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Zak Starkey Clarifies That He Was Not Fired From The Who (Twice) But Rather ‘Retired’

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The see-saw story of The Who‘s drummer chair continued to tilt over the weekend when former, then current and then former again time keeper Zak Starkey clarified that he had not been fired from the band but rather “retired.”

The Who Once Again Part Ways With Drummer Zak Starkey

05/19/2025

The 59-year-old son of Beatles drummer Ringo Starr and in-demand session player wrote in an Instagram post on Monday (May 26) that he’d had a nice chat with singer Roger Daltrey clarifying what appeared to be his recent second sacking in as many months. “NOISE&CONFUSION!!!! I had a great phone chat with Roger at the end of last week which truly confused both of us!!! Rog said I hadn’t been ‘fired’…I had been ‘retired’ to work n my own projects,” Starkey wrote.

“I explained to Rog that I have just spent nearly 8 weeks at my studio in Jamaica completing these projects, that my group Mantra Of The Cosmos was releasing one single at the beginning of June and after that had run its course ( usually 5/6 weeks ) I was completely available for the foreseeable future,” Starkey continued. “Rog said ‘Oh!’ and we kind of left it there- On good terms and great friends as we have always been . Gotta love these guys. As my mum used to say ‘The mind boggles!!!’”

It’s been a wild ride lately for Starkey, who has worked with everyone from Oasis to Johnny Marr, the Icicle Works and his dad’s All-Starr Band over years in addition to recording sessions with dozens of other rock and reggae acts.

Ahead of their upcoming farewell tour, guitarist Pete Townshend announced last month that “After many years of great work on drums from Zak the time has come for a change. A poignant time. Zak has lots of new projects in hand and I wish him the best. Scott Devours who has worked with Roger’s solo band will join The Who for our Final shows. Please welcome him.” The firing after a nearly 30-year run appeared to surprise Starkey, after reports that Daltrey was not happy with the drummer’s performance at a March Royal Albert Hall gig, complaining from stage that Starkey’s loud playing was throwing him off.

Starkey was then seemingly re-hired just days after Townshend’s original announcement, after what the guitarist and songwriter described as “communication issues,” only to be re-fired on May 18. “I was fired two weeks after reinstatement and asked to make a statement saying I had quit the who to pursue my other musical endevours this would be a lie. I love the who and would never had quit. So I didn’t make the statement,” Starkey wrote after the second firing. “Quitting the who would also have let down the countless amazing people who stood up for me (thank you all a million times over and more) thru the weeks of mayhem of me going ‘in an out an in an out an in an out like a bleedin squeezebox x.”

The Who will kick off the U.S. leg of their farewell tour on August 16 at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, FL.

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Priscilla Presley Says That Leaving Elvis Presley Was ‘The Only Way to Survive’ in New Memoir ‘Softly, As I Leave You: Life After Elvis’

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All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

Priscilla Presley was with Elvis Presley for around 14 years before they split; however, the pair had known each other for years before they wed in 1967.

The time in between and following Priscilla and Elvis’ divorce was a tough spot for Priscilla, and one she wasn’t super open about — that is, until now. In her new memoir Softly, As I Leave You: Life After Elvis, the actress shares the difficult but inspiring journey beyond the walls of Graceland post-split with the King, choosing to put herself and her daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, first.

A hardcover version of the book is now on sale and can be purchased now on Amazon for $22.38, while paperback will run you $32. A Kindle version retails for $15.99. If you’re a superfan of Priscilla and the Presley family, you can also snag a signed version of the memoir via Barnes & Noble for $32. The piece makes a great gift for the avid Elvis collector in your life. If you’d rather listen to the memoir, we won’t judge, you can do so with Audible via a subscription which costs $7.95 a month, a price tag less than a physical copy.

Softly, As I Leave You: Life After Elvis

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Buy Now on audible $7.95 a month $7.95 a month

A new memoir by Priscilla Presley.


