Who v Beatles: the original nepo baby causing a big s-s-s-sensation

The Who keep firing drummer, Zak Starkey — and his irked Beatle dad doesn't want him to get fooled again, writes Barbara Ellen

- Barbara Ellen

Where do you stand in the debate of the Who versus Zak Starkey (the band’s longtime drummer, who is also the son of Beatles drummer Ringo Starr)?

If you don’t know what I'm talking about, it’s time to wake up — you are missing out on one of the great rock'n'roll rows.

It’s been rumbling on since March, when the Who's singer, Roger Daltrey, complained about Starkey's drumming at a concert for the Teenage Cancer Trust at the Royal Albert Hall. There ensued a blizzard of incidents, simplified thus: Starkey fired by the Who; Starkey reinstated; Starkey fired again. After the second firing, Starkey said he'd been encouraged to say he’d left of his own accord.

Now in the latest instalment of nepo-Spinal Tap, Starr has made a comment, relayed by Starkey in a recent Rolling Stone interview. Speaking to his son about the contretemps, Starr said: "I never liked how that little man [Daltrey] ran his band." Oof, as the youth say, burn.

This is a story of many tangled strands. Footage from the gig’s finale, The Song Is Over, reportedly reveals Daltrey telling Starkey off: "All I've got is drums going boom, boom, boom." This was a huge rock star faux pas; a shattering of muso-etiquette. In my experience, as a former music critic, musicians would rather brawl naked in front of an audience - frankly, they'd rather chop each other into cubes - than have their playing critiqued onstage.