Roger Daltrey shed light on his 60-year-relationship with Pete Townshend during a new chat with Forbes. The Who kicks off its next North American run on October 2nd at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena.
Although no longer at loggerheads as they were during much of the 1970’s, Daltrey explained that he and Townshend’s connection is solely based around the Who: “Our relationship is a working one, and that’s about as far as it goes. But when we get on stage, there’s a chemistry that’s created. When we’re playing well, it starts to kick in properly. It’s still as wonderful as ever. We never really had a strong relationship off of the stage, though. It’s as simple as that.”
When pressed about his one-off collaboration with Townshend co-writing the Who’s second single, 1965’s “Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere.” Daltrey explained, “It happened by accident. Pete had a sketch for a song, but didn’t have a bridge for it. We were rehearsing it, getting it down on stage at the Marquee Club. We were doing a show that night. When we got to the bridge part, I added some lyrics, and, if you add any lyrics to a song, you’re one of the writers. But apparently that doesn’t happen with everything you do, especially when jamming (laughs).”
Daltrey, who’s now 78, spoke frankly about like and mortality, revealing, “I’m afraid of the things that everybody else is. I’m not afraid of death, that’s for sure. I’ve been close to that too many times (laughs). Things that really frighten me are what might hurt my family. They are the most important thing in my life. That really terrifies me, that they’ll have to go through a terrible time. How my parents got through the war, losing brothers and sisters, I don’t know. The pain must have been enormous. The pain never left them, I do know that. I regret not talking to them about it. But I lived in the ignorance of it — we all do when we’re young.”
- The Who tour dates (subject to change):
October 2 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena (with Steven Page)
October 4 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena (with Steven Page)
October 7 – Elmont, NY – UBS Arena (with Steven Page)
October 9 – Columbus, OH – Schottenstein Center (with Steven Page)
October 12 – Chicago, IL – United Center (with Steven Page)
October 14 – St. Louis, MO – Enterprise Center (with Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs)
October 17 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena (with Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs)
October 20 – Portland, OR – Moda Center (with Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs)
October 22 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena (with Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs)
October 26 – Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center (with Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs)
October 28 – Anaheim, CA – Honda Center (with Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs)
November 1 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl (with Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs)
November 4, 5 – Las Vegas, NV – Dolby Live (with The Wild Things)
SIDE NOTES
- Last month saw the latest from the Who‘s ongoing half-speed master series with the release on 1967’s The Who Sell Out and 1969’s Tommy.
- The half-speed master LP’s are both available for pre-order and have been mastered by longtime Who engineer Jon Astley with vinyl cuts by Miles Showell.
- The Who Sell Out will be issued as a single album and sells for $31.99. The double-LP Tommy runs for $41.99.
CHECK IT OUT: The Who on July 8th, 2006 performing “Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere” at Ireland’s Oxygen Festival: