Roger Daltrey feels the pain of the collapse in the old-school musical business. When the Who reunited in the mid-Nineties after a brief sabbatical, Daltrey promised his doctor that he and his band would help him raise awareness (and money) for the fight against teen cancer, something that’s proven hard to do in the digital age.
“After the Who got back together, we did a couple of shows and gave all the money from the live album to the charity,”Daltrey said. “There was a record market and also a DVD market, so we gave quite a bit of money out of that. There used to be a music business. It wasn’t owned by some rip-off organization that pays musicians peanuts.”
Two challenges faced Daltrey at the start of the coronavirus epidemic were: One, The Who had to cancel its remaining 2020 shows. Two, which means the band was unable to raise the money they intended to earmark for Teen Cancer America — a foundation Daltrey started with Pete Townshend in 2012 to help teen cancer patients by way of building cancer units in hospitals — and the Teen Cancer Trust in the U.K.
The band isn’t going to stop giving back. The Real Me, a podcast hosted by Daltrey that features teen cancer patients not only talking about their stories but presenting songs they’ve written and performed. It will be available on all platforms starting October 5. (The Who song of the same name was also licensed as the podcast’s theme song.)
Daltrey has it right. RSThe Who plan to return to live performances next year. This will offer several benefits to compensate for the loss of funding.
You’ve been involved with raising awareness and funds for teen cancer research by way of concerts for years now. What has happened to those plans since the pandemic?
Music business is just starting to get back on its feet, which I think is fantastic. But the charity side of it, like Teen Cancer America, for instance, it’s extremely difficult. All of our fundraising is done through events. Last year, we lost between $10 and $12 million for the Teenage Cancer Trust in U.K. In America, we lost out on two of the big events I’ve been staging for the last 10 years, partly to support an autism program and mostly for teen cancer. We’ve lost out probably to the tune of $8 million there.
How has that impacted the organization’s plans?
It has limited our growth. We had 43 hospitals with programs in eight years. And in some of the biggest institutions in America — Sloan Kettering in New York, Stanford, UCLA. If we’d gone on like we were going, that number would have been 60. We haven’t cut back on our services in the hospitals. But we’re still at 43. We’re doing an awful lot online, which is helping, but it’s not the same. Online stuff is all right, but it’s not human contact.
How did you become aware of the dangers of teen cancer?
My GP founded the Teenage Cancer Trust of England. We have supported him since day one. It’s such a simple thing to understand. I can still remember my teenage years. When I was 12 years old, I was bullied. Some of it’s quite painful stuff. And I thought, “Just imagine what it would have been like if someone had told you I had cancer at that age.” Young children get cancer but don’t know the ramifications of what they’ve got. A teenager knows everything, however. They know exactly the journey they’re going to be on. It must be a terrible mental strain.
Is there anyone in your immediate family who has been diagnosed with cancer?
Unfortunately, Carol, my younger sister, died from breast cancer at 32. It was the Eighties. That’s life and it’s sad. It’s hard to forget the horror, but it doesn’t leave you.
You’ve held benefits with the likes of the Foo Fighters, Pink, and Eddie Vedder. How can you encourage people to take part?
I used to say this to musicians. “Without the support of this age group, we’ve got no industry at all.” And even today, you’ve got no life support unless you’ve got that age group supporting you. This is a great way to give back.
Let me know about your podcast. The Real MeA concert featuring teens with cancer as musical performers.
It was an idea of our CEO. We have access to musicians and studios, and it’s a great way for [the patients]To share how they felt going through it. It’s really fascinating to hear some of these songs. Yesterday I was looking through several, and there are some truly great singers. Just to listen to them expressing themselves, you’re drawing something out of them, and that’s got to be good. If that wasn’t coming out in that way, it would be all bottled up inside. Their words are obviously painful. Their voices are extraordinary. There’s one country song I was listening to yesterday, a good country voice, too.
Next month you’re finally returning to live shows, playing some solo gigs in the U.K.
Yeah, I’m exploring my back catalog. I’ll obviously do Who songs, but with a different kind of instrumentation. I’ve got to sing between now and when the Who are next going out, which is the end of next March and April. If I don’t sing between now and then, I don’t know whether I will be able to do it then. I’ve always promised myself and my audience that I would never want to go out there and be a mediocre singer.
What depths are you able to go in your solo catalogue? You remember those Leo Sayer songs early?
Yeah, because when I come back to, as I call it, my hobby — which is my solo career — it’s a variety of music, right up to the last album, which was old soul songs. I haven’t got a clue what the show going to be like. The one thing I know is that it will be great! NotIt is boring.
What are you waiting for? “Avenging Annie”?
Eventually, I’m going try “Avenging Annie,” but I’m going to have to lower the key. That’s a song ahead of its time, a real women’s liberation song, that one. I’m not promising to do it every night, but, you know, I might do it once. This is the kind of show where I won’t know what it is until the day we do it. The more you can have fun, the better. What I’ve learned in my time is that of all the great shows we’ve done, the ones people remember most are the ones you fuck up.
This year marks the 50th anniversary Who’s NextThere were rumors that the band would celebrate the release of the album by performing it live on stage.
At the moment, the problem in the business is structural. We can’t get any venues, because there’s a huge blockage to people waiting to get venues because so many people had to cancel tours. We can only get in next March, so that’s when we will have the opportunity to enter.
Do you think it is worth doing? Who’s NextDo you want to set the stage for your show?
No, I don’t see the pointIt is possible. Who’s Next is a great album, but it’s best left as a great album. Just playing albums live doesn’t do anything for me, personally. The show we’ve got with the orchestra is fantastic, and the Who’s catalog has so much varied stuff that makes it better than just listening to Who’s Next. Why would you do that? Play the record, get stoned, or whatever you want and have a great time. That’s a way to celebrate. You don’t need Contact usTo do this.
Let’s not forget about the possibility of a Who’s NextDo you want a box set?
I don’t really know. That’s record company business. They control the catalog. I feel like a painter who’s finished a painting. The bloody thing is gone forever! I’m sorry, but you’ve got to let this stuff go.
Do you want to help raise funds for teens with cancer?
We’re hoping to do the Albert Hall in March for the Teenage Cancer Trust. And we are hoping to do a show we’ve done in Los Angeles, which is very exclusive. It’s not really a fan’s one, but it makes an awful lot of money. There are a thousand tickets and we play in someone’s garden and we’ll raise upwards of $4.5 or $5 million. We’re hoping to do that next year as well.
In the spring of this year, Pete even said he had some new songs prepped for a possible new Who album.
[Laughs]
This is good news for you.
It is. I’ve just fallen off the chair! But there’s a song on the last album we did, which I think is a fabulous album called WhoIt’s called. It’s called “Beads on One String.”The opening line of the article is: “Don’t you ever say never/It don’t mean a thing.”