who back in April after having been with the band since 1996. The firing stemmed from accusations of “over-playing” by the band’s lead singer and co-founder, Roger Daltrey. However, later that week, The Who’s guitarist and other co-founder, Pete Townshend, clarified the situation and said that Starkey was never fired, so he “returned” to the band. However, toward the end of last month, the drummer was fired again just as The Who were to embark on their farewell tour, though the band framed it as him being asked to “retire” from the band to focus on other projects, but even that might have been born out of a misunderstanding. In all of this, you may be asking, what does Zak’s father, the legendary Ringo Starr, have to say regarding his son’s treatment from the famous band? Well, he has a lot to say on the matter.

Zack said in an interview with Rolling Stone that his father, in response to hearing that his son was sacked for a second time, said, “I’ve never liked the way that little man [Daltrey] runs his band.” Starkey says he is “very proud” his father came to his defense and adds that, despite initially apologizing for his supposed overplaying and potentially missing a beat or two in the March concert, where the drama that initially caused the split occurred, he states that it was actually Daltrey who made the error, claiming the singer came in “four bars early.” Furthermore, Starkey doesn’t think he was fired for financial reasons, saying, “Roger is quite renowned … I once asked [former Who bassist] John Entwistle if Roger still had the money from the last Who tour. He goes: ‘He’s still got the money from the first one.’”

However, despite the whole fiasco regarding his firing, rehiring, and then firing again, Starkey says that he holds no ill will towards the band, saying, “I don’t hold any grudges. It’s The Who. Weirder s--- than this has gone down. I’ve heard them say weirder s--- than this. It’s The Who — the maddest band there’s ever been."

READ NEXT:

Featured