Live, the band always opens with the Who's first single, the 1964 hit "I Can't Explain." "That's for us," Daltrey says. These days, Townshend embraces both Daltrey and touring, entrusting the singer with the challenging task of plotting out a set list that will take the audience on a journey-although Daltrey still can't persuade Townshend to sing lead on any songs other than "Eminence Front," Drowned" and "I'm One." It's there to share it with your audience." You don't create music to keep it in your fucking closet. "Touring is what I believe the Who are all about. "I don't need eight Ferraris and 10 boats, and he doesn't do me any favors," says Daltrey (though he did once push Townshend to tour in order to help Who bassist John Entwistle get out of debt). Over the decades, Townshend has occasionally made it sound as if he is doing Daltrey a favor when they go out on tour, but the frontman scoffs at this. And like siblings, they have taken turns asserting themselves-Daltrey started the Who, then Townshend's songwriting skills shifted the power dynamic during the band's peak years. Ultimately, he says, Townshend is the brother he never had. That's the madness of genius, so I accept it. But there are others that are horrendous-and I mean horrendous. There's one that's so wonderful, so caring, so spiritual. "And you never know which one of him you're going to get. "Pete's a very complicated bunch of people," he quips. But when asked if Abby would have been similarly received at Townshend's door, he acknowledges their different personalities. He shrugs that off, saying he did it for all the fans turning up on his doorstep. ("No one wants to see that," he says with a laugh.) One of the more accessible rock legends, Daltrey talked to Newsweek about the Who's music, his complicated relationship with Pete Townshend, the charity work that he is so passionate about, American politics (he calls Dick Cheney a "super snake") and his very busy future plans.ĭuring our interview, I'd mentioned how Daltrey had been so warm and gracious in the 1980s when my younger sister, Abby-who had a huge teenage crush on him-showed up at his estate in England. Knowing this is their final lengthy arena tour leaves him more determined to "leave everything out there on the stage."Įven at 71, Daltrey seems fit enough to pull off his 1970s fringed suede jacket with no shirt underneath. "There's something about the Who's music where you just can't cheat," says Daltrey, who wrings out an astonishing reservoir of energy each time out. But don't get fooled: When Daltrey, Pete Townshend and the band attack songs like "Pinball Wizard," he will still be going full tilt. When the Who kicks off the second leg of its American tour in San Diego on September 14, lead singer Roger Daltrey admits there will be a few concessions to the fact that he is, in fact, getting old: no gigs on back-to-back nights to protect his vocal cords (doctor's orders) and some classics have been taken down a halftone.
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