Listen… when you’ve been a band for nearly thirty years – you’re like family. And like families do… you have little fights here and there. And The Who had a spat. A pretty public spat, but a wee spat nonetheless.
Pete Townshend has just cleared up the confusion with an official statement that retracts the band’s statement from earlier in the week that announced their drummer Zak Starkey‘s departure.
After a reportedly rocky set of shows at Royal Albert Hall in which technical and sound issues dampened the band’s performance, The Who said that “the band had made a collective decision to part ways with Zak,” who’s been a member of the band since 1996.
That statement, is now, void. Pete Townshend has now, clarified, in a new statement (via TheWho.com):
“News Flash! Who Backs Zak!
He’s 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.
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. 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!
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.
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.
As for Roger, fans can enjoy his forthcoming solo shows with his fabulous drummer, Scott Devours, who it was rumoured might replace Zak in The Who and has always been supportive of the band.
I owe Scott an apology for not crushing that rumour before it spread. He has been hurt by this. I promise to buy him a very long drink and give him a hug.”
Well, well, well… isn’t that heartwarming?
As mentioned in Townshend‘s statement, Roger Daltrey is kicking off his UK tomorrow, with The Who set to perform two shows in Italy during July.
Check out exactly what Pete Townshend had to say on Instagram below.
Source: metalinjection.net
