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The Who Fires Ringo Starr’s Drummer Son for the Second Time in a Month

Pete Townshend said Zak Starkey would not be joining the rockers on their upcoming tour.

British rock band The Who’s task of replacing their iconic first drummer Keith Moon is still causing headaches, five decades after Moon’s death. The group’s guitarist Pete Townshend announced on Instagram on Monday that Zak Starkey, the son of Beatles’ drummer Ringo Starr, will not be joining them on their upcoming North American tour. “A poignant time. Zak has lots of new projects in hand and I wish him the best,” Townshend said. However, Starkey, who has been The Who’s drummer since 1996, disputed the statement and said that he was fired “two weeks after reinstatement” and then asked to publicly say he chose to leave to pursue “other musical endeavours.” Starkey wrote in his own social media post: “Not true. I love The Who and would never have quit and let down so many amazing people who stood up for me through all this madness.” Starkey was fired by The Who in April following an onstage disagreement over his playing during a gig at London’s Royal Albert Hall the previous month, reported The Guardian. Starkey was then asked to rejoin the band just days later.