If you didn’t know, Priscilla met Elvis when she was just 14 and he was 24. The singer was serving in the U.S. Army in 1959 in Germany. The pair remained romantically connected for years, even with distance between them and in 1967, they were wed in a simple and very secret ceremony in Las Vegas. While their separation in 1973 was painful for Priscilla, this novel highlights why it was so important for the Naked Gun star to leave.

It seems that Priscilla lost touch with herself throughout her relationship with Elvis. Leaving allowed her to find herself again. Through the book, we are treated to snippets of Priscilla’s life pre- and post-Elvis and how she had to reinvent herself a second time as the single mother after the performer’s death in 1977.

Today, we are taken through how Priscilla was able to transform Graceland into an international destination and helped guide the development of Elvis Presley Enterprises, turning the King’s legacy into a full-on business. If you are an Elvis fan, this gives readers a unique perspective on his life, as told by his ex-wife. It also gives Priscilla’s story more context for those who aren’t too familiar with her life and career.

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Calvin Harris’ Ex-Business Manager Denies $22M Fraud Claims: ‘Categorically False’

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Calvin Harris‘ former longtime business manager is firing back against bombshell fraud claims, saying he never stole from anybody and that the Scottish DJ willingly agreed to invest in his Los Angeles real estate development project.

Thomas St. John, an entertainment industry-focused accountant who runs the eponymous firm Thomas St. John Group, is currently wrapped up in thorny arbitration proceedings with his former client Harris (Adam Wiles). He’s accused of abusing his access to Harris’ accounts in order to fund his side venture: the construction of a recording studio and office space complex in Hollywood.

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Harris claims that St. John tricked him into investing $22.5 million in the project, known as CMNTY Culture Campus, which he says turned out to be a “complete boondoggle” that he “has not received a single penny in return for” — while suggesting that St. John pocketed much of the money for himself.

However, a representative for St. John says in a new statement that the allegations are “categorically false.” The rep denies that St. John engaged in any self-dealing, adding that Harris is one of nine above-board investors who “knowingly signed investment agreements” to get involved in CMNTY Culture.

“Not a single dollar has been misappropriated, all investor entitlements remain intact, and the project continues to advance within the normal entitlement timeline,” says St. John’s rep in the Tuesday (Sept. 23) statement. “We will continue to take every necessary step to set the record straight and to ensure that these malicious, bad-faith attacks are recognized for what they are: entirely without merit.”

While CMNTY Culture was initially designed to house a recording studio and office space, St. John has since shifted the plans and is now developing a residential apartment complex on the same tract of land in Hollywood. According to his rep, the project is proceeding apace and “is expected to approach a $1 billion valuation” upon completion.

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“While the entitlement process has naturally taken longer than initially projected due to unprecedented interest, macroeconomic conditions and significant city red tape, it remains firmly within its promised schedule and is now on the verge of securing final entitlements, an important milestone that will unlock substantial value,” adds St. John’s rep.

Thomas St. John Group has offices in Los Angeles, London, Amsterdam and Stockholm. The management firm’s U.S. arm recently filed for bankruptcy, citing hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid rent in L.A. and multiple pending legal actions.

One creditor listed in the firm’s bankruptcy papers is Philip Lawrence, a songwriter and producer who made his name collaborating with Bruno Mars. Lawrence used to be a client of St. John’s and at one point invested $10 million from the sale of his catalog into CMNTY Culture Campus, according to court filings in Lawrence’s own personal bankruptcy case.

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Apple’s Newest AirPods Are Now Available Online: Here’s What to Know About the AirPods Pro 3

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All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

Apple’s latest earbuds are here with the AirPods Pro 3 officially released on September 19. The iconic white wireless buds may look (almost) the same on the outside, but they’ve received a pretty major makeover when it comes to its internal features.

But are the new AirPods worth buying? And are they that different from previous generations? Read on for our hands-on review of Apple’s latest wireless earbuds release.

