"I’ll do it if Pete wants to do it - really wants to do it": Roger Daltrey on The Who's future and how the web has “ruined” live music
Roger Daltrey has been sounding off again.
WHO?
This time he’s concluded that the internet has “ruined” live music. The object of his ire? That’ll be websites like Setlist.fm that log artists’ setlists date by date. In an interview with Billboard, Daltrey said that this means that: “there’s no surprises left with concerts these days, ’cause everybody wants to see the setlist... I’m fucking sick of it.”
“The internet’s ruined the live shows for me. Who wants to know what’s coming next? People forget about surprises. I can’t stand it.”
When the interviewer suggested that at least it meant that fans knew when they could pop to the loo, the singer shot back, albeit with a smile: “Why not just start to listen to the bloody show in the toilet, then?”
He also revealed that he’s done with the famous scream on one of those setlist staples, Won’t Get Fooled Again. “I’m not gonna do the scream. I’m gonna get the fucking audience to do the scream. I’ve done that scream for 55 years, and I’ve had enough of it. I don’t even want to try it now; it’s brutal on the vocal cords... I’m more into singing these days. At the age of 80, I think I deserve to be.”
He was speaking before an 11 date ‘semi-acoustic’ North American solo tour which kicked off last night in Glenside, Pennsylvania.
Daltrey has never been shy of voicing his opinions. He is one of a handful of musicians to openly champion Brexit and in 2018 criticised the MeToo movement, asking in a Daily Mail interview: “why would any rock star need to push themselves on women? Usually it’s the other way round.”
He turned 80 in March and recently stood down from his central role organising the Teenage Cancer Trust concerts, declaring at the time that “I’m on the way out.”
However, in the Billboard interview he openly talks about future projects such as the Keith Moon biopic and a second memoir to follow his 2018 autobiography Thanks A Lot Mr Kibbelwhite.
He also appears to open the door to future Who activity, declaring: “I’ll do it if Pete wants to do it, really wants to do it and do it properly. As far as I’m concerned, do we need another Who tour? We were a great group and two of our members died, and it’s been different since.”
“Equally, there’s a chemistry between Pete and I. I love him dearly. There’s something special there, but it needs us both to be on fire and both wanting to be there. So if he really, really wants to do it I’m gonna turn up even with a broken leg, and I’ll deliver for you.”
