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Happy Birthday Zak Starkey



Zak Starkey (born September 13, 1965 in London, England) is the drummer for two British rock 'n' roll bands, The Who and Oasis. Before that he had also worked with prominent acts such as Johnny Marr, Icicle Works, the Waterboys, ASAP, and the Lightning Seeds. Zak is the first-born son of Beatles drummer Ringo Starr (real name: Richard Starkey) and his first wife, Maureen Cox.

Early Life
Starkey received his first small starter drum kit from his father, although legend mistakenly reports that it came from his idol, Keith Moon of the Who. Moon did, however, give Zak his first professional kit – one he previously used in Who recordings, and also gave him some drumming lessons.

At the age of eight, he became interested in music. At ten, he started teaching himself how to play drums after receiving only one lesson from his famous father, who reportedly did not want him following in his footsteps. Although Ringo praises his son's undeniable skills and talents, he said about his son's musical dedication and endeavour that he "always regarded Zak as a lawyer or as a doctor", not a drummer like himself.

By the age of 12, Starkey was already performing in pubs with a band. In his teens, Starkey was a member of the garage act the Next. He eventually landed work with a re-formed Spencer Davis Group. In 1985, shortly after getting married, Starkey released a musical version of Wind in the Willows with Eddie Hardin. On September 7, 1985, his daughter was born making his father, Ringo Starr, the first grandfather of all Beatles' members. He suffered the tragic loss of his mother in 1994 when she died of leukemia, despite a bone marrow transplant in which Zak was the donor.

Career

1996-present) The Who

In 1996, Starkey left his band Face, to fulfill a childhood dream of joining The Who. He has received very good reviews in this role – especially from Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey – for being a strong drumming presence but without explicitly imitating Moon. Zak has been the full-time drummer for The Who since their 1996 Quadrophenia Tour. Both Townshend and Daltrey have stated that he is the best drummer The Who have had since the death of original drummer Keith Moon. He has provided the drum work for The Who's new album Endless Wire, set to be released in October 31, 2006, and the two tracks released in 2004 on The Who: Then and Now. Starkey however was unavailable to lay down the drumline for the recent Who single "Wire & Glass" because he was on tour with Oasis. Starkey is currently on tour with The Who.

(2004-present) Oasis

In 2004, Starkey joined the famous Britpop band, filling a void left by longtime drummer Alan White's departure. In May 2005, Noel Gallagher revealed to the BBC that Starkey had recorded in recent recording sessions for their new album, Don't Believe The Truth. Starkey performed on all but one of the tracks on "Don't Believe The Truth" and subsequent b-sides. In an official promotional video for the album, Zak commented on the band and the sessions, saying, "It was amazing. They're all singers, They're all guitar players, they're all songwriters, they're all producers... and they're all fucking drummers."

Starkey participated in every show on Oasis 2005/2006 world tour and also appeared in the promo videos for the singles. However, as he isn't an official member of the band yet, Starkey very rarely appeared with the rest of the band in promotional activities such as interviews and photo-shoots.

After the end of tours in April, Noel Gallagher confirmed that the official drummer place is offered to Starkey, but future work of Oasis with him in the band is expected to begin, not before his current working engagements with the Who are over with. Noel also said that he felt Starkey had strong emotional ties with The Who and that he didn't think Zak would ever leave them completely.

Other work

Zak had established himself as a sought-after session musician and as a gifted and proven drummer, playing drums for artists such as Icicle Works, the Waterboys, ASAP, and the Lightning Seeds. In addition, he continued to work with other acts, including touring with the Lightning Seeds. In 2000 Starkey was a founding member of Johnny Marr & the Healers, debuting with Boomslang three years later.

Source: Wikipedia

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