The Who Bring Back Drummer Zak Starkey Days After Parting Ways
Only a few days ago, The Who announced they were parting ways with Ringo Starr's son, Zak Starkey, who has been their drummer since 1996. But that didn't last too long.
On Saturday, it was announced that Starkey was now back in: 'News Flash! Who Back Zak! He's not being asked to step down from The Who,' read a post by The Who's guitarist-songwriter, Pete Townshend posted on the band's official website, as well as on his Instagram.
More from The Hollywood Reporter
The Who Parts Ways With Ringo Starr's Son, Zak Starkey, as Drummer
'The Last of Us' Co-Creator Unpacks That Agonizing Death: "All Relationships Break"
Why Brett Goldstein Is Comparing 'Ted Lasso' Season 4 Renewal to a Dead Cat
'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,' he wrote.
On Wednesday, it was reported that the band and Starkey were going separate ways following criticism of Starkey's performance at the Royal Albert Hall not being well received. Starkey shared a statement with The Hollywood Reporter about how he was 'very proud' of his near thirty years with The Who. 'I'm surprised and saddened anyone would have an issue with my performance that night, but what can you do?,' he shared.
Townshend addressed the show's performance in his statement on the band's website. '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!,' he wrote. '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.'
He continued, '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.'
Best of The Hollywood Reporter
Most Anticipated Concert Tours of 2025: Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar & SZA, Sabrina Carpenter and More
Hollywood's Highest-Profile Harris Endorsements: Taylor Swift, George Clooney, Bruce Springsteen and More
Most Anticipated Concert Tours of 2024: Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny, Olivia Rodrigo and More

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Harvey Weinstein Receives Mixed Partial Verdict As Deliberations Heat Up in Criminal Case
The jury in Harvey Weinstein's criminal trial found him guilty of one count of criminal sexual assault against former Project Runway assistant Miriam Haley, but not guilty of the other count of criminal sexual assault against former model Kaja Sokola. The jury has yet to reach a verdict on rape in the third degree related to aspiring actress Jessica Mann. More from The Hollywood Reporter Jurors Raise Concerns About Harvey Weinstein Deliberations Harvey Weinstein's Team Wants the Jury to Believe He's a Scapegoat of #MeToo Harvey Weinstein Will Not Testify In New York Retrial Judge Curtis Farber on Wednesday had asked the jury whether they had reached a verdict on any counts, before dismissing them for the day, amid larger concerns about fighting and tensions in the jury room. Weinstein faced one charge of rape in the third degree and two charges of criminal sexual act in the first degree, which is the higher felony charge and carries a maximum prison sentence of 25 years. Deliberations are expected to resume Thursday on the rape charge. Haley alleged he forced oral sex on her at his Manhattan apartment in 2006. Aspiring actress Jessica Mann claimed she was raped by Weinstein in 2013 in a Manhattan hotel and Sokola testified Weinstein forcibly had oral sex with her in a hotel in 2006. The jury had been on its fifth day of deliberations, before they came to a halt. The concerns about jury tensions reached such a fever pitch Wednesday that Weinstein himself asked to address the judge in court. 'Your honor, this is a profile in courage moment for you. This is the fourth time we've heard a complaint from the jury,' Weinstein said. 'This is not right for me, the person who is on trial here,' the former mogul continued. 'This is my life that's on the line, and you know what it's not fair. It's simple. It's just not fair.' In that regard, Weinstein referred to an earlier complaint from the juror in which he said the jury was discussing elements of his past that were not part of the case. 'I know how it feels because I've been in situations like this in business,' Weinstein then told the judge about the decision to continue the trial. 'I've been in situations where I've wanted to hold on for dear life,' but that was the wrong choice, he added. Weinstein went on to note that he knows 'judges on a personal level. I know lawyers on a personal level.' 'It's time. It's time. It's time to say this trial is over,' Weinstein said. Farber denied his request and his attorney Arthur Aidala's earlier request for a mistrial, saying that jury room discussions can get heated. 'Jurors fight. They act childish at times. They get heated,' Farber said. 'I'm not going to allow any injustice to happen to you.' This came after the foreperson sent a note Wednesday afternoon asking to speak to the judge, after saying out loud in the courtroom, 'I can't go back in there with the other jurors.' He asked to speak privately with the attorneys and Farber. After returning to court, Farber summed it up saying, 'In a nutshell, there does appear to be some fighting in the jury room.' 'At least one other juror made comments to the effect of 'I'll meet you outside one day,'' Farber said, adding that there had also been yelling and screaming. 'Call 911, protect him! He's asking you to protect him,' Aidala yelled in the courtroom about the juror. 