The days of trashing hotel rooms may be a thing of the past for The Who, but singer Roger Daltrey can still do some damage.
A moment in the passionate chorus of "Love, Reagan O'er Me," Daltrey blew up the computer's internal speaker with his explosive, strong vocals during a video interview with This Reporter.
"I can still hit the notes," he said. "They're still there."
They are proving why Daltrey is still considered by many to be the most powerful and talented singer in rock.
Daltrey and guitarist, singer and songwriter Pete Townshend begin their 2022 North American tour, "The Who Hits Back," with an intimate show on Friday, April 22 at the 7,000-seat Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla.
Various U.S. And sharing the stage with the Canadian Orchestra, the band will cross the country through May and then pick up again in October before wrapping up with a two-night finale at Dolby Live at the Park MGM in Las Vegas.
Founded in 1964, The Who has earned more awards and accolades than can reasonably be listed and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by U2 in 1990. Songs like "Baba O'Riley," "Who Are You," "Behind Blue Eyes," "Pinball Wizard," "I Can't Explain," "I Can See for Miles," "You're Better" and "Tommy," a rock opera from the album and film of the same name, are some of the most acclaimed in rock history.
What did Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend bring on their 'The Who Hits Back' tour?
Traveling with an orchestra can be a far cry from what one would expect from a group that once held the Guinness World Record for being the loudest band in the world. But the orchestra isn't dampening The Who's sound, Daltrey explained, as much as intensifying it.
"It leads to a sound that literally hits your head," he said. "Even I was amazed by its power."
Daltrey said, although with the soul-shaking brilliance of Townshend's windmill-style guitar parts, it can be hard to imagine anything more powerful than Daltrey's vocals, which is exactly what happens with an orchestra, Daltrey said. said.
"You live with the sound of synthesizers making string noise and orchestral noise, which you can, very simply, do on some keyboards," he said. "But then, you hear a real orchestra and a real violin, viola and cello and a duet bass - it touches the human body, it touches our senses in a different way. It's a huge experience."
To keep up his energy night after night and perform vocal wonders like the infamous, roaring scream "Won't Get Fooled Again," Daltrey says he does breathing exercises, weight training, and cardio.
"Townshend's songs are incredibly demanding for a singer," he said. "They're lyrically complex, there's never two songs at once in the same key, so it's rocking everywhere, and it takes a lot of stamina. Like Mick Jagger — I had a lot of respect for Mick Well, that's incredible. And you just have to train."
Daltrey has always been strong thanks to the physically demanding job he held as a teenager as a sheet metal worker.
"I had to unload 10 tons of steel in a day, sometimes," he said. "So, I built a very fit body, and I managed to keep that up. I've been very lucky."
Original drummer Keith Moon, who died in 1978 at age 32, and original bassist John Entwistle, who died in 2002 at age 57, were less fortunate, both accidentally from substance abuse issues. were dying.
"I have had some close shaves with serious illnesses that have almost knocked me out," Daltrey said. "But I just say, 'Well, you've taken the wrong way, mate.' I am back."
Roger daltrey fan
Daltrey today is cheerful and quick to laugh, his zest for life evident in his frequent jokes and easy-going smile. Which begs the question, at 78 years old, how does it feel to still sing one of the most iconic lines in classic rock: "I hope I die before I get old."
"I still do," he said, referring to the lyrics of the band's 1965 teen anthem, "My Generation." "I think it's a state of mind, age... I've met young people who seem incredibly old in their minds, and I've met old people who are incredibly young. You in the years Age cannot measure; you cannot measure a lifetime in years. A life is a life."
And when the end comes someday for Daltrey, he said, he'll never really go.
"I think life is eternal," he said. "I don't think there are many, many lives. You're never going to escape this universe. A part of you will be somewhere in it, even if it's just a tiny bit of dust on Jupiter."
Daltrey is in excellent form at the moment. Taking long walks through the rolling, lush pastures of his sprawling farm in East Sussex, England, he's ridden the last two years of the COVID pandemic with great ease. However, Villager isn't so isolated that hardcore fans can't track him down.
"They come here at my door," he said. "I always try to welcome them. I've seen a lot of stars have their bodyguards, and they push fans away. I've never been on that page. I don't like it at all. They Keep you where you are. They pay your rent. You have to be there for them."
Still, there are some fans—who, with almost admiration, Daltrey calls "extraordinary, really industrial"—who take things a step further.
"We had to get them out from under the beds first," he said with a loud laugh. “They know what time our plane lands, what hotel we are staying in, by what name. And blow me away if they're not in the bloody room before they get there. ,
There is no hint of judgment in Daltrey's voice when it comes to the actions of Star-impressed fans. In fact, he said, he is sometimes one himself.
He said, 'I get very nervous. "It's really funny ... not so much around all the people I've known from the beginning — Paul McCartney and Ringo and all those people — we're all mates, and it's different. But if I met anyone I've been a fan for a very long time, even today, I go back to that little kid again."
So, who could potentially leave Daltrey speechless?
"It's too late to meet Johnny Cash; he's the only one I would have liked," he said. "I'm glad I didn't meet Elvis, because I would have been disappointed. By the time... I was likely to meet him, he had passed his best. I would like to carry his memory with me, which is wonderful."
Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend's work with Teen Cancer America
No doubt, Daltrey has already met more stars and experienced more in his lifetime than most people could ever imagine. But today, he said, what makes him most happy is his work with Teen Cancer America, which he and Townshend founded in 2012 as an extension of the UK's Teenage Cancer Trust.
Teen Cancer America has supported more than 106,000 patients in 43 hospital partners nationwide. Daltrey said the organization focuses on people between the ages of 13 and 26 who don't easily fit into child or adult cancer programs.
"They have social habits that are completely different to any group," he said of the youth who donate. "The worst thing you can do is isolate them with people they're not comfortable with. They already have enough emotional and mental issues to deal with without doing that."
Additionally, Daltrey said, the forms of cancer that affect younger people are rare, increasing in frequency and not well studied.
"It needs to change," he said. "I feel in my bones, and always have been, that some of the biggest cancer secrets are going to be found in that age group. If you're not looking, you're not going to find them, are you?"
Today, 58 years after The Who first began breaking their instruments on stage, Daltrey and Townshend rock on, despite Entwistle and Moon's absence. And while they are thrilled to still be playing live, Daltrey said, today's tour is very different than it was in the past.
“In the old days… we were all four. We didn’t have equipment, there were Hotel Holiday Inns, which we were constantly banned from,” he said with a laugh. “But we had a lot of fun. This is really, really, really weird. We used to have a lot of fun those days, I can't tell you. It was such a wonderful world to live in in those days. Everything was possible."
Daltrey said that what is possible today is for someone who has never had the electrifying experience of catching The Who Lives. Actually, it is necessary.
"You should try to see Townshend once in your life," he said. "That's brilliant - the best I've ever heard in my life. And I've heard some really cool music."