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Roger: 'We never give up'



Another Roger interview from The Toronto Star at:
http://shorterlink.com/?2R1V24

`It takes two to be the Who these days' 
Roger Daltrey doesn't think tonight's show will be the
last, but he hasn't talked to Pete Townshend 
By Vit Wagner
Pop Music Critic 
 
Toronto has another chance to go down in the annals of
rock history as the place where the Who made its last
stand. But don't bet on things turning out that way
this time either, says singer Roger Daltrey.

The Who's appearance tonight at the Air Canada Centre
brings down the curtain on another tour by the
legendary outfit. But it won't be the band's swan song
 not if Daltrey has anything to say about it.

"It's kind of ironic, but when we gave up touring in
1982, Toronto was the last gig then, too," says
Daltrey, recalling the Dec. 17 show at Maple Leaf
Gardens that ended the group's first farewell tour.

"Pete (Townshend) and I haven't discussed it," he
continues, returning to the present. "I can only give
you my own feelings about it. I don't think it will be
(the last show). Let's put it this way, if it's up to
me, it won't be. But it takes two to be the Who these
days."

After the death of bassist John Entwistle on June 27,
just four days prior to the launch of the current
tour, Daltrey and guitarist Townshend were left as the
only surviving members of the quartet that broke out
of London in 1964. Original drummer Keith Moon died in
1978.

While the decision to carry on without Entwistle was
widely criticized, Daltrey insists he has no regrets.
That doesn't mean it's been easy.

"It's been a musical triumph," he says. "But it's been
an emotional struggle, that's for sure. The music just
gets you through it. The days when we play have been
the easy part. It's the days off that are hard.

"At the age we are, I think we have to be a beacon of
how to go forward in your life when you've got friends
dropping off. We have to face the fact that we're
starting to go to more funerals than weddings.

"We never give up. The Who have always been that kind
of band. We didn't have the glamour of the Beatles or
the Stones. We're the man in the street up on stage
playing for the man in the street."

On the positive side, Daltrey says he will never
forget this tour's opening-night concert at the
Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on July 2.

"John was there at that gig, I'm sure. It was a full
moon. And it almost felt like the place was filled
with angels. It was really incredible."

Daltrey, 58, isn't under any illusions that the
current incarnation of the Who  featuring Ringo
Starr's son Zak Starkey on drums, Townshend's brother,
Simon, on backing guitar, John "Rabbit" Bundrick on
keys and last-minute fill-in Pino Palladino on bass 
is the same band that made its Toronto premiere with
Herman's Hermits at Maple Leaf Gardens on Aug. 9,
1967.

"Pino's probably one of the best bass players in the
world," Daltrey says. "He could mimic exactly what
John played if he wants to. But he doesn't want to do
that. The essence of what John played is there. And
then Pino lays his own stamp on it.

"Obviously the sound isn't the same. It's different.
But that isn't to say it's worse. The drive and energy
is still there. Most of that is generated by Pete and
me. It always was anyway.

"People can make clever comments in newspapers. But I
know this job. And I'm telling you from the heart, you
cannot get up and play like Pete Townshend plays or
sing like I sing without loving it. You really can't."

Palladino's short rehearsal time left the band with
little latitude to vary a set list studded with
signature items such as "I Can't Explain," "Baba
O'Riley," "Behind Blue Eyes" and "My Generation."

A couple of new songs initially included in the set
have been dropped because of bootlegging, Daltrey
says. But he hasn't ruled out the possibility of the
Who putting out its first original album since 1982's
It's Hard.

"I've always believed that Pete Townshend has the
intellect and individuality to write some of his best
material at this age. He's a very complicated person.
And I just know that within that person there is
someone who sees a different side of where we are at a
given time. Once he starts writing about middle age,
for instance, it will flow like someone's tapped a
barrel."

When the tour is over, Daltrey will resume his
long-running efforts to produce a film biography of
mercurial former band mate Moon, whose passion for
drumming was exceeded only by his self-destructive
approach to life. The project has been on the back
burner for a decade now, but Daltrey says he has yet
to read a screenplay that does justice to the subject.

Rumours that Toronto-born actor Mike Myers has been
picked to play Moon are not entirely unfounded,
Daltrey says, just premature.

"Things get misquoted in the press," he says. "All
I've done is say he would be my first choice to play
Keith Moon. I think Mike Myers is an absolute genius
of an actor. And if I can get the right screenplay,
I'm sure Mike would be interested in playing him."

But Daltrey says his first order of business next week
will be rest and recuperation.

"I'm getting to be a bit like a wet rag. But don't
worry. I'll dig it up in Toronto. 

"This tour has been extraordinary right from the
get-go. So I'm sure there will be something different
in the air Saturday night. That's for sure."


=====
-Brian in Atlanta
The Who This Month!
http://www.thewhothismonth.com
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