Yankees manager was fired and rehired a few times.
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The Who fire Zac Starkey
- Thread starter jerry
- Start date
Billy Martin was the manager of the Yankees and repeatedly fired and re-hired by George Steinbrenner, owner of the team.
Riis
"Do I contradict myself?
Very well then I contradict myself,
(I am large, I contain multitudes.)"
Apparently Zak is no longer fired.
variety.com
Zak Starkey Re-Hired by the Who: ‘Communication Issues Have Been Aired Happily,’ Pete Townshend Posts
Days after the Who parted ways with Zak Starkey — Ringo Starr’s son and the band’s longtime drummer —Pete Townshend said that he has been un-fired.
variety.com
I'll add, back when I lived in the NYC area, the Martin/Steinbrenner drama was above the fold news. Martin lived up the block from me, but I never talked to him.
I was fortunate enough to attend one night of their run of concerts at Madison Square Garden in NYC, the same shows filmed and recorded for "The Song Remains The Same" — and they put on a terrific show, playing well for hours with no apparent issues of either fatigue or substance impairment. Therefore, I dispute the assertion that "they were usually not very good live." Granted, Bonham and Page had some significant substance abuse problems toward the end of their concert days, but the only concerts of theirs that I ever heard were actually bad occurred after Bonham's death, when they tried to regroup with substitute drummers. Happily for everyone, that all changed with the final reunion concert that featured Jason Bonham on the drum stool.I don't know, I heard that some rando guy who worked in a machine shop said they weren't all that...
Over the past few decades, I have heard far more credible reports about other bands having problems with one or more members being either chemically impaired or unprofessional in a petty, childish, entitled way (e.g., feuding with other band members, etc.)
- There was a now-infamous Eagles concert where Glenn Frey and Don Felder were so furious with one another that they spent much of the show threatening to beat each other up.
- Keith Moon famously was so inebriated at one concert by The Who that he could not play and the band had to ask if there was a drummer in the audience who could come up and fill in.
- From personal experience, I recall seeing Moby Grape at the Fillmore East with Skip Spence onstage playing very energetically, but completely inaudible. From what we in the audience could see, whatever he was playing on his guitar did not seem to match the music being played by the rest of the band, and my friends and I could only presume that his amp was either turned way down or on standby, or possibly turned off entirely.
Great way to get free publicity . Fire a band member, rehire immediately. Preceded by a sympathy piece on going deaf , dumb & blind. Wait that was already done.
This was posted on Facebook on 4/19:
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.
Pete Townshend
19 April 2025
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.
Pete Townshend
19 April 2025
No, no, no. It was all a misunderstanding. Pete read a rumor on The App Formerly Known as Twitter that Zak had been fired, so he sent him a condolence, which Zak took as his notice. It eventually got all sorted out and the band went to a pub for a few dozen beers, after which they trashed the place in memory of Moonie.Apparently Zak is no longer fired.
Zak Starkey Re-Hired by the Who: ‘Communication Issues Have Been Aired Happily,’ Pete Townshend Posts
Days after the Who parted ways with Zak Starkey — Ringo Starr’s son and the band’s longtime drummer —Pete Townshend said that he has been un-fired.
And, that's a wrap. Again. No word here if Zac will play on this tour. But I suspect this kerfluffle contributed to this. I bet Rog and Pete are not going to hang it up for sure, but maybe not as The Who, which makes sense to me.
www.billboard.com
The Who Announce 2025 North American ‘Farewell Tour’ Dates
The Who have announced their final tour of the U.S. and Canada with the 2025 'The Song is Over' farewell tour.
www.billboard.com
Alkali Ike
Gold Supporting Member
- Jan 1, 2011
- 2,854
- 15,665
- Disclosures
- I never actually learned to play very well
According to this source, Starkey has been fired again.
www.stereogum.com
The Who Fire Zak Starkey Again
It’s a turbulent time for arena-touring rock drummers right now. A few days ago Foo Fighters unceremoniously fired their drummer Josh Freese after two years, and that news has only been overshadowed by the Who’s indecision about keeping Zak Starkey in their own lineup. As of now, it looks like...
www.stereogum.com
The plot thickens…you can find the details online from a variety of sources, but now apparently Ringo has dissed Roger publicly.
