Roger Daltrey recently addressed Zak Starkey’s status with The Who, offering an update on the drummer’s situation in a conversation shared on Joann Butler in Studio With….
Daltrey reflected on the band’s chemistry since the death of original drummer Keith Moon, explaining why Starkey has been the right fit despite past difficulties on the road.
“We were firing on all cylinders. You could fire anything at us and we would make something of it. That kind of disappeared when Keith died,” Daltrey said. “But we found Zak Starkey. We tried Kenny Jones – who is a great drummer. A straight drummer just does not work with The Who. Just does not work. Zak Starkey is not Keith Moon, but he’s come very close.”
Daltrey went on to describe a recent rehearsal with Starkey and the uncertainty surrounding his future with the band.
“I don’t know if he’s coming back. We did a rehearsal recently, and Zak was the drummer. We love Zak, but sometimes the road doesn’t like Zak. Sometimes it gets on top of him, and it becomes difficult,” he continued. “He was drumming at the rehearsal, and we did the rehearsal to see if we can possibly do shows next year. Still hit the notes, still get the drive. Who music demands an incredible amount of drive, and without that, it would be Herman’s Hermits without the Herman.”
Daltrey’s comments suggest The Who are weighing potential live shows for next year, with Starkey’s participation still undecided.
That uncertainty comes on the back of a turbulent stretch between Starkey and the band that has played out very publicly over the past year and a half.
Starkey has been The Who’s regular touring drummer since 1996. That gave him nearly three decades behind the kit for the band before things unraveled. That long history is part of why his on-again, off-again status has drawn so much attention from fans and press alike.
The split turned messy in April 2025, when Starkey was fired from the band following a dispute tied to the Royal Albert Hall Teenage Cancer Trust shows. He was rehired within days, only to be let go again roughly a month later. It was a whiplash sequence that left both the band and its drummer publicly at odds.
The Who went on to complete a farewell tour of North America without Starkey on drums. The band closed out that chapter with a different lineup behind the kit. Daltrey’s recent comments about rehearsing with Starkey again carried extra weight against that backdrop, signaling a possible thaw after months of public friction.
Starkey has been candid about his own confusion over the back-and-forth. He has said he’s “still confused” about why he was fired, then rehired, then fired again. That sentiment echoes the uncertainty Daltrey himself expressed about whether the drummer will ultimately return for whatever shows come next year.
