Metal Anarchy

The Who have parted ways with Zak Starkey. This news comes after the band fired and rehired him last month.

Guitarist Pete Townshend commented:

“After many years of great work on drums from Zak the time has come for a change. A poignant time. Zak has lots of new projects in hand and I wish him the best. Scott Devours who has worked with Roger’s solo band will join the Who for our Final shows. Please welcome him.”

Starkey added:

“I was fired two weeks after reinstatement and asked to make a statement saying I had quit the who to pursue my other musical endevours this would be a lie. I love the who and would never had quit. So I didn’t make the statement

….quitting the who would also have let down the countless amazing people who stood up for me (thank you all a million times over and more) thru the weeks of mayhem of me going ‘in an out an in an out an in an out like a bleedin squeezebox x To clarify ‘other projects’ yes I do have other projects and always have. The Who have been sporadic or minimalist in touring most years apart from a two extensive tours in 2000 and 2006/7

To be precise while I was in the who 1996-1999 I had other projects with Johnny Marr, Lightning Seeds and Mike Scott.

2000-2003 Johnny Marr and The Healers opening for oasis in Europe releasing album and 6 month world tour 2004-2008 Oasis 2 studio albums and 120live shows. 2006-2017 Pengu!Ns , Sshh touring internationally. Releasing 3 singles, Kasabian bbc proms 2007 Weller Coxon Starkey Mani.

2015 Hollywood Vampires Roxy LA shows and rock in Rio 2017-2020 Trojan Jamaica record label releasing three albums and winning Grammy for best reggae album 2020

2020 Peter Green Tribute Concert . As u see there has always been time for other projects … 2022-2025/now mantra of the cosmos with Shaun Ryder Bez Andy Bell and NG. Releasing singles but not touring cos members are so busy. None of this has ever interfered with The Who and was never a problem for them . The lie is or would have been that I quit the who- i didn’t. I love the who and everyone in it.”

In other news, The Who have also revealed the opening acts for their upcoming North American tour. Among them are: Billy Bob Thornton And The Boxmasters, ZZ Ward, Booker T. Jones, The Joe Perry Project, Feist, Tom Cochrane, Joe Bonamassa, Candlebox, and Billy Idol. Here’s the dates:

With Billy Bob Thornton And The Boxmasters:

08/16 Sunrise, FL – Amerant Bank Arena
08/19 Newark, NJ – Prudential Center

With ZZ Ward:

08/21 Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center

With Booker T. Jones:

08/23 Atlantic City, NJ – Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall

With The Joe Perry Project:

08/26 Boston, MA – Fenway Park

With Feist:

08/28 Wantagh, NY – Northwell at Jones Beach Theater
08/30 New York, NY – Madison Square Garden

With Tom Cochrane:

09/02 Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage
09/04 Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage

With Joe Bonamassa:

09/07 Chicago, IL – United Center
09/09 Chicago, IL – United Center

With The Joe Perry Project:

09/17 Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl

The Who:

09/19 Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl

With Candlebox:

09/21 Mountain View, CA – Shoreline Amphitheatre
09/23 Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
09/25 Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena

With Billy Idol:

09/28 Las Vegas, NV – MGM Grand Garden Arena