RES: Recent Daltrey Interview

["Oswaldo Akamine Jr." <motax@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Roger's telling the press something he's been tolding them for the last
20 years: "I think we might carry on, put out a brand new record, we're
the Who". So, it's actually up to Pete. And Pete's into that "Yes, I
want to help Roger", "No, The Who is over, we did our farewell tour".

We've seen it before. And it's just the Who, isn't it? I mean,
discussions like that through the newspapers are such a who-ish thing.

On the other hand, I guess TD are in the best shape to put out a new
album, the best in 25 years. They have their history in the pocket,
Townshend has renewed his guitar style, Roger sure can sing, and, most
of all, they've been solo for almost 20 years by now - time to move on
again...

Oswaldo Akamine Jr., in SP, Brazil
www.motax.com.br

-----Mensagem original-----
De: owner-thewho@igtc.com [mailto:owner-thewho@igtc.com] Em nome de
O'Neal, Kevin W.
Enviada em: quinta-feira, 19 de setembro de 2002 10:00
Para: 'thewho@igtc.com'
Assunto: Recent Daltrey Interview

This is a forward from O&S.
A really telling and very recent interview by Roger.
As I've feared, the boys haven't come to terms with the death, and won't
until after the tour and it's affects are over.
Not boding well for the future either.  Have to say I had a pang of
sorrow
in reading that.

Well, read for yo selves............
Kevin in VT

Subject: Recent Daltrey Interview

Here's an interesting interview with
Roger which talks about future plans, and why they won't play
the new songs:
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%257E78%257E863585%257E,00.ht
ml

Daltrey, Townshend deal with loss on stage
 By G. Brown
 Denver Post Popular Music Writer

 Wednesday, September 18, 2002 - The Who officially retired in 1982, but
the
legendary rock outfit has toured
several
 times since then. After virtually every disbanding and reuniting, Pete
Townshend insisted that the group was done
for
 good.

 Finally, this summer, there was a Who tour slated that the nearly
40-year-old British band wasn't swearing would
be its
 last. The boys talked about a new studio album, the first in 20 years,
and
they were to launch a summer trek June
28 at
 the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas.

 But on the eve of the tour, John Entwistle, 57, bassist and co-founder
of
the Who, was found dead in his room of
an
 apparent heart attack.

 He left surviving members Townshend and Roger Daltrey in a unique
dilemma.
They decided to carry on with the tour,

 aside from the trip's first two dates, which were postponed. Bassist
Pino
Palladino was drafted to play, and the
tour
 instead kicked off July 1 at the Hollywood Bowl. The Who will perform
at
Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre on Thursday
 night.

 "It felt right to me immediately," singer Daltrey said recently of the
decision to carry on with the tour. "If
anyone lived for
 the road, John Entwistle did. And if anyone could choose his way of
dying -
in those circumstances, John probably
would
 have had a postscript in his will that said, 'Post mortem, body to be
placed in bed and glass door put on suite
and used
 as Hard Rock (Hotel) exhibit!"'

 "He was fortunate in the way he went, really. He was a true rock 'n'
roller. It's sad that he's gone - God, I miss
him, he
 was a brother, I've been with him since I was 14. I haven't really come
to
terms with the fact that he's not here
 anymore. I haven't had time to consider that yet."

 Daltrey and Townshend returned to England to attend the funeral on July
10
in England. At the memorial service,
all
 alcoholic beverages were free, and all non-alcoholic beverages cost.

 "That was John," Daltrey said. "He had a wonderful, dry sense of
humor."

                    Entwistle had a pre-existing heart condition.

                    "I've been into alternative medicine the last 30
years,
and you learn to read people - I was
                    always aware, for the last six years, that he did
not
look well," Daltrey said. "But I didn't
know
                    how bad it was."

                    On his website, Townshend issued reasons why the Who
would carry on with the tour. "I want
                    to help guide Roger and the rest of the band at this
time, all of whom have been shaken by
                    John's death."

                    "Pete's a very complex person, he's doing it in his
way," Daltrey said.

