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The Who Seemingly Rehire Zak Starkey After Messy Split

4:41 PM EDT on August 28, 2026

Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Who is the drummer for the Who? It's complicated. Last year, they fired Zak Starkey for overplaying, rehired him, and then fired him again. Now, he's apparently back in the band.

On Wednesday (Aug. 26), Roger Daltrey performed a solo show at Las Vegas' Encore Theater and told the audience that the Who recently rehearsed with Starkey for a potential European leg of their Song Is Over farewell tour. "It sounded great," he said, per a review in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Starkey posted a picture of the review on Instagram and wrote in the caption, "Nice one Rog x. 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! Fantastic vocal from Roger here on his song 'Certified Rose.'"

In a statement to Rolling Stone, Starkey wrote, "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."

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