The Who are back in The States busy rehearsing for the opening night of their North American tour, which kicks off on Friday night (April 22nd) in Ft. Lauderdale. Pete Townshend’s wife, Rachel Fuller, posted footage of the band running through “Who Are You” at an unnamed soundstage.
Roger Daltrey, who turned 78 last month, spoke to The Palm Beach Post and admitted, “I can still hit the notes. They’re still there. Townshend’s songs are incredibly demanding for a singer. They’re lyrically complicated, there’s never two songs together in the same key, so it’s moving about all over the place, and it takes a lot of stamina. Just like Mick Jagger — I’ve got so much respect for Mick, he’s incredible. And you just have to train.”
When discussing the key line from the Who’s 1965 classic “My Generation” — “I hope I die before I get old” — Daltrey said, “I still do. I think it’s a state of mind, age. I’ve met young people who seem to be incredibly old in their mind, and I’ve met old people that are incredibly young. You can’t measure age in years; you can’t measure a lifetime in years. A life is a life.”
Daltrey revealed that the Who still has a unique relationship with its fans: “They turn up at my door here. I always try to make them welcome. I’ve seen a lot of stars have their bodyguards, and they push the fans away. I’ve never been on that page. I don’t like that at all. They put you where you are. They pay your rent. You’ve got to be there for them.”
Although rock stars don’t get much bigger than Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend — Daltrey said he’s been known to get starstruck: “I get very nervous. It’s really funny. . . Not so much around all the guys I’ve known from the beginning — Paul McCartney and Ringo (Starr) and all those people — we’re all mates, and it’s different. But if I met someone I’ve been a fan of a very long time, even today, I go back to that little kid again. It’s too late to meet Johnny Cash; he’s the only one I would have liked.”
Daltrey added: “I’m glad I didn’t meet Elvis (Presley), cause I would have been disappointed. The time that I had the possibility of meeting him, he was past his best. I’d rather carry his memory with me, which is fantastic.”
- The Who tour dates (subject to change):
April 22 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL – Hard Rock
April 24 – Jacksonville, FL – VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena
April 27 – Tampa, FL – Amalie Arena
April 20 – New Orleans, LA – New Orleans Jazz Festival
May 3 – Austin, TX – Moody Center ATX
May 2 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
May 8 – The Woodlands, TX – The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
May 10 – Oklahoma City, TX – Paycom Center
May 13 – Memphis, TN – FedEx Forum
May 15 – Cincinnati, OH – TQL Stadium
May 18 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
May 20 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
May 23 – Washington, D.C. – Capital One Arena
May 26 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
May 28 – Bethel, NY – Bethel Woods Center of the Arts
October 2 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
October 4 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena
October 7 – Elmont, NY – UBS Arena
October 9 – Columbus, OH – Schottenstein Center
October 12 – Chicago, IL – United Center
October 14 – St. Louis, MO – Enterprise Center
October 17 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena
October 20 – Portland, OR – Moda Center
October 22 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
October 26 – Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center
October 28 – Anaheim, CA – Honda Center
November 1 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl
November 4, 5 – Las Vegas, NV – Dolby Live
SIDE NOTES
- Coming on Record Store Day — April 23rd — is a 40th Anniversary release of the Who‘s It’s Hard. The double-album release includes a half speed master of the album along with rare and unreleased material, including the Roger Daltrey vocal version of “Eminence Front.”
- The limited edition orange and yellow vinyl features the remastered album plus a bonus disc of unreleased and rare material and comes with a poster.
- Set for release on May 6th are new vinyl half speed remasters of the Who’s first two albums — 1965’s My Generation and 1966’s A Quick One — with the latter mastered by longtime Who engineer Jon Astley.
- Both albums are packaged in original sleeve with obi stripe and certificate of authenticity and are available now to pre-order.
CHECK IT OUT: The Who on March 25th, 2022 performing “Behind Blue Eyes” as featured on CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert:
CHECK IT OUT: The Who rehearsing on Sunday via Rachel Fuller’s Instagram page: