Even Pete Townshend is Confused by the Zak Starkey Situation in The Who

For over a month now, there has been ongoing drama around The Who related to Zak Starkey, their longtime touring drummer. He was out of the band, then back with the band, and then he was released from the band a second time. (Starkey later said he was 'retired not fired' from The Who.)

Reportedly, Roger Daltrey was unsatisfied with Starkey's performance during a recent set from The Who. However, Pete Townshend has refuted those claims in a new interview.

Speaking with i Paper, Townshend said of Starkey's performance in question, "I couldn't see anything wrong. What you see is a band who haven't played together for a long time. But I think it was probably to do with the sound. I've lost my sound man as a result."

He added, "I think Roger just got lost. Roger’s finding it difficult. I have to be careful what I say about Roger because he gets angry if I say anything about him at all. He’ll be sacking me next. But that’s not to say that he sacked Zak. It’s a decision Roger and I tried to make together, but it kind of got out of hand."

Townshend also noted of Starkey that he's "another Keith Moon," and that comes "with real, real bonuses and real, real difficulties." He also said he "will miss Zak terribly."