'70s Rock Legend Accuses Ringo Starr's Son of 'Character Assassination' Amidst Ongoing Feud

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'70s Rock Legend Accuses Ringo Starr's Son of 'Character Assassination' Amidst Ongoing Feud originally appeared on Parade.
Roger Daltrey pulls no punches on stage, so it comes as no surprise that he's hard-hitting off stage, too.
After fronting The Who for over sixty years, the rock legend, 81, has long abandoned any desire to hold back, as evidenced by not only his recent performances during the band's farewell tour, but in recent press, too.
In an interview with The Times, Daltrey addressed his already public feud with The Who's former drummer Zak Starkey, 59. In April 2025, the drummer was fired, then immediately rehired, then fired once again.
Daltrey's issues with Starkey began one month earlier, in March 2025, during a concert The Who played at the Royal Albert Music Hall. Fans watched what appeared to be a tense moment between Daltrey and Starkey.
"To sing that song, I do need to hear the key, and I can't,' he said in the midst of the band's attempt to play 'The Song Is Over'. 'All I've got is drums going boom, boom, boom. I can't sing to that. I'm sorry, guys.'
It seemed like Daltrey was calling Starkey out in front of the crowd, but according to Daltrey, things aren't always what they seem.
'An audience can see what's happening on stage and have a complete misunderstanding of what's actually going on,' Daltrey said, explaining that when he plays shows with The Who, he actually hears the drums through an in-ear monitor.
"It is controlled by a guy on the side, and we had so much sub-bass on the sound of the drums that I couldn't pitch. I was pointing to the bass drum and screaming at him because it was like flying a plane without seeing the horizon. So when Zak thought I was having a go at him, I wasn't. That's all that happened.'
After the show, Starkey, who'd felt unfairly targeted by Daltrey at the time, spoke with The Telegraph and placed the blame back on Daltrey. 'What happened was I got it right and Roger got it wrong,' he said.
Naturally, Daltrey wasn't pleased with Starkey's public response. "It was kind of a character assassination and it was incredibly upsetting," Daltrey told The Times.
Starkey, son of Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, grew up around Keith Moon, The Who's original drummer and a close friend of his father's. "Keith was like an uncle, really," he told Modern Drummer in 2006. 'He was one of my dad's best friends. [...] He was a really fantastic guy to hang out with."
Starkey had been drumming for The Who for nearly 30 years when he was unceremoniously dismissed from the band in April. But then, just three days later, guitarist and band co-founder Pete Townshend went straight to social media to proclaim that Starkey was back in the band.
"News Flash! Who back Zak!" Townshend he wrote in his Instagram post. 'Zak is not being asked to step down from The Who. There have been some communication issues, personal and private on all sides, that needed to be dealt with, and these have been aired happily."
But, all must not have been well in the band, because not even a month later, Starkey was asked to leave the band once again. Townshend again took to Instagram to share the news.
"After many years of great work on drums from Zak the time has come for a change," he wrote. "A poignant time. Zak has lots of new projects in hand and I wish him the best."
And while Starkey did in fact confirm his second departure from the band, he didn't hold back when recounting his version of events on his own Instagram post.
"I was fired two weeks after reinstatement and asked to make a statement saying I had quit The Who to pursue my other musical endeavors," he wrote in May 2025. "This would be a lie. I love The Who and would never had quit. So I didn't make the statement."
He concluded his statement by simply saying, "I love The Who and everyone in it."
But, The Who doesn't necessarily feel the same, despite Starkey's 29 year-long tenure.
"Pete and I retain the right to be the Who. Everyone else is a session player. You can't replace Keith Moon. We wanted to branch out and that's all I want to say about it. But [Starkey's reaction] was crippling to me," Daltrey told The Times.
'70s Rock Legend Accuses Ringo Starr's Son of 'Character Assassination' Amidst Ongoing Feud first appeared on Parade on Aug 4, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Aug 4, 2025, where it first appeared.