The Who announced on April 16, 2025, that it had made a “collective decision” to part ways with drummer Zak Starkey after its Royal Albert Hall shows. Pete Townshend reversed that message three days later, saying Starkey was not being asked to leave. On May 18, Townshend and Roger Daltrey announced that Scott Devours would take Starkey’s place for the band’s final concerts. Starkey later disputed the band’s account of how the separation happened.
How the split unfolded
The April headlines captured a real announcement, but not the band’s lasting public position. The sequence moved from a reported parting, to a public reversal, to a later statement naming a replacement. The accounts differ, so the dates and speakers matter.
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- 1996: Starkey joined The Who during the Quadrophenia tour. Rolling Stone UK says he played on the albums Endless Wire (2006) and Who (2019). Rolling Stone UK’s profile of Starkey
- March 2025: The Who played Royal Albert Hall concerts for Teenage Cancer Trust. During “The Song Is Over,” The Guardian reported, Daltrey said he could not hear the key and complained that he could hear only the drums. The Guardian’s April 16 report
- April 16: A band representative told The Guardian that The Who had made a “collective decision” to part ways with Starkey after the Royal Albert Hall shows. Starkey told People, as quoted in The Guardian’s report, that he was proud of his near 30 years with the band and surprised and saddened that anyone had an issue with his performance.
- April 19: Townshend posted a clarification on The Who’s official site: “He’s not being asked to step down from The Who.” He described communication and sound-check problems and said Starkey had agreed to tighten his evolved playing style for a non-orchestral lineup. Townshend’s April 19 statement
- May 18: Townshend and Daltrey said the band was heading for retirement and named Scott Devours as Starkey’s replacement for its final concerts. The Who’s May 18 announcement
- May 2025: Starkey gave a different account to EL PAÍS, saying he had been fired two weeks after being reinstated and asked to say he had left for other projects. He said that would be a lie. This is Starkey’s account of the separation, not an independently established explanation. EL PAÍS’s interview with Starkey
Why did The Who part ways with Zak Starkey?
The band’s April 16 statement announced the parting but did not give a detailed reason. The March Royal Albert Hall performance became part of the public context because Daltrey complained onstage about what he could hear while singing. The Guardian reported his remark, but it does not establish that the sound issue was the settled cause of the later split.
Townshend’s April 19 explanation pointed to communication problems, possible sound-check issues and a need for Starkey to adjust his playing for the band’s non-orchestral lineup. Townshend also referred to his own recovery from knee replacement surgery as context for the situation. His statement presented the immediate dispute as something that could be worked through, not as a settled departure.
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The May 18 statement gave a later explanation: The Who was heading toward retirement, while Starkey was younger and had other projects to pursue. The band named Devours for its final concerts. Starkey disputed the characterization that he had left voluntarily, so the band’s public rationale and Starkey’s account should not be treated as the same claim.
Was Zak Starkey fired, or did he leave voluntarily?
The public record contains conflicting accounts. The April 16 announcement described a “collective decision” by the band. Townshend then said on April 19 that Starkey was not being asked to step down. In May, Starkey said he had been fired and asked to describe the exit as his choice; The Who’s May 18 statement, meanwhile, said Starkey needed to focus on other projects and announced his replacement.
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Those statements establish that the band reversed its immediate April message and later moved ahead with a different drummer. They do not resolve Starkey’s claim about what he was asked to say. Attribute the firing and alleged request to Starkey rather than presenting them as undisputed facts.
Who replaced Zak Starkey?
The Who named Scott Devours as Starkey’s replacement for the band’s final concerts in its May 18 statement. Devours had played with Daltrey’s solo group. That announcement came after Townshend’s April reversal, so Devours’ appointment marks the later separation rather than the original April 16 message.
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What Starkey’s tenure with The Who means
Starkey joined The Who in 1996 during the Quadrophenia tour. Rolling Stone UK reports that he appeared at practically every concert after joining and played on Endless Wire and Who. His departure therefore followed a decades-long association, even though the public dispute over the final weeks unfolded in a matter of days.
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