Zak Starkey looks set to return as the drummer for The Who

The relationship between The Who and Zak Starkey appears to be entering another chapter. More than a year after the band fired their longtime drummer, briefly reinstated him and then let him go again, Roger Daltrey says Starkey has rehearsed with the group for a possible return to European stages.

Daltrey mentioned it during his solo show at the Encore Theater in Las Vegas on August 26, saying the band had recently played with Starkey in preparation for a potential European leg of The Song Is Over farewell tour. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that he said the rehearsal sounded great.

Starkey shared the review on Instagram with a note of his own, writing that he was looking forward to tearing it up with the band again and that he did not think they had ever rehearsed as hard. He added a statement to Rolling Stone saying it is good to be home.

That is a warm read on one of the strangest personnel stories in rock over the past year. Starkey, the son of Ringo Starr, had spent nearly 30 years behind the kit before being dismissed after the band's Teenage Cancer Trust benefit at London's Royal Albert Hall on March 30, 2025. He was reinstated days later and let go again in May.

Scott Devours, Daltrey's solo drummer, stepped in for the North American farewell run. The band have not performed since October 2025.

Starkey had already made his affection clear in an interview with SPIN earlier this year, still referring to the band as we. He said he talked to Daltrey and texted Pete Townshend regularly and that the relationship never stopped, describing them as the greatest rock and roll band in the world because they never play anything twice.

Daltrey has since told the Arizona Republic the band rehearsed because they still want to say goodbye to European audiences and other countries where they had success. Our fuller account of the rehearsal is in the report on the session and Starkey's statement, and Daltrey is currently out on his own A Great Night Out tour. It is another turn in a rock saga that has produced several.