Roger Daltrey

Roger Daltrey (b. March 1st, 1944)

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Revisits Tommy and Quadrophenia Live Onstage…and Talks About What’s Next for the Who
The Who have always lined up on the more-is-more end of the spectrum, from amplifier volume to performance chaos. So it’s no surprise that the band’s DVD anthology revels in excess, pairing live performances of their masterworks, Tommy and Quadrophenia, in a lush package that also boasts a bonus disc featuring scintillating live performances of other classic material. The 1989 Tommy and ’96 Quadrophenia performances are satisfyingly potent, and the latter offers an enlightening commentary by frontman Roger Daltrey. Not that he needs to do all that much: Pete Townshend’s tales are timeless, vivid, and emotionally scorching. Daltrey gave Barnes & Noble.com’s David Sprague some insight into what that deaf, dumb, and blind kid -- not to mention the world’s most famous mod -- means to him.

Barnes & Noble.com: Did you have a sense, at the time, that Tommy and Quadrophenia were something different than what had been done before?

Roger Daltrey: When we were doing Tommy, it was just music, but by the time we got around to Quadrophenia, Tommy had kind of made us realize we’d touched a nerve and it was inspiring people in a very different way than just standing up and going Yeah! at a rock 'n' roll show. When we were doing Quadrophenia, at the time, it was just another piece of music. Now I can see its significance -- the idea that this band was one person, and each of us was one bit of that person. That’s how Pete wrote it and I appreciate that now.

B&N.com: Do you relate to these performances any differently now than you did when they were originally staged?

RD: Not really. It’s just another f**king opera. [laughs] I’m in a different space, so I find it hard to be objective talking about it. To be honest, I haven’t watched the Tommy performance [on the DVD] in years. I remember it very well and I want to keep those memories. That’s enough for me.

B&N.com: Do you listen to your own music much in general?

RD: Only when I need to -- like if we’re going to do a song we haven’t done in a long time. Then, I’m usually like, What was that? I listened to "Armenia" [from The Who Sell Out] the other month when we were thinking of doing it at a charity concert. I hadn’t heard it since the day we recorded it, and it was an extraordinary experience. I prefer it that way. That’s why painters get rid of their paintings when they’re finished. You do it, you move on.

B&N.com: How was it, then, to go back and do commentary tracks for this package?

RD: I only really did Quadrophenia, because I was very involved in the production of that -- what the guy was saying onscreen, the structure. I could kind of relate to that. I don’t actually talk much about the actual performance. My recollections of Quadrophenia go back to when we were trying to perform it in the ‘70s, with the quadraphonic sound, which was always a f**king disaster, and all the synthesizers on tape, which was even more of a disaster. I kind of avoid talking about Tommy because I’m not in a space like Pete is to engage people further on it.

B&N.com: Can you point to any of the performances by other singers as a favorite?

RD: I don’t think there’s one favorite, no. I just look on it as a whole piece. You’d have to say that Stevie Winwood brought something special to it, because it’s a totally different performance of the song. But if we’d have all done that, Tommy would have been totally un-f**king-recognizable.

B&N.com: Do you approach your music and your acting in the same way?

RD: I suppose that subconsciously, it’s the same. Consciously, if I find the character when I’m acting, I’m more comfortable than when I’m singing. I’ve never got it right in the Who, and that’s why I go on. I very rarely come onstage and say, "I’m on tonight." But in acting, because I’m playing another character, if I feel I’m in character, I’m more easily satisfied.

B&N.com: Could you see doing either of these again in the future?

RD: Of course I could, yeah. But I can’t do it on my own, can I? Quadrophenia, in particular, is incredibly difficult because it’s so technical and so expensive to stage. When we did it, we did 70 shows, and made very, very little money because everything went back into the production. But I do feel that we did something very different. It was our intent to take musical theater into arenas, and in that sense it worked. On the DVD, you only see what was on the screen behind the band. Unfortunately, we didn’t film it as a concert video, but by accident, I think that works in our favor because you can’t focus on the band -- the band drops out.

B&N.com: Does that desire to "do it again" mean that new Who material is in the offing?

RD: We’ve been working on demos. All I can tell you, and I hate to presume anything, is that the fire in Pete is as bright as I’ve ever seen it. When he picks up a guitar and hits it, it means the same as ever. Wait until next year when we get our drummer back [Zak Starkey, who’s currently on tour with Oasis]. I think we’ll have something. I hope so, because I think Pete is one of the only writers that can drag rock 'n' roll into its old age with purpose. He’s a rare intellect, Townshend, and we should all be grateful that we have him to listen to.

November 2, 2005

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