The messy breakup between the Who and drummer Zak Starkey continues to get messier, as the ousted timekeeper has now blamed vocalist Roger Daltrey for his firing and called the Who "unpredictable, aggressive and fucking insane."
In an interview with The Telegraph [via Billboard], Starkey claimed that Daltrey's hearing issues resulted in the singer stopping several songs mid-performance, saying he couldn't hear the rest of the band over the drums. Additionally, when they played the live rarity "The Song Is Over," Daltrey allegedly came in a bar early.
After the show, the Who's manager, Bill Curbishley, called Starkey to fire him, apparently telling the drummer, "Roger says you dropped some beats." Daltrey has been dealing with hearing issues for years, saying back in 2018 that he was going "very, very deaf."
Starkey said he took responsibility for the dropped beats and was brought back into the group, but the Who ended up announcing his departure anyway. "I don't blame anyone. I blame the Who because they're unpredictable, aggressive and fucking insane," Starkey said.
Funnily enough, the saga may not be over yet: Starkey said he recently spoke with Daltrey, who told him, "Don't take your drums out of [the Who's] warehouse yet, in case we need you."
Starkey added that he passed up the chance to take part in Oasis's reunion because of his commitments to the Who.