The Who reunites with drummer Zak Starkey for a possible European tour

More than a year after a very public and messy split, The Who appear to be on the verge of welcoming drummer Zak Starkey back into the fold. Frontman Roger Daltrey broke the news during a solo show at the Encore Theater in Las Vegas on August 26, telling the audience that the band had recently rehearsed with Starkey with a possible European tour in mind. "It sounded great," Daltrey said, according to a report in the Las Vegas Review Journal. He was even more emphatic speaking to the Arizona Republic: "The rehearsal went extremely well and sounded fantastic. So, I mean, it's not over by any means. It's just that was the last tour of America for the Who."

Starkey was quick to respond, sharing a screenshot of the report on Instagram. "Nice one Rog x," he wrote alongside it. "Lookin forward to tearin it up with The Who again... The rehearsal was great. I don't think we've ever rehearsed as tough as that... usually we drink tea and talk about what time we're going home!" In a separate statement to Rolling Stone he added: "We rehearsed for an afternoon and were absolutely on fire. I'm so happy to be back playing the music I love with people I love. It's good to be home."

The falling out had its roots in a performance on March 30, 2025, at a benefit concert for the Teenage Cancer Trust at the Royal Albert Hall in London. During a rendition of The Song Is Over, which was being played live for the first time, the performance went off the rails due to technical issues. Daltrey stopped the show and complained that he couldn't hear the key over the sound of the drums. Starkey later said in an extensive interview with Rolling Stone that it was Daltrey who came in four bars too early, and that there had been no argument in the dressing room. Townshend subsequently acknowledged that he saw nothing wrong with Starkey's playing and suggested that Daltrey had been thrown off by the technical problems.

What followed was a confusing sequence of firings and walkbacks. A few days after the Royal Albert Hall show, Pete Townshend announced that Starkey wasn't leaving after all, but in May, shortly after The Who revealed their North American farewell tour under the name The Song Is Over, Townshend confirmed that Starkey had permanently left the band. Starkey denied that leaving had been his own choice and claimed he had been asked to lie by saying he was stepping away for other projects. Scott Devours, who had previously played in Daltrey's solo band, was brought in as his replacement and completed the North American shows, with the final concert taking place in California in October. Starkey's father Ringo Starr also got involved in the matter and reportedly criticized Daltrey publicly. In August, Daltrey in turn accused Starkey of character assassination, claiming that his comments during the Royal Albert Hall show had been directed at a sound engineer rather than the drummer.

Starkey has been playing with The Who since 1996 and was their regular touring drummer for nearly three decades. His potential return therefore carries real weight, especially for fans in Europe who have not yet seen the band say goodbye. Daltrey made clear that the band has not yet bid farewell to the European market and that the rehearsal with Starkey is a concrete step toward new shows on the continent. Whether a European tour will actually happen has not been officially confirmed, but Daltrey's comments and Starkey's reaction strongly suggest that both parties are leaving the door wide open to working together again.