Background and career
Zak Richard Starkey (born 13 September 1965) is an English drummer, musician and percussionist who toured and recorded with the Who from 1996 to 2025. Other musicians and bands he has worked with include Oasis, Johnny Marr, the Icicle Works, the Lightning Seeds, and the Semantics. He is the son of the Beatles' drummer Ringo Starr and Maureen Starkey.
Zak Richard Starkey was born on 13 September 1965, at Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital in Hammersmith, London, to the Beatles' drummer Ringo Starr (Richard Starkey) and Maureen Starkey, Starr's first wife. He grew up at Sunny Heights at St George's Hill in Surrey and Tittenhurst Park at Sunninghill, Berkshire, and attended Highgate School in London until 1981. At the age of eight, Starkey was given a drum kit by the Who's drummer, Keith Moon. Moon (known to young Zak as "Uncle Keith") was one of his father's closest friends and Starkey's godfather. Although they never sat together at a drum kit, Moon discussed drumming with him as a boy. The drum kit was later sold at Sotheby's for £12,000. Starkey subsequently began teaching himself to play the drums. His father gave him only one lesson, but he discouraged his growing interest because of the desire not to see him in the same business. Although Starr has praised his son's abilities, he had always regarded him as a future lawyer or doctor. Starr's close friend, Kenney Jones, drummer for Faces and Moon's replacement in the Who, stated that he "virtually taught" the young Starkey to play the drums. By the age of twelve, Starkey was performing in pubs as a member of the garage band the Next. After Moon's death, Jones gifted the teenage Starkey a white drum kit formerly owned by Moon, which had been kept in storage by the Who.
In the early 1980s, Starkey appeared with a re-formed Spencer Davis Group. He briefly joined the Semantics, replacing founding drummer Jody Spence, during the recording process for their album Powerbill, which ended up being released only in Japan in 1996 (after the group had disbanded). He joined the band when they moved from Nashville to Los Angeles and played in some shows and some recording sessions, but the band broke up less than a year after he joined. In 1985, Starkey played on John Entwistle's solo album The Rock (released in 1996). Starkey replaced Chris Sharrock as the drummer in the Icicle Works in 1988, leaving the band after a brief tenure and appearing on only one recording. Founder member Ian McNabb issued a B-side after Starkey's departure from the band. The song features Starkey on drums and, as it includes band personnel from the time, is presumed to date from his tenure with the group. Starkey also plays on the 1989 album Silver and Gold, a solo work released by Iron Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith.
In 1985, Starkey joined his father on Sun City by Artists United Against Apartheid, and during 1992 and 1995, he toured with Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band, having previously guested on the band's 1989 tour. Starkey performed at Ringo Starr's 70th birthday party on 7 July 2010 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. He joined his father and guest stars Yoko Ono, Nils Lofgren, Steven Van Zandt and Jeff Lynne for "With a Little Help from My Friends" and "Give Peace a Chance".
In 1994, he joined John Entwistle and Roger Daltrey of the Who on a tour entitled "Daltrey Sings Townshend", which had developed from a two-night performance at Carnegie Hall to celebrate Daltrey's fiftieth birthday. In late 1995, he joined the band Face. In the spring of 1996, he left the band to work with the Who on their Quadrophenia tour. He received good reviews in this role and was praised by the music press for his strong drumming presence, without trying to emulate the band's original drummer Keith Moon. Both Townshend and Daltrey stated that Starkey was the best match for the band since the death of Keith Moon.
On 20 October 2001, he performed with the Who at the Concert for New York City at Madison Square Garden. This was heralded as the Who's "comeback" performance and they stole the show. Rolling Stone called their performance "one of the 50 moments that changed rock and roll". It was also one of John Entwistle's final appearances with the band. On 7 February 2010, Starkey appeared with the Who during the half-time show of Super Bowl XLIV at the Sun Life Stadium, Miami, Florida. Starkey was not available to record for most of the Who's 2006 album Endless Wire, as he had been on the road with Oasis and only had time to play on one track. However, he did join the Who for The Who Tour 2006-2007 in support of the album, during which they headlined at Glastonbury Festival in 2007. The tour finished at the Hartwall Areena in Helsinki, Finland on 9 July 2007. Pete Townshend's official website stated that Starkey was afterwards invited to become a full member of the Who, stating: "Some of you may have noticed in one of my recent diary postings that I welcomed Zak into the Who as a permanent member. This is something he doesn't feel he needs or wants. Let's just say that the door is always open to this amazing musician and whenever we can, we will always try to make it possible for Zak to work with the Who in the future." On 12 July 2008, Starkey played the drums for the Who at the 3rd annual VH1 Rock Honors, which celebrated the band's long career.
