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Roger Daltrey — news, coverage & facts — IJR

Overview

Townshend began writing original material for the band, and after their first hit single ("I Can't Explain") and recording contract in early 1965, Daltrey's dominance of the band diminished. The other members of the Who fired him from the band in late 1965 after he beat up their drummer, Keith Moon, for supplying illegal drugs to Townshend and Entwistle, but he was re-admitted to the band a week later on probation after he promised not to do it again. He recalled, "I thought if I lost the band, I was dead. If I didn't stick with the Who, I would be a sheet metal worker for the rest of my life."

The band's second single, "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere", was a collaboration between Daltrey and Townshend. While Townshend was developing into an accomplished composer, Daltrey was gaining a reputation as a singer and front-man. The Who's stage act was energetic, and Daltrey's habit of swinging the microphone around by its cord on stage became a signature move. His Townshend-inspired stuttering expression of youthful anger, frustration and arrogance in the band's breakthrough single, "My Generation", captured the revolutionary feeling of the 1960s for young people around the world and became a trademark sound. His scream near the end of "Won't Get Fooled Again" was a defining moment in rock and roll.

By 1973, Daltrey was experiencing success with his solo projects and acting roles. While the other members of the band were recording the music for their sixth studio album Quadrophenia, he took the opportunity to examine the Who's financial books and found they had fallen into disarray under the management of Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp. Lambert was Pete Townshend's artistic mentor, and challenging him led to renewed tension within the band. During a filming session, in an incident that Daltrey later claimed was overblown, Townshend and Daltrey argued over the schedule, Townshend hit Daltrey over the head with his guitar, and Daltrey responded by knocking Townshend unconscious with a single blow.

In the Who's milestone achievements, Tommy (1969), Who's Next (1971), and Quadrophenia (1973), Daltrey became the face and voice of the band as they defined themselves as rebels in a generation of change. When Ken Russell's adaptation of Tommy appeared as a feature film in 1975, Daltrey played the lead role. He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for "Best Acting Debut in a Motion Picture", and appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine on 10 April 1975. He worked with Russell again, starring as Franz Liszt in Lisztomania, and collaborated with Rick Wakeman on the soundtrack of the film.

The Who's drummer, Keith Moon, died in 1978. The band continued working after his death, but Daltrey thought that new drummer Kenney Jones had been the wrong choice. The Who broke up in 1983 when Townshend felt that he could no longer write for them.

The band reformed in 1989 for a 25th Anniversary Tour, which also celebrated the 20th anniversary of their rock opera Tommy. The tour featured a large backing band, with guest appearances by Steve Winwood, Patti LaBelle, Phil Collins, Elton John, and Billy Idol. Daltrey managed to complete the tour in spite of an abdominal ailment, for which he later received surgery.

In 1996, Pete Townshend was approached to produce Quadrophenia for the Prince's Trust concert at Hyde Park, London. Daltrey agreed to help to produce a one-off performance, and the opera was to be performed with a large backing band. On the night before the show, Daltrey was struck in the face by a microphone stand swung by Gary Glitter and the accident fractured his eye socket. There was concern that he might not be able to perform, but Daltrey covered the bruises with an eye patch and completed the show as scheduled. Townshend took the production on tour in 1996–97 as the Who.

After the success of the Quadrophenia tour, the band returned as the Who with a five-piece line-up for tours in 1999–2000, and they made a major impact at the Concert for New York City in 2002. After Entwistle's death in June 2002, Daltrey and Townshend decided to continue with an already planned tour, with bassist Pino Palladino taking Entwistle's place. They also completed a brief tour in 2004. In 2006, they released the Who's first studio album of new material in twenty-four years, Endless Wire, which led to suggestions that the much-discussed artistic tension in the Who lay between Daltrey and Townshend. The band undertook a world tour in 2006–07 in support of the album.

In February 2010, Townshend and Daltrey, headlining as the Who, performed the half-time show at Super Bowl XLIV in Miami Gardens, Florida, and were seen by 105.97 million viewers across the world. In March 2010, Townshend and Daltrey, with an extensive backing band, performed Quadrophenia at the Royal Albert Hall in London as a tenth-anniversary charity benefit for the Teenage Cancer Trust. Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam sang the part of the Godfather and Tom Meighan of Kasabian sang the part of Aceface.

Overview

Daltrey has released ten solo studio albums. His debut, Daltrey (1973), was recorded during a hiatus in the Who's touring schedule. The best-selling single from the album, "Giving It All Away", peaked at No. 5 in the UK and the album, which introduced Leo Sayer and David Courtney as songwriters, made the Top 50 in the United States. The inner sleeve photography showed a trompe-l'œil which referred to the Narcissus myth, as Daltrey's reflection in the water differed from his actual appearance. He also released a single in 1973, "Thinking", with "There Is Love" on the B-side featuring Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin on guitar. The British release, with considerable airplay of "Giving It All Away" (first lines "I paid all my dues so I picked up my shoes, I got up and walked away") coincided with news reports of the Who being sued for unpaid damage to their hotel on a recent tour, which included a TV set thrown out of a window.

Daltrey's second solo studio album, Ride a Rock Horse, was released in July 1975. It was his second most commercially successful solo album.

When Leo Sayer launched his own career as a singer, Daltrey called on a widening group of friends to write for and perform on his albums. Paul McCartney contributed the new song "Giddy" to One of the Boys (1977), where the band included Hank Marvin of the Shadows, Eric Clapton, Alvin Lee and Mick Ronson, as well as calling on a member of the Who, John Entwistle.

McVicar (1980) was a soundtrack album from the film of the same name, in which Daltrey starred and also co-produced; it featured all the other members of the Who at that time (Townshend, Entwistle, and Kenney Jones). McVicar included two hit singles, "Free Me", and "Without Your Love", Daltrey's best-selling solo recording.

His fifth solo studio album, Parting Should Be Painless (1984), received negative reviews and was his poorest-selling studio album up to that point. In it, Daltrey had vented his frustrations after the break-up of the Who by assembling a set of roughly autobiographical songs. They included a track contributed by Bryan Ferry ("Going Strong"), and a cover version of the Eurythmics ("Somebody Told Me"). Daltrey said the album covered musical areas that he had wanted the Who to pursue. The title track of the next studio album, Under a Raging Moon (1985) was a tribute to the Who's drummer, Keith Moon, who had died in 1978 at the age of 32.

Daltrey's final studio album of the 1980s, Can't Wait to See the Movie (1987), featured the track "The Price of Love", co-written by David Foster which was also featured in the 1987 movie The Secret of My Success, starring Michael J. Fox.

On his only studio album of the 1990s, Rocks in the Head (1992), Daltrey's voice ranged from a powerful bluesy growl in the style of Howlin' Wolf, to tender vocals shared with his daughter Willow on the ballad "Everything a Heart Could Ever Want".

Daltrey appeared in the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in 1992, singing the hard rock Queen song "I Want It All", in homage to his friend Freddie Mercury who had died the previous year one day after a public announcement that he had AIDS.

To celebrate his 50th birthday in 1994, Daltrey performed two shows at Carnegie Hall in New York City. A recording of the concerts was later issued on CD and video, entitled A Celebration: The Music of Pete Townshend and The Who, and is sometimes called Daltrey Sings Townshend. The success of these shows led to a US tour under the same name, featuring Pete Townshend's brother Simon on lead guitar. Phil Spalding played bass in the first half of each show and John Entwistle played bass in the second half. An Australian leg was considered but eventually scrapped.

A fan of the Premier League football club Arsenal F.C., Daltrey wrote and performed a specially commissioned song, "Highbury Highs", for the 2006 Highbury Farewell ceremony after the final football match was played at the Highbury ground. Daltrey's performance was part of Arsenal's celebration of the club's 93 years at Highbury as it prepared to move to a new stadium.

Daltrey embarked on a solo tour of the US and Canada on 10 October 2009, the "Use It or Lose It" tour, with a new touring band he called "No Plan B" on The Alan Titchmarsh Show. The band included Simon Townshend on rhythm guitar and backing vocals, Frank Simes on lead guitar, Jon Button on bass guitar, Loren Gold on keyboards, and Scott Devours on drums. Eddie Vedder made a guest appearance at the Seattle show on 12 October. In 2010, Daltrey and No Plan B appeared for several dates with Eric Clapton, including Summerfest held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

On 15 March 2018, Daltrey announced the forthcoming release on 1 June of a new solo studio album, As Long as I Have You. He appeared on BBC One's The Graham Norton Show on 13 April 2018 to promote the single taken from the album.

In May 2021, Daltrey announced a return to touring, with the solo Live and Kicking Tour, starting in August 2021. The tour was rescheduled and carried out during the summer of 2022.

Awards and achievements

In 1976 Daltrey was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for "Best Acting Debut in a Motion Picture" for his starring role in the film version of the Who's rock opera Tommy. He also performed as a guest on the Chieftains' recording of Irish Evening: Live at the Grand Opera House which won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album in 1993. With the Who, Daltrey received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001 for outstanding artistic significance in music.

In 1990 Daltrey was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio as a member of the Who. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame also included three songs that Daltrey recorded with the Who on the list of 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll, including: "My Generation", "Go to the Mirror!", and "Baba O'Riley". In 2005, Daltrey received a British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors Gold Badge Award for special and lasting contributions to the British entertainment industry.

In 2003 Daltrey was honoured by Time magazine as a European Hero for his work with the Teenage Cancer Trust and other charities. In the New Year's Honours List published on 31 December 2004, he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to Music, the Entertainment Industry and Charity.

As a member of the Who, Daltrey was inducted in 2005 into the UK Music Hall of Fame. In December 2008, he and Pete Townshend were honoured with America's most prestigious cultural awards as recipients of the 31st annual Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, D.C., by the then-president of the United States, George W. Bush. On 4 March 2009, three days after his 65th birthday, Daltrey accepted the James Joyce Award from the Literary and Historical Society of University College Dublin for outstanding success in the music field.

On 12 March 2011, he received the Steiger Award (Germany) for excellence in music. In November 2011, Daltrey and Pete Townshend received the Classic Album Award for Quadrophenia from the Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards at the Roundhouse in Chalk Farm, London.

In July 2012 Daltrey received an honorary degree from Middlesex University in recognition of his contributions to music.

Daltrey has received numerous awards for his music, including Best Blues Album in the British Blues Awards 2015 alongside Wilko Johnson.

In 2019 Daltrey was the recipient of the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement. He received his Golden Plate along with Pete Townshend and presented by Awards Council member Peter Gabriel of Genesis.

In June 2025 Daltrey was made a Knight Bachelor in the Birthday Honours for services to charity and music.

Political views

In 1970, Daltrey publicly supported The National Campaign for Freedom of Information, saying: "I come from a working-class background and I am proud of it, and I intend to fight for the workers' right to know. We all need to know what goes on behind the scenes that is causing this country's economic mess. When we have a Freedom of Information Act in this country we shall have restored our Right to Know the Truth and that will bring sanity to our tax laws." A Freedom of Information Act became law in 2000.

Daltrey was previously a supporter of the British Labour Party, but he withdrew his endorsement, citing his opposition to the "mass immigration" policies put in place under the Blair government. In 2018, he criticised Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, describing him as a "communist".

Daltrey supported Britain leaving the European Union (EU). He wrote in The Mirror: "Whatever happens, our country should never fear the consequences of leaving. We went into the Common Market in 1973. Do you know what was going on before we went in? It was the 1960s. The most exciting time ever – Britain was Swinging. Films, Theatre, Fashion, Art and Music.... Britain was the centre of the world. You got that because Britain was doing its own thing. It was independent. Not sure we'll ever get that again when we're ruled by bureaucrats in the European Union." He again criticised the EU in 2019, saying, "If you want to be signed up to be ruled by a fucking mafia, you do it. Like being governed by FIFA".

In 2017, Daltrey opined that a "dead dog" could have defeated Hillary Clinton in the 2016 United States presidential election. In 2018, he denounced the MeToo movement, saying: "I find this whole thing so obnoxious. It's always allegations and it's just salacious crap."

In 2021, Daltrey criticised "the woke generation" in an interview with Zane Lowe's Apple Music 1 podcast, arguing that younger generations are limiting themselves by stifling and undoing creative freedoms that had emerged through the artistic revolutions of the 1960s. He elaborated by saying "It's terrifying, the miserable world they're going to create for themselves. I mean, anyone who's lived a life and you see what they're doing, you just know that it's a route to nowhere."

Personal life

Daltrey has been married twice. In 1964, he married Jacqueline "Jackie" Rickman. Later that year, their son, Simon, was born. They divorced in 1968. In 1967, Daltrey's son Mathias was born as a result of Daltrey's affair with Swedish model Elisabeth Aronsson. In 1968, Daltrey met Heather Taylor, a UK-born model living with her grandmother at the time, who supposedly was the subject of the 1967 Jimi Hendrix song "Foxy Lady". Daltrey and Taylor have been married since 1971. They have three children: Daughters Rosie Lea (born 1972) and Willow Amber (born 1975) and son Jamie (born 1981).

On 1 March 1994, his 50th birthday, Daltrey received a letter from a woman who stated that she was his daughter. Her birth resulted from a brief relationship that occurred during the interval between Daltrey's marriages. Daltrey later met two more daughters who were born during this period in the late 1960s. All three had been adopted, and had grown to adulthood before meeting their biological father. Daltrey stated that Heather had joined him in welcoming them to their extended family. In 2021, Daltrey said, "'When three daughters arrived on my doorstep [unexpectedly in the '90s, the products of relationships with women in the '60s], I accepted them and I love them very much'". As of 2018, Daltrey had eight children and fifteen grandchildren.

In 1971, Daltrey bought a farm at Holmshurst Manor, a Jacobean country house near Burwash in East Sussex. In 1981 he opened a trout farm, Lakedown Trout Fishery, designing its four spring-fed lakes himself. The business is now run by his son Jamie.

Daltrey announced onstage in 2018 that he had suffered hearing loss as a result of exposure to loud noise levels during performances and was now "very, very deaf". He urged audience members to use earplugs.

In 1978, during the recording of the Who's eighth studio album Who Are You, Daltrey had throat surgery to remove nodules. During a solo tour in 2009 he began finding it harder to reach the high notes. In December 2010 he was diagnosed with vocal cord dysplasia and consulted Steven M. Zeitels, director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Voice Center and professor at Harvard Medical School. Zeitels performed laser surgery to remove a possibly pre-cancerous growth. Both surgeries were considered successful, and Daltrey has regular checks to monitor his condition.

Daltrey has an allergy to cannabis that affects his singing voice. When second-hand marijuana smoke from an audience has affected his performance, he has occasionally interrupted the concert to request that people not smoke it. Daltrey has stated that he has never taken hard drugs.

Daltrey is a supporter of Arsenal F.C.

In a 2019 interview with The Times, bandmate Townshend said that Daltrey is an atheist, stating, "I believe in God, he doesn't."