The Who |
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Tue. June 04.2002 5:34 PM EDT |
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Roger Daltrey: What's Next?The Who take to the road again. Roger Daltrey tells why. by Dave Hall |
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Roger Daltrey ( ) |
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Theyve said goodbye countless times, but sure looks like the members of the Who are sticking it out together. Not only are they bringing timeless anthems like My Generation and Wont Get Fooled Again to arenas this summer, theyre actually
VH1: The Whos performance was definitely one of the highlights of the Concert for New York. Was that why you decided to tour again? Roger Daltrey: I felt incredibly humble to be performing for that audience, but it wasnt the reason we got back together. The problem I have at my age, as a singer, is stopping. Voices arent like guitar strings. You cant change them, so I have to keep going, keep it in action. I had a meeting with Pete [Townshend] and said, Look, I cant have another year off, because there I wont have a voice left at the end of it. Can we do 20 or 30 gigs somewhere? Anywhere? Pete very kindly decided to do these gigs that were doing. It will get me in good condition for this album I hope we come up with. VH1: It's been 20 years since the release of Its Hard. Are you excited to be doing another Who album? Daltrey: Very excited. Its always frustrated me that Pete wrote so articulately about the problems of adolescence, but was dry about middle age. Music should be about all the facets of your life, because your emotions change as you get older. For instance, you learn that anger and negativity turn into something else. When I got angry as a youngster, thered be a fistfight. Something would be thrown at a wall. That doesnt happen any more, though I get just as passionate. In some ways the problems of middle age are more interesting. Its very black and white when youre adolescent. Middle age is much more intricate. VH1: So are you hoping to write about getting older? Daltrey: Im not hoping for anything! Im going to enjoy the process of being with the boys, throwing stuff around, trying to come up with ideas. Well be writing stuff, even if theyre only ideas for songs about how you feel right now. VH1: You guys are touring. So are the Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney. Why now? Daltrey: After 9-11, I had a feeling that people would want songs again. The whole world is feeling incredibly insecure. The one beauty about music is that its universal and a song can really get inside you. People need songs at the moment. Thats why the bands that create songs are doing better now than ever. VH1: Whats your definition of a rock star? Daltrey: The definition of a rock star for me was Elvis Presley, but Im not willing to be the kind of star that Elvis became. I just wanted to be a rock n roll singer. I wanted to be a real person. To be a rock star, you have a huge entourage and bodyguards. Im not prepared for all that shit. I dont want to give up that part of my life. Bob Dylans a huge star. He travels around on his own and stays in bed and breakfasts. Its amazing! Thats how I would like to be. I wanted to be a rock star at first, because at the time rock n roll was breaking the mold. But then it formed its own mold, and people were copying the copies of the copies of the copies. I thought, This is madness. Its not really what its all about. I always deliberately fight against the current trend. If leather jackets came in, I bought a tweed suit. I dont know if anyone ever got it, but thats how I felt. I dont what a rock star is. Probably a complete bloody idiot! VH1: Some say the hardest thing about being a rock star is maintaining a marriage. Youve had a fairly successful relationship as far as the rock world is concerned. How do you keep it together? Daltrey: My marriage is successful because 1) I was very lucky in finding the right woman and 2) I was very honest about who I was and what my job was when I married her. The only reason to get married is to have children. She wanted to have children. I thought, Ill marry you. But you know what job Im in. Dont ask me to be a good boy, because Im out there in a rock n roll band, and Im going to be doing it." If youre honest, you can keep anything together. You have to fight for it, though. People give up too easy these days! We also have great sex, which helps. VH1: Why have the Who endured for so long? Daltrey: The foremost reason is the fact that weve got all those wonderful Pete Townshend songs to play. Theyre timeless. Secondly, we can still deliver it well. If that starts to wane, we will stop. I often wonder why it all happened this way. There must be a big answer, but I havent got it. When is it going to finish? Who knows? I still think our best work is in front of us. Ive always felt that. When Pete said, Its Hard is our final record, in 1982, I thought, I dont know about that. Ive always felt our best work could come now. VH1: Is there a certain sexual charge you feel onstage singing for people? Daltrey: Yeah. Its the best drug you can ever have. It totally takes you over. You feel like you can do superhuman things. Its incredibly sexual. Ive always tried to dramatize the lyrics, so I live those words every night I sing them. If I dont do that, Ive failed. With Townshends songs, you cant cheat. Thats why the energy stays up, because the songs are about subjects that just demand that. If you cant deliver it, theyll fall as flat as a pancake. VH1: So maybe that's why youve lasted: Because of the energy behind the performances and songs. Daltrey: They are two of the reasons. The other reason is that we have remained touchable, which was quite obvious in the 9-11 show, when you looked at the faces of those firemen. We were them, up there doing it for them. Everybody wants that. They want to feel, Yeah, I can do that. Thats how we are. |
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