Zak Starkey has clarified that Roger Daltrey told him he was “retired” and not “fired” from The Who.

“NOISE & CONFUSION!!!! I had a great phone chat with Roger at the end of last week which truly confused both of us!!! Rog said I hadn’t been ‘fired’…I had been ‘retired’ to work on my own projects,” Starkey wrote in an Instagram post.

“I explained to Rog that I have just spent nearly 8 weeks at my studio in Jamaica completing these projects, that my group Mantra Of The Cosmos was releasing one single at the beginning of June and after that had run its course ( usually 5/6 weeks ) I was completely available for the foreseeable future,” Starkey continued.

“Rog said ‘Oh!’ and we kind of left it there- On good terms and great friends as we have always been. Gotta love these guys. As my mum used to say ‘The mind boggles!!!'”

Starkey, the son of Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, was let go from the band two times in a month.

Ahead of their upcoming farewell tour, guitarist Pete Townshend announced last month that “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.”

The firing surprised Starkey, after reports that Daltrey was not happy with the drummer’s performance at a March Royal Albert Hall gig, complaining from stage that Starkey’s loud playing was throwing him off.

Starkey was then seemingly re-hired just days after Townshend’s original announcement, after what the guitarist and songwriter described as “communication issues,” only to be re-fired on May 18th.

Source: RTT Music News