Roger said it once last night but it bears repeating now..

[Joe Lewinski]

Not sure if this was posted, but here's  a post from Pete's blog that I
just read for the first time.   In it Pete acknowledges Roger's CBE
with no resentment.  Nice!

www.petetownshend-whohe.blogspot.com

Sunday, April 01, 2007
Royal Jetlag
A wonderful evening for the Teenage Cancer Trust last night at the 
Royal Albert Hall. The final show of the third American leg was last 
Monday in Fort Lauderdale in South Florida, and we landed back in 
London early Wednesday morning. We stayed in Miami for a few days 
during the famous 'Spring Break' and there was loud music every 
night, a warm sea-breeze, fluttering curtains, great food, a little 
sun and lots of shopping. I may live a straight life today, but I've 
been bleary ever since; this kind of jetlag feels like a hangover.

At the moment of truth the adrenalin of walking onto the stage last 
night kicked in and I careered off in a rock trance. I really have no 
idea what the show was like. I was too zapped for a sound-check and 
it all felt very loud. The band seemed pretty great to me, and Roger 
sang well after his recent troubles.

We both desperately need a rest and we are about to get one.

Those who support the Who's now regular annual soire for TCT at the 
RAH are our real friends I think. Even our crew work for expenses, 
some of them for nothing. (For that they get my most fond expression 
of love and respect: they are all "c*nts". The rock star dictionary 
is a deeply warped one I suppose). Our first Who fund-rasier for TCT 
was so long ago now I've forgotten when it was. Our 'family' Doctor 
Adrian Whiteson started the fund-raising and now the object is the 
acquisition of expensive scanners, and the training of operators, 
because if cancer is diagnosed quickly in a teenager it can be 
eradicated more effectively than in an older person. Sadly, if it is 
not diagnosed quickly, it spreads faster.

Bill Curbishley, the Who's manager, suggested after the second or 
third Who show for TCT that it should become an annual thing. I can 
remember saying: 'I've done enough. I do a bunch of other stuff I'm 
pretty passionate about. It's time for other musicians to do 
something.' Roger Daltrey and Harvey Goldsmith - by now deeply 
embroiled and committed - got together to do the first week long Gala 
featuring artists other than the Who, and the event is now a 
tradition and is usually a smash. The RAH themselves play a big part 
and stretch their own budget and resources to the limit to assist TCT 
to make as much profit as possible.

It is the response of the public that matters most, and walking on to 
face a crushed and friendly Full House last night made me grateful to 
be a performer. Bill often says that bands do these charity events 
simply because we can. Rock star motives always come into question, 
but to be honest I don't always give the cause as much thought as I 
might. It's fun to play a gig, the bigger the better. If I don't get 
paid, you may be subjected to my wonky thinking in doubtful penance. 
I may not get paid, but you the audience still pay. Good for you. Good for TCT.

.......but what Roger said on stage yesterday bears repetition: Get 
involved. Do something. We can all make a difference. He really does 
get involved. He really does make a difference and that's why he got 
his CBE. Not everything about the British Establishment needs to be 
worried at by the Terrier-Tykes of modern pop and rock. We are 
getting a lot right, at last. The muddled politics of Who songs 
ranging from Won't Get Fooled Again to Black Widow's Eyes and on to 
Tommy scrambled into a coherent idea last night. At least I think 
they did. Was I really there?

Joe in Philly