Zak Starkey is insisting that he was indeed fired from The Who after a confusing back and forth about whether or not he was in the band. The drummer called out Roger Daltrey in an Instagram post after the singer said he was "retired" not "fired" so he could focus on his supergroup Mantra of the Cosmos.

"This is f**in total bollox . I was fired …" Starkey captioned a screenshot of a media story about the incident. "Roger’s new word for it is ‘retired’ to complete my other musical projects ."

"I called Roger last week and told him in person I had spent nearly 2 months at my studio in Jamaica completing my studio projects. That I had a mantra of the cosmos single out next week and then I was completely available for the foreseeable future," he explained. "He was a little surprised but understood. It’s true - I have no plan’s whatsoever for the fall as I thought I was touring with The Who and my mantra band mates are v busy in oasis and happy Mondays until the new year ."

"So this is simply a load of bollox," Starkey declared. "Am I fired , retired, deffo not tired as I’m 20 years younger than these guys as they keep saying ."

The musician, who happens to be the son of The Beatles' drummer Ringo Starr, then spoke out about the recent performances at Albert Hall that supposedly sealed his fate. "Dropping two beats on our second show is not a firing offence - I’ve watched the show on tv I can’t see where I dropped them - I looked everywhere," Starkey admitted, "it’s the who ffs if it was perfect it would be so f**king boring …"

Scott Devours is replacing Starkey behind the kit for The Who's upcoming "The Song Is Over" farewell tour this summer. The drummer also plays in Daltrey's solo band. See Starkey's Instagram post, along with a full list of The Who's tour dates, below.

Warning: Explicit language

Concerts