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Apple AirPods Pro 3 Noise Cancelling Wireless Earbuds

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We got our hands on the AirPods Pro 3 a few weeks ago and have been putting them straight to work — literally. We typically keep our earbuds on all day at work, if not for taking calls then for listening to a playlist or podcast. And just as expected, the new AirPods offer great sound quality, with well-balanced audio — no matter the genre — and crisper details pulled out from each track. Compared to the previous AirPods models, the sound in the Pro 3 feels a little bit bolder and punchier, though we have to admit we didn’t here a drastic difference. Still, songs fill the entire space around you, as if you’re in a listening room or studio and not well, sitting at your desk or couch. Apple says that’s thanks to a new acoustic housing that better supports spatial audio (basically a fancy way of describing theater-like sound with music “floating” around you rather than directly at you). Apple has always been consistent with its audio quality so it’s no surprise that it remains strong here.

The most noticeable improvement is the Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) technology. The noise cancellation feature is better than ever and Apple says the new AirPods remove two-times more unwanted noise than the AirPods Pro 2 and four-times more noise removed compared to the original AirPods Pro. They’re not kidding: listening to music in the airport lounge the other day, we almost missed our boarding announcement because we were so immersed (note to self: you can always switch between modes).

We typically use our AirPods out of the office too, especially when we’re out for a run. The gummy ear-tips help the AirPods Pro stay in our ears better than the regular AirPods, and the new earbuds now come with five different eartip sizes to help you perfect your fit. Somewhat strangely, we found the small eartips worked best for our left ear but we sized up to a medium eartip for our right ear. Either way, the earbuds feel totally secure and comfortable, even when we were moving around.

With less comfortable earbuds, we often find ourselves removing them in between use cases, but we tried keeping the AirPods Pro 3 on throughout our workday, and after finding the right “foam-infused” eartips for our ear size, the buds weren’t distracting or uncomfortable to leave on. The foam tips also add as an extra layer of “insulation” so to speak, for passive noise cancellation.

Apple AirPods Pro 3 Review: Features, Specs, Price, Is It Worth It?

NOW AVAILABLE

Apple AirPods Pro 3 Noise Cancelling Wireless Earbuds

$249

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The best new features though aren’t instantly tangible. For starters, the AirPods Pro 3 now have a built-in heart rate sensor that lets you track your heart rate and calories whether for day-to-day activities or up to 50 different workouts. Apple’s Hearing Aid features, meantime, can now automatically reduce background noise and boost voices, so your conversations come in clearer (say, when you’re using the earbuds on a call).

One of the coolest new features is Apple’s Live Translation tool, which lets you converse with others in a different language with a live translation either on your iPhone or translated directly into your AirPods. Pretty cool right? We tested this out with a friend who spoke Spanish and we found that it was pretty intuitive. With the active noise cancellation mode turned on, the earbuds were also able to lower the volume of the person speaking (in the foreign language) and boost the English translation in our ears.

Apple currently supports Live Translation on the new AirPods for English, French, Spanish, German and Portuguese. The company says Italian, Japanese, Korean and Chinese will be coming to the platform by the end of the year. Just note: to use Live Translation, you need to open up your iPhone settings to download the language the other person is speaking and the language you’d like to translate it to. You’ll also need to be using a new or updated iPhone.

You’ll be pleased to know that battery life is strong: Apple says you can up to 10 hours on a single charge with transparency mode and up to eight hours with ANC turned on. The 8-10 hours range is in line with our testing, but it helps to have the included wireless charging case handy just in case.

Overall, Apple’s AirPods Pro 3 are workhorse earbuds that really do it all. In our opinion, these are some of the best earbuds you can buy online right now, whether you’re using them for music, work, health and fitness, travel or all of the above. You’ll find yourself reaching for them basically every day, making them worth the pick up. Speaking of which: you can get them on Amazon now for $249 here.

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