The Who drummer Zak Starkey breaks silence after hes kicked out of band after almost 30 years

Drummer Zak Starkey said he is “surprised and saddened” in his first comments since he was kicked out of the Hall of Fame rock band The Who.“I’m very proud of my near thirty years with The Who.Filling the shoes of my Godfather, ‘uncle Keith’ has been the biggest honor and I remain their biggest fan,” Starkey wrote, referring to the band’s original drummer, Keith Moon, who died in 1978, the Mirror reported.“They’ve been like family to me.

In January, I suffered a serious medical emergency with blood clots in my right bass drum calf.This is now completely healed and does not affect my drumming or running.

After playing those songs with the band for so many decades, I’m surprised and saddened anyone would have an issue with my performance that night, but what can you do?”The 59-year-old drummer, son of The Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, said he plans to take some “much needed time off” to spend with his family.Starkey also said he plans to focus on releasing a new album with his other band, Mantra Of The Cosmos, featuring Oasis’s Noel Gallagher, and to finish writing his autobiography.“Twenty-nine years at any job is a good old run, and I wish them the best,” the rocker wrote.The Who’s frontman, Roger Daltrey, 81, and guitarist Pete Townshend, 79, ended things with Starkey following two shows in March at Royal Albert Hall in the UK.A source aware of the situation also told the Mirror that the drummer was blindsided and upset over being kicked out of the group.“It’s a little acrimonious to say the least,” the source told the outlet.Daltrey raised some “issues” with Starkey’s playing during the band’s March 27 and 30 shows to raise money for the singer’s charity, Teenage Cancer Trust.“[A] few issues with the drumming….and the standard wasn’t as high as everyone wanted,” the source said.Daltrey was reportedly peeved that the drummer was “overplaying” during the band’s gigs, according to Metro.“To sing...