The Who reveal that drummer Zak Starkey, son of Ringo Starr, is back in band but will ‘tighten up’ his style

After a brief parting of ways, Zak Starkey is back in the Who.

Lead guitarist and songwriter Pete Townshend has announced that the band’s longtime drummer, who is the son of Beatles legend Ringo Starr, is still a part of the “Baba O’Riley” group.

“He’s not being asked to step down from the Who,” Townshend wrote in a statement on Saturday. “There have been some communication issues, personal and private on all sides, that needed to be dealt with, and these have been aired happily.”

The news comes after a representative for the Who told Rolling Stone that “the band made a collective decision to part ways with Zak after this round of shows at the Royal Albert Hall.” 

Soon after that previous announcement, Starkey told Entertainment Weekly that he’d experienced a health scare. “In January, I suffered a serious medical emergency with blood clots in my right bass drum calf,” he said, noting that he’s now completely recovered and thinks his performance abilities remain unaffected. “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?”

Starkey’s exit from the group followed lead singer Roger Daltrey publicly expressing his displeasure with the drummer’s performance at their Royal Albert Hall gig on March 31. The U.K. news outlet Metro reported in its review of the show that the 81-year-old rocker paused the concert during their final song of the night, “The Song Is Over,” telling the audience, “To sing that song I do need to hear the key, and I can’t. All I’ve got is drums going boom, boom, boom. I can’t sing to that. I’m sorry, guys.”

In his statement on Saturday, Townshend asked that Starkey adjust his playing. “Roger [Daltrey] and I would like Zak to tighten up his latest evolved drumming style to accommodate our non-orchestral lineup, and he has readily agreed,” he wrote. “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!”

Townshend continued, “Maybe we didn’t put enough time into sound checks, giving us problems on stage. The sound in the center 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.”

The songwriter also said the band is “a family” and that the Starkey debacle quickly “got too much oxygen” in the press. “It’s over,” he wrote. “We move forward now with optimism and fire in our bellies.”

Townshend also acknowledged the rumors that Daltrey’s drummer from his solo performances, Scott Devours, would replace Starkey in the Who’s lineup. “I owe Scott an apology for not crushing that rumor before it spread,” he wrote. “He has been hurt by this. I promise to buy him a very long drink and give him a hug.”

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The Who’s original drummer, Keith Moon, died at age 32 in 1978. He was replaced by Kenney Jones before Starkey joined the band’s touring lineup in 1996. Starkey contributed to their studio albums Endless Wire in 2006 and Who in 2019.