Ringo Starr trashes ‘little man' Roger Daltrey for firing son Zak Starkey from The Who

Yahoo

5 hours ago

Not letting it be.
In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Starr's son, Zak Starkey, revealed how his famous father, Ringo Starr, stuck up for him after he was fired from The Who by frontman Roger Daltrey.
'I'm very proud of him standing up for me,' said Starkey, 59.
When asked how the 84-year-old Beatles legend reacted, Starkey replied: 'He said, 'I've never liked the way that little man runs that band.''
Starr appeared to be referring to Daltrey, who had an alleged altercation with Starkey that led to his exit from the band.
The Post has reached out to Daltrey's rep for comment.
In April, it was announced that Starkey was leaving The Who after performing with the group for almost 30 years. But Starkey was quickly rehired by The Who, only to be let go from the band, again, in May.
'After many years of great work on drums from Zak the time has come for a change,' guitarist Pete Townshend wrote via Instagram on May 18. 'A poignant time. Zak has lots of new projects in hand and I wish him the best.'
In the Rolling Stone interview, Starkey gave more context into his firing, which happened after his bandmates were unhappy with his performance at London's Royal Albert Hall in late March.
'It was all a bit vague. It was just like, 'You're getting fired,'' Starkey claimed. 'And Pete had to hang in there with Rog because I think it was … I don't know. I'm not going to name names or who did what. But Pete called me and said, 'Are you strong enough to fight for your job back?' I said, 'I'm not strong enough to have you do it for me. I don't want you doing it.''
Starkey said that Townshend, 80, called him a week later and asked him to rejoin the group.
'I got my job back. And then 10 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 explained. '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.'
Despite his double firings and The Who announcing that drummer Scott Devours will replace Starkey on the band's upcoming farewell tour, Starkey said that he's still unsure where he stands with the group.
'I spoke to Roger last week,' Starkey told Rolling Stone. 'He said, 'Don't take your drums out of the warehouse, we might be calling you.' What the f – – k? These guys are f – – kin' insane!'
When asked if he blames Daltrey for the drama, Starkey responded, 'I don't blame anyone. I don't hold any grudges. It's the Who. Weirder sh-t than this has gone down. I've heard them say weirder sh-t than this. It's The Who — the maddest band there's ever been.'
Starkey also confirmed that he'd 'of course' return to the band again.