Ringo Starr Slams “Little Man” Roger Daltrey After Son Zak Starkey Is Fired From The Who

Ringo Starr is sticking up for his son. After Zak Starkey was fired from The Who twice in a matter of weeks, the drummer revealed what his famous dad thought of the ordeal.

Videos by American Songwriter

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Starkey recalled his dad stating, “I’ve never liked the way that little man runs that band.” The statement was seemingly in reference to The Who singer Roger Daltrey.

The firing saga first began in April after a performance at Royal Albert Hall. According to Starkey, Daltrey “came in four bars early” while the band was playing “The Song Is Over,” though the latter musician disagreed with that assessment.

“He just got lost. He blamed it on the drums being too loud, and then it got made into this huge social media thing,” Starkey said. “And it freaked him out. He’s going around doing solo shows, and saying it’s ‘fake news.’ But it wasn’t me.”

Daltrey and Pete Townshend proceeded to fire Starkey from the band after three decades. One week later, though, Starkey said Townshend called him and offered him his job back if he’d admit to dropping two beats. Starkey complied, but that wasn’t the end of the story.

“And then ten days later, I got a call saying ‘It’s never going to work. We want you to put out a statement saying you’re moving on to do your own thing,’” Starkey recalled. “And I said, ‘But I’m f**kin’ not.’ So I just left it and didn’t do it. It would be a lie. I’d never leave The Who. I love The Who.”

Zak Starkey Says He’d Return to The Who If Asked

Even after all of that, Starkey claimed that Daltrey told him not to take his drums out of The Who’s storage facility in case they need him.

“These guys are f**kin’ insane,” Starkey said of the ordeal. “It’s a good insane, and they have an addiction to friction.”

As for who he blames for the saga, Starkey told The Telegraph that he has no ill will towards either of his former bandmates.

“I don’t blame anyone,” he said. “I blame The Who because they’re unpredictable, aggressive and f**king insane.”

With that being said, Starkey told both outlets that he’d happily return to The Who if asked.

Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images