The Who were known for their excess, from their wild partying ways to the sheer volume of their shows. However, frontman Roger Daltrey seems to really regret the latter.
In a new interview with U.K’s Independent, he says about how his upcoming solo tour this summer, which will highlight his diverse solo catalog, “I wanted to give a feast for the ears, so it’s not just one noise coming at you for two hours.”
As for his own ears and hearing these days, he says, “Terrible, terrible. Without these [hearing aids] everything’s a mumble. It’s a penalty for what we did in our lives. We were too f—ing loud.” (Plenty of rockers who began their careers in the ’60s and ’70s are struggling with various hearing issues today along with Daltrey including bandmate Pete Townshend, Brian Johnson of AC/DC, Ozzy Osbourne and Neil Young to name just a few.)
As for The Who’s excess, drummer Keith Moon proudly led that charge, especially when it came to the destruction of too many hotel rooms to count. Moon remains one of rock’s most iconic characters, but there is one rock star that Daltrey says reminds him a lot of the late moon: Liam Gallagher.
