Zak Starkey (born September 13, 1965 in London, England) was the drummer for English rock band Oasis.

He has also worked with other prominent acts such as The Who, Johnny Marr, Icicle Works, the Waterboys, ASAP, and the Lightning Seeds.

He is also renowned as the first-born child of Beatles legendary drummer Ringo Starr (real name: Richard Starkey) and his first wife, Maureen Cox.

At the age of eight, Starkey 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 talent, he said 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 a 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.

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 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 drumming for one track on The Who's new album Endless Wire, and for two new tracks released in 2004.

In 2004, Starkey joined the Britpop band Oasis, 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 the recording sessions (March-December 2004) for their new album, Don't Believe The Truth.

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, he 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 Starkey was invited to be Oasis' official drummer, but that couldn't materialize before his current working engagements with The Who are completed in mid-2007.

In addition to his work with The Who and Oasis, Starkey 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.

2010: Appearance Superbowl with THE WHO

On 23 September 2017, Starkey once again joined the Who on stage as they performed as the headline act at the world-famous Rock in Rio festival.