By the mid-90s Zak was playing for Roger Daltrey on his Daltrey Sings Townshend tour followed in 1996 by drumming for The Who on their Quadrophenia tour. Gigs then followed with The Icicle Works, Ringo Starr’s All-Star Band, Bobby Womack, Holly Johnson and Joe Walsh and recording with John Entwistle on his solo album The Rock. In 1984 he recorded Under A Raging Moon with Roger Daltrey. By ten Zak was teaching himself to play the drums and by the age of 12 he was playing in a pub band called The Next. Zak’s father only ever gave him one drum lesson and discouraged him from a career in rock’n’roll but it was Zak’s Uncle Keith who bought him his first drum kit at the age of eight. Zak Starkey, son of Ringo Starr, is the rightful heir to the drum seat of his godfather Keith Moon. newspaper as The Who’s “secret weapon.” In 2019, Simon’s composition ‘Break The News’ was chosen as one of the tracks on The Who’s new studio album WHO. In addition to his own music, Simon has been guitarist and vocalist in The Who since 1996, playing sold out tours around the world, including monumental performances at the 2010 Super Bowl and the closing ceremonies of the 2012 London Olympics.
In 2014, Simon released his recent album Denial, containing some of his most personal and inspirational work to date. On his own Stir Music label, Simon has released eight well-received solo CDs and one with the band Casbah Club (featuring Bruce Foxton/The Jam & Mark Brzezicki/Big Country). The son of England’s top big-band reed man and baby brother of Who legend Pete Townshend, Simon has been recording and performing since the age of nine, when he was recruited to add vocals to The Who classic Tommy. Simon Townshend is straight from the lineage of one of British music’s most famous families, a familiar name but with an original sound.