Zak Starkey Fired and Rehired by The Who After Onstage Blowup With Roger Daltrey

Renowned drummer Zak Starkey, son of former Beatle Ringo Star was fired and rehired by The Who in a head-spinning reversal of fortune.

Lead singer Roger Daltrey, 81, and guitarist Pete Townshend, 79, gave Zak, 59, the heave-ho after 29 years in the band following a pair of March concerts at London’s Royal Albert Hall — with sources saying Roger thought Zak was “overplaying.”

Footage from one of the shows captures Roger, who recently admitted that he’s losing his hearing and vision, griping that he’s unable to sing with Zak’s “racket.” He even halted a rendition of The Song Is Over and said to the crowd, “To sing that song I do need to hear the key, and I can’t. All I’ve got is drums going boom, boom, boom.”

Starkey was first inspired to play drums not by his percussionist pop but by the Who’s late stickman Keith Moon, who was a friend of Ringo and a mentor to Zak during his now-sober dad’s battle with the bottle and drugs. Moon even gave the talented youngster his first professional-grade kit.

Days after Starkey was kicked to the curb, Townshend backtracked on social media by announcing, “Zak is not being asked to step down.”

He said that “communication issues, personal and private on all sides” had needed to be addressed, and the matters “have been aired happily.”

Pete also appeared to take responsibility for part of the band’s kerfuffle by admitting that the concerts in question were “a little tricky” for him after his recent “complete knee replacement.”

He also acknowledged that while “Zak made a few mistakes and he has apologized,” issues may have been worsened by the band not taking enough time for sound checks.

Zak publicly commented that he was “grateful” to remain part of “the Who family.”