                    "He's playing his (butt) off. That's where it
counts, on
stage, when we're all dealing with it.

                    That's where it's easy for us, because once we start
playing, it's as though John is back,
                    because he lives on in the music. And he always
will,
just like Keith lives on (drummer Keith
                    Moon died of an accidental drug overdose in 1978).
That's the most comfortable place for us,
                    the most enjoyable part of our lives at the moment.

 "It's the days off that are hard. I did speak to Pete about that, and
he
finds it the same, that the days off are
killing
 him."

 Before Entwistle died, Townshend and Daltrey hinted that later this
year
they would begin recording an album. In
 rehearsals for the tour in London, they had worked up two new songs - a
ballad by Daltrey called "Certified Rose"
and
 Townshend's "Real Good Looking Boy."

 "We were going to do them on tour, even without John, and we've hit a
bootlegging war - there's this channel in a
lot
 of states where we do free access for the hard of hearing, and
bootleggers
are turning into that and cutting CD
quality
 material. So we can't play something new or we're screwed. And I've got
to
tell you, Pete's song is classic
Townshend -
 it's brilliant."

 The Who had reunited recently with Zak Starkey, Ringo Starr's son, on
drums. Now British session stalwart
Palladino
 has filled in ably for Entwistle on bass.

 "The band's as good as ever," Daltrey said. "It's different because
John's
not there. Obviously his style can be
mimicked,
 but we're not going that way. Pino plays the roots of what John was
playing, but in his own way; he is a genius on

 bass, too."

 Daltrey is circumspect about what will happen after the tour, but it
appears the band will be laid to rest.

 "Pete and I have had no discussions of anything. We're trying to get
through this tour best we can, one day at a
time,
 and make sure the shows are great," he said. "We're playing it as
though
the band ends in Toronto on Sept. 28.

 "But I don't know if that will be the actual end or not. I think it
will be
very sad if it does, and I think it
would be very
 stupid to let it slide, especially when we're at our musical peak. I
don't
mean that in the sense of our
popularity, but as
 musicians - I'm singing better than I ever have in my life.

 "I've had to completely shut myself down. I know this is going to hit
me.
Not many people outside the business are

 aware of post-tour depression that everybody goes through. When you're
on
tour, it's like the world is moving a
million
 miles an hour. And then all of a sudden it just stops. And for the
first
two, three, four months, it's really hard
to adjust.

 "Now, that is difficult enough. I don't know how difficult this one is
going to be, having to come to terms with
the fact
 that John's really gone. I've put everything on hold. And then I'm
going to
think about what I want to do.

 "I don't think Pete and I will ever be divorced. We have to be thankful
for
that chemistry we were given - it's
not just
 about that singer or that guitarist. Chemistry is what made the Who
great,
and the nucleus of that always came
from
 Pete and me."

 But with half of the original four players gone, the band is depleted.

 "I know quite a lot of older-generation rockers who are wondering what
to
do with their lives. Just get in your
band!
 Keith Richards has the best attitude of the whole (bleeping) lot of us
-
it's what we do! It would be so great to
see
 these enormous bands playing together again. But it's all about
personalities. And a band has (bleep)-all to do
with
 personalities.

 "This is the difference between the way I see the Who and the way Pete
looks at the Who. He sees it as the
Beatles. I
 see us at the center under this enormous umbrella which encompasses
millions of people. There's a special thing
that
 happens at Who gigs - it's this ethereal gift. That's why Who fans have
been so loyal, and it's amazing how many
young
 people come now - you think, 'Aren't you supposed to be into hip-hop?'
It's
so rewarding."In the last 20 years,
even
 though we've made no records, we've done some great work, like the
'Quadrophenia' production. The benefit shows
 we've done together have benefited an awful lot of people - I'm honored
to
be in a position where you can do some
 good. That's a great gift, worth keeping a band together.

 " It's just amazing that we took such a big step forward, and then a
huge
step back. Maybe it's just a push. But
it
 hasn't pushed us over yet."