KID STARKEY
Powerhouse drummer Zak Starkey has sat behind the kit with The Who for many years, his exciting percussive style uncannily summoning up the spirit of the band’s legendary drummer Keith Moon. Having recently wrapped the first leg of a North American jaunt, the band will be back in the States in the fall continuing their new tour featuring The Who augmented by an orchestra. Away from his work in The Who, occupying his time, Zak, a devoted reggae fan since he was a child, has launched a new label, Trojan Jamaica with partner Sharna “Sshh” Liguz. Calling from Jamaica, the spiritual home of reggae music, we had a candid chat with Zak who spoke effusively about his love of reggae, his new label venture plus his memories hanging out with Keith Moon and news about The Who’s forthcoming new studio album.
GOLDMINE: What was your first exposure to reggae music?
ZAK STARKEY: I first got into reggae music through my mother who had a copy of Funky Kingston and then I got into punk and “White Man (In Hammersmith Palais)” name checks a bunch of artists like Dillinger and I started checking them out. Then when I was about 12 my dad gave me a copy of Man in the Hills. He’s a big Burning Spear fan so basically my first exposure to reggae came through my parents and The Clash, which is a bit weird. (laughs)
Punk rock bands like The Clash with songs like “(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais,” “Police and Thieves,” “Rudy Can’t Fail” and “The Guns Of Brixton” were delivering their own take on reggae to a, that 10-inch vinyl, by The Clash is the best example of punk embracing reggae music and turning it on to a new audience. If you check it out, reggae is pretty punk. If you know what I mean? The attitude is really similar.
