Zak Starkey (born September 13, 1965) is a rock & roll drummer. His father is Beatles drummer Ringo Starr (Richard Starkey), his mother Maureen Cox . He was born in London, England.

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 didn't want him following in his footsteps. He received his first drum kit from his idol, Keith Moon of The Who, who taught him to play. By 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 at the Hard Rock Cafe and also 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. This made his father, Ringo Starr, the youngest grandfather of all Beatles' members.

Starkey then became a sought-after session musician, playing drums for artists like the Icicle Works , the Waterboys, and the Lightning Seeds. In 1996, Starkey left his band, Face, to fulfill his childhood dream of joining The Who. He has received very good notices in this role for being a strong drumming presence but without explicitly imitating Moon.

In addition, he continued to work with other acts, including touring with the Lightning Seeds. In 2000 Starkey then joined Johnny Marr & the Healers, debuting with Boomslang three years later. Also it was learned that the long return of The Who is temporarily in stasis since Pete Townsend has to write his autobiography and want to spend more time on the album, because of Zak's involvement with Oasis.

Oasis' work (2004-)

In 2004, Starkey started working for Oasis, filling a void left by longtime drummer Alan White. While Starkey has stated he will not become a permanent member of the band, he was involved in the recording process of the group's upcoming album in Los Angeles during sessions of September-December 2004. According to an article in "WENN", Zak doesn't want to abandon The Who and Johnny Marr & the Healears and will only sit in on the drums with Oasis when his schedule permits it.

In February 2005 chief songwriter Noel Gallagher said that Zak will perform for Oasis during the upcoming U.S. leg of the tour, promoting the new Oasis' album. Starkey is signed with Oasis till February 2006 . However it as yet unclear his stature in the band. He appeared in the video for their new single "Lyla" and also recorded extensively and is about to tour with them too. Also in similar way Zak has his side projects and contributions like Noel and Liam do. Thus he can really be counted as a full-time member of Oasis, inspite of various staments. It's unclear whether Oasis will use his sticks on next recordings, but considering his skills and talent - it's not unlikely.