'There's a crime going on in there!' That was the second time the foreperson has asked to speak to the judge during deliberations. On Monday morning, the foreperson had written the judge a note saying 'I need to talk to you about a situation which isn't very good.' At the time, the foreperson said jurors were considering elements from Weinstein's past that weren't being used as evidence in the trial and weren't part of the charged crimes. Another juror, who was juror number seven on this case and the youngest on the jury, had asked to address the court twice Friday, first saying he had heard jurors discussing another juror in the courtroom elevators, and then asking to be excused from the jury as he did not feel the process was 'fair,' while staring at the defense table. All of this comes after Weinstein's 2020 rape and criminal sexual assault conviction was overturned in April 2024 after the court of appeals found the trial prejudiced Weinstein with improper rulings, including allowing women to testify about allegations that were not part of the case. In the 2020 trial, Weinstein received a mixed verdict with the jury finding Weinstein guilty of the crimes against Haley and Mann, but also acquitting Weinstein of first-degree rape and predatory sexual assault related to other women. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg pursued the retrial of Weinstein shortly after his conviction was overturned. Sokola was a new addition to Weinstein's case, and a key witness for the prosecution, as she described meeting with Weinstein for lunch at the Tribeca Grand Hotel in 2006 and being invited up to his hotel room to see a script, as she pursued becoming an actress. When she followed him up, she testified that Weinstein asked her to come up to a hotel room to see a script and then forcibly held her down on the bed, removed her stockings and underwear and performed oral sex on her as she repeatedly asked him to stop. But the defense team sought to undermine her testimony by pointing to the fact that Sokola had not told her sister, who was at the lunch, about the assault, and even unveiled a diary from Sokola that did not include the sexual assault. 'I'm very happy about today's verdict. I'm proud of the other two girls, the other two women who testified. It was a extremely difficult journey for all of us to relive our traumas and to go through it in open court. It's a big win for everyone. Harvey Weinstein will be in jail,' Sokola told reporters outside the courthouse. Haley had testified to meeting Weinstein at the Cannes Film Festival and then later getting work from him on Project Runway. He later invited her to a movie premiere in Los Angeles, which she accepted, and then stopped by his apartment before leaving. It was there that she said Weinstein backed her into the bedroom, held her down and forced himself on her orally. Speaking to reporter's outside the courthouse, Haley said the verdict delivered a message to other predators. 'Today's verdict gives me hope. Hope that there is new awareness around sexual violence and that the myth of the perfect victim is fading. And I hope that this result empowers others to speak out and seek justice. To those predators who still believe they can exploit, abuse, and walk away unscathed: Your time is running out. The world is changing. And you will not outrun the consequences of your actions forever,' Haley said. Both Haley and Sokola had also testified to other unwanted sexual encounters with Weinstein that were not charged in the case, but could be considered as background by the jury. Sokola testified that Weinstein had touched her vagina and put her hand on his penis to masturbate when she was 16. Before the foreperson brought up his concern, the jury had sent three notes Tuesday afternoon related to the testimony of Mann and another Wednesday afternoon asking for the legal definition of rape in the third degree. Best of The Hollywood Reporter Hollywood's Most Notable Deaths of 2025 Harvey Weinstein's "Jane Doe 1" Victim Reveals Identity: "I'm Tired of Hiding" 'Awards Chatter' Podcast: 'Sopranos' Creator David Chase Finally Reveals What Happened to Tony (Exclusive)
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Brian Wilson: Beach Boys star who surfed the waves to success
Brian Wilson, who has died aged 82, was considered one of the world's most influential recording artists. Born in California in 1942, he showed early musical talent, teaching harmonies to his younger brothers Dennis and Carl and obsessively studying piano. In 1961, Wilson, his brothers, cousin Mike Love and friend Al Jardine recorded Surfin', a local hit that marked the birth of The Beach Boys. Signed to Capitol Records a year later, the band shaped 1960s American pop with hits such as Surfin' USA, I Get Around and California Girls. The 1966 album Pet Sounds, which included the track God Only Knows, remains a landmark in modern music, influencing generations of artists including Sir Paul McCartney, who called it his favourite record. Sir Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Smokey Robinson and Carole King were also fans, while The Who's drummer, Keith Moon, fantasised about joining the Beach Boys. The band ranks among the most popular groups of the rock era, with more than 30 singles in the Top 40 and worldwide sales of more than 100 million and they were voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. Originally unfinished in the 1960s, he finally completed and released Smile in 2004 to critical acclaim. Wilson struggled with mental illness and drug addiction, but in later years he toured globally.
Yahoo
40 minutes ago
- Yahoo
‘The Last of Us': Gabriel Luna on shooting flamethrowers and what Season 3 could mean for Tommy
Making a television series can be a lot like surviving the apocalypse. Most of the time you're thrown together with a group of strangers and forced to overcome differences with the hopes of achieving something larger than yourself — maybe even forming a sort of family along the way. And you shoot a flamethrower. More from GoldDerby 'St. Denis Medical' creators Eric Ledgin and Justin Spitzer discuss navigating the 'peaks and valleys of comedy' Liam Payne confirmed as judge for Netflix singing competition, 'Superman' hits hard, and today's other top stories Carrie Preston on fencing with Matthew Broderick and the heart, humor, and growth of 'Elsbeth': 'She's more than just quirky' That's been Gabriel Luna's experience making The Last of Us, the massive HBO production that over the course of two seasons so far has turned its cast and crew into a community not dissimilar from the ragtag forces defending the walls of Jackson Hole, Wyo., from a horde of infected. "It was very similar in the way that we kind of embraced each other off-screen and tried to build the fibers between the cast as quickly as we could," Luna told Gold Derby. "There were instances where people had kind of just met each other and were thrown into pretty intense subject matter." And considering what happens in Season 2, "pretty intense" might be putting it lightly. The Last of Us Five years have passed since the events of Season 1's finale, in which Pedro Pascal's Joel murdered a hospital full of resistance fighters in order to save the life of his surrogate daughter, Ellie (Bella Ramsey). The duo are now living in Jackson, with Joel's brother Tommy, played by Luna. Tommy has spent the past half decade years growing his family, nuclear and otherwise. He and his wife, Maria (Rutina Wesley), now have a young son, and they're leaders within the community of Jackson, which has grown to resemble something like the world before the Cordyceps. For Luna, returning to the world of The Last of Us for the second season meant expanding his off-screen family as well, welcoming in new cast members like Isabela Merced, Kaitlyn Dever, and Young Mazino and doing his best to foster the same camaraderie on set that made Season 1 such a special shoot. "Pedro and myself, Rutina, and Bella were kind of the elder statesman," Luna said. "We were trying to maintain the culture of the show, which is one of love, of real love. And that sounds kind of cliché, but it's, it's really true in this case." But soon the concerns of production were shifting from whether the costars got along to whether Luna could properly handle a flamethrower. The season's biggest set piece, in which hundreds of infected descend upon Jackson, involves Tommy facing down a massive bloater one-on-one, and Luna got to operate the fire-powered weapon himself on set — with less training than you might expect. "They give you a three-minute tutorial," Luna said with a laugh. "That's it a couple of days before you go on." The massive scale of the action in that episode is balanced with drama elsewhere that was painfully personal. Joel's brutal death at the hands of Dever's Abby defines the trajectory of the story that follows, sending Ellie off on a quest for revenge that takes her and Dina (Merced) all the way to Seattle. But when the action picks back up on Episode 3, the focus is on Tommy, now a grieving brother, as he prepares Joel's body for burial. The scene, for Luna, had greater implications for the show that went beyond the story. "It was kind of a farewell to the great leader," Luna said. "The great leadership that Pedro gave, and a transition into Bella's tenure, and myself and everyone else and Kaitlyn, who were going to continue telling the story. Yeah, I kind of let it all go in that moment." The scene was such an integral one that Luna had a unique request. Since Joel remains beneath a sheet during the sequence, Pascal's double, Philippe, laid on the slab for filming. And when production asked Luna whether it would help to have the actor opposite him in full, bloody makeup, he took them up on the offer — unfortunately for Philippe. "I apologized for having them put him in full makeup," Luna said with a laugh. "I'd have to lift that shroud and see his face, and I wanted something to to obviously engage with and react to, and [Philippe] was kind enough to go through several hours of prosthetic makeup to do the full look. And, but it all ended up being really effective for me and hopefully for the piece itself." And while Ellie's quest for Abby takes the action away from Jackson, Tommy eventually catches up with her, just in time to land at the center of the season's climactic cliffhanger. Held at gunpoint by Abby, the fate of Tommy and Ellie are left in the balance until Season 3. But Luna is excited for viewers to learn more about what his character was up to when the series' point of view shifts to Abby and winds the clock back two days. "What's special about the game and the perspective shift that occurs is that your heroes in one viewpoint are someone else's boogeyman," Luna said. "And I look forward to being that — if we do, in fact, handle that story that way. It's an opportunity to really show somebody who returns to their base instincts and the most destructive aspects of their nature and someone who gives in to the fury that that kind of grief sparks." Best of GoldDerby TV Hall of Fame: Top 50 best choices who should be inducted next Carrie Preston on fencing with Matthew Broderick and the heart, humor, and growth of 'Elsbeth': 'She's more than just quirky' 'RuPaul's Drag Race': Onya Nurve and Jewels Sparkles dish their 'ride of a lifetime,' stolen jokes, and turning drag 'inside out' Click here to read the full article.