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Roger interview in San Francisco Chronicle



In the Sunday edition:
Available on line at:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2000/08/20
/PK28418.DTL&type=music

Q & A With Roger Daltrey
By Aidin Vaziri    Sunday, August 20, 2000

For most people, the songs on the Who's new live album, ``The Blues to the
Bush,'' are as familiar as their left arm. But never before have classics
like ``Won't Get Fooled Again'' and ``Substitute'' been played with such
precision and polish as they are here.

Available exclusively through Internet retailer Musicmaker.com, the release
is the latest chapter in the long and turbulent career of one of rock's most
durable forces. With the Who set to play Shoreline Amphitheatre tomorrow,
front man Roger Daltrey, 56, sat down to talk about life on the road, his
burgeoning dramatic career and the state of his mercurial relationship with
guitarist Pete Townshend.

Q: How do you stay in shape on the road?

A: Always keep working. I keep singing because I want to be there. I've got
my acting career going as well. So I'm always busy doing something. It keeps
you in shape. God forbid anyone should ever retire. That's the kiss of
death.

Q: Do you do push-ups and jumping jacks and all that?

A: No. I'm quite lazy. I know my body so well, I know what to do to keep me
fit.

Q: What keeps bringing you back to the Who?

A: I think there's been a big turning point within the last two years; since
the ``Quadrophenia'' tour, really, which was short but sweet. I was
incredibly proud of the work we did on that. Financially, it was incredibly
unsuccessful because it was such an expensive show to stage. But there's
been a mega-shift in the way we interact with each other in the last three
years. We enjoy each other's company now. We enjoy being in a band. It's
almost as if we've rediscovered what we had all those years ago. Whatever
happens onstage is a bonus. Let's hope that it still works because you never
know. What's happening off the stage is immensely valuable to me in my life.

Q: Do you guys sleep in the same bed?

A: We don't share a bed. We don't share a bus. But we started sharing
dressing rooms again. We have a communal dressing room. We don't shut the
doors anymore. Everyone is welcomed in, and we all have a laugh together. We
have a load of fun for the first time in a really long time, since Keith
(Moon, the band's original drummer) died, really. Maybe that's what's been
exorcised now. Maybe Zak Starkey had something to do with that. In some way,
maybe we have got the right cog in the gearing. As much as Kenny Jones was a
great drummer, from my opinion, he was never quite the right drummer for the
Who.

Q: Are you less competitive with Pete Townshend now?

A: I was never competitive with him. If you look back at all the things I've
said through the years, I've been a complete Townshend fan.

Q: I'm not sure he always felt the same way about you.

A: I don't know. I've always supported him and been honest with him. There
were years there where his writing quality suffered. He was called a genius
so early on in life, he tended to get surrounded by people who told him
everything he did was great. Everything that Pete does isn't great. He does
great stuff, and like all of us, he does some mediocre stuff and some bad
stuff. I always tried to tell Pete how I really felt about a song. If I ever
said anything negative, it was never meant to be personal to him. It just
meant I didn't think what he had done was very good, rather than be a
yes-man and go along with everything he does. None of us is that good.

Q: What do you fight about now?

A: We don't. After getting my face smashed up by Gary Glitter while we were
doing ``Quadrophenia'' at Hyde Park, I won't ever fight with anyone again in
my whole life.

Q: Gary Glitter did that to you?

A: Yeah. He completely fractured my eye socket, and one side of my face was
completely stoved in with a microphone stand. I mean, I was standing behind
him, and he swung it over his head.

Q: Are you continuing the Who's long-standing tradition of raising hell on
the road?

A: Well, I mean, what's raising hell? You never tell the public everything
you get up to. (Laughs)

Q: Without Keith Moon there to lead the way, is it harder now?

A: We could never live up to what Keith got up to. No way. Let me tell you,
he was worse than the myths. Don't believe the books. He was much worse.
I've read most of the books and, let me tell you, it all happened, and more.

Q: I noticed you cut your hair so you can get closer to open flames.

A: (Laughs) Yes. I can get near the fire.

Q: Are you more interested in acting now than being in a band?

A: I love it all. Every bit of my life in my career sense, I approach it all
exactly the same. I'm completely passionate about both of them. When I'm
doing it, that's all that exists in my life.

Q: When you go to an audition, is it a liability being Roger Daltrey?

A: Sometimes, yeah. The trouble is rock 'n' roll demands such strong images,
and acting is the opposite. I'm a character actor. The last show I did in
America was for this show called ``Rude Awakening,'' where I played a rock
star.

Q: That was a stretch.

A: It was great. I rolled them all into this one called Nobby Clegg, who was
completely insane. You wouldn't want him living next door. Or maybe you
would.

©2000 San Francisco Chronicle

        -Brian in Atlanta
         The Who This Month!
        http://members.home.net/cadyb/who.htm