The Who frontman, Roger Daltrey, is featured in a new interview with USA Today, in which he talks about the band's new Live At Wembley release, the chaos of internet debates, and why the band will likely never tour America again. An excerpt follows...
USA Today: You’re doing The Who Hits Back shows in Europe this summer. Any plans to return to the U.S.?
Roger Daltrey: "Nothing at the moment. I don’t know if we’ll ever come back to tour America. There is only one tour we could do, an orchestrated "Quadrophenia” to round out the catalog. But that’s one tall order to sing that piece of music, as I’ll be 80 next year. I never say never, but at the moment it’s very doubtful.
Touring has become very difficult since COVID. We cannot get insured and most of the big bands doing arena shows, by the time they do their first show and rehearsals and get the staging and crew together, all the buses and hotels, you’re upwards $600,000 to a million in the hole. To earn that back, if you’re doing a 12-show run, you don’t start to earn it back until the seventh or eighth show. That’s just how the business works. The trouble now is if you get COVID after the first show, you’ve (lost) that money."
Read more at USA Today.
In July 2019, The Who headlined Wembley Stadium in London for the first time in forty years. The show was the only UK date on their Moving On! Tour and featured the band accompanied by an over 50-piece orchestra performing classic tracks and more as well tracks from their WHO album.
The Who With Orchestra Live At Wembley is now available as a limited edition yellow, orange and red 3-LP set, triple black vinyl, 2-CD / Blu-Ray set which features the audio remixed in Dolby Atmos/5.1 mixes and a 1-CD edition.
For complete details and order options, head here.
The Who have announced a UK tour which will see the band performing with a full orchestra each night with shows from July 6 - 23 July in Hull, Edinburgh, London, Derby, Badminton, Durham, St Helens and Brighton. Joining them will be UB40 featuring Ali Campbell across all regional shows except for The O2 London and Edinburgh Castle dates.
Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey and band will be performing music from throughout the band’s nearly 60-year career, including sections devoted to classic albums Tommy and Quadrophenia as well as other beloved Who tracks and songs from their 2019 WHO album, their first studio release in 13 years.
The 2023 UK shows include Edinburgh Castle, the band’s first show in the Scottish capital in over 40 years as well as shows in Derby, their first since 1966, The O2 London, Durham and Brighton Cricket grounds. The gigs follow last year’s highly acclaimed The Who Hits Back! tour of the US, where the band shared the with some of the finest orchestras in America.
The 2023 UK tour will feature The Who’s full live band comprised of guitarist/backup singer Simon Townshend, keyboardist Loren Gold, second keyboardist Emily Marshall, bassist Jon Button, drummer Zak Starkey and backing vocals by Billy Nicholls, along with orchestra conductor Keith Levenson, lead violinist Katie Jacoby and lead cellist Audrey Snyder.
The Who wound up their The Who Hits Back! tour of the US in November last year having wowed audiences in over thirty cities, with media and fans agreeing that the band were as good as, if not better than ever and that the orchestral arrangements, most of which were done by the legendary David Campbell, brought a new depth and excitement to Pete Townshend’s music.
Performing with The Who and an orchestra had been a long-held ambition for singer Roger Daltrey. “Having not toured the UK for six years, it’s great that at this time of our careers we have the chance to go to places that are not on the usual touring map Edinburgh Castle and Derby, as well as the other cities across the country that we haven’t been to for decades, will make this very special for me. This opportunity will give our UK Who fans the chance to hear our current show, which, with the addition of an orchestra, takes our music to new heights.”
Pete Townshend: “Roger initially christened this tour with an orchestra Moving On! I love it. It is what both of us want to do. Move on, with new music, classic Who music, all performed in new and exciting ways. Taking risks, nothing to lose. I’m really looking forward to bringing this show to the UK.”
The Who are calling upon fans to add an optional £1 donation onto their ticket price at point of sale in support of Teenage Cancer Trust. Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey are longstanding supporters and Roger has been the driving force behind Teenage Cancer Trust’s Royal Albert Hall concerts since they began in 2000. For more information visit teenagecancertrust.org.
For more information about The Who 2023 dates, visit robomagiclive.com or thewho.com
Tour dates:
July
6 - Sewell Group Craven Park - Hull, UK *
8 - Edinburgh Castle - Edinburgh, UK
9 - Edinburgh Castle - Edinburgh, UK
12 - The O2 - London, UK
14 - The Incora County Ground - Derby, UK *
16 - Badminton Estate - Bristol, UK *
19 - Seat Unique Riverside - Durham, UK *
21 - Totally Wicked Stadium - St Helens, UK *
23 - The 1st Central County Ground - Brighton, UK *
* with UB40 featuring Ali Campbell
(Photo - Rick Guest / NEC Group)
