Roger Daltrey, frontman of The Who, has come to terms with his recent 80th birthday and acknowledged that he is “on his way out”. In a backstage diary for The Times, Daltrey expressed a desire to slow down, stepping back from his role as active curator of the Teenage Cancer Trust concerts. Although he is remaining a patron of the cause, his involvement will become more administrative. “I’ll be working in the back room, talking to the government, rattling cages”, Daltrey explained. He recently completed a new series of North American semi-acoustic solo gigs, but expressed nerves as the band had not played together for seven months and this winter’s harsh temperatures had wreaked havoc with his voice.
In the same interview, Daltrey also updated fans on his feelings towards The Who and its possible future. “I’m happy that part of my life is over”, he admitted, but tempered those remarks by stating that any decision to stop performing would be one he made with bandmate Pete Townshend. The Who were instrumental in opening this year’s TCT concerts, with a revised orchestral performance of tracks from their celebrated album “Tommy”.
Daltrey has raised millions of pounds for charity over the years as part of the TCT fundraiser, and this year marked his final year as curator of the concerts after a staggering 24 years in the role. To honour his contribution, both Paul McCartney and Nile Rodgers recorded a video message thanking Daltrey for his “24 years of incredible service”. Daltrey will continue to be a patron of the charity, working from the office rather than the stage.
While it seems that Daltrey has no immediate plans to retire completely, he is taking a sensible approach to his aging and is keen to pass on the torch to younger talent. “I have to be realistic. The average life expectancy is 83 and with a bit of luck I’ll make that, but we need someone else to drive things”, he told the newspaper
Read the full article on NME here: Read More