Roger Daltrey on How New Who Songs Led to Upsetting Pete Townshend
Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend are currently working on tracks for a new Who album, the band’s first since 2006’s Endless Wire, and Daltrey recalled a moment when he caught the ire of Townshend.
In an interview with Uncut, Daltrey said, “Pete presented me with 12 demos, and there were four, maybe five, of them which I really didn’t like. I thought it was a great Pete Townshend solo album. I told him that. And he got quite angry!”
Daltrey continued, “He said, ‘I wrote them for you!’ I said, ‘Pete, I don’t know how I can improve it.’ I couldn’t see myself climbing in. I don’t know why. Maybe my passion for The Who’s started to disappear. I said can I change the tense of that song, and move it from being an ‘I’ song to being inclusive? Pete said: ‘Yeah.’ So slowly but surely I climbed into it. I don’t think anyone’s ever understood, including Pete, that doing what I do with his songs is certainly not fucking easy. You have to live them. Do I have to change the songs till I can mean them? Yes. It has to come from my heart. It can’t come from my head. When it comes from my heart, I will touch you with those words. Sometimes I have to change the words to make that possible.”
So far, a title and release date are not currently known for The Who’s upcoming studio LP. The band is currently taking a break from touring, but the second North American leg of The Who’s “Moving On!” tour kicks off September 1 in New York City. A full list of upcoming tour dates can be found at TheWho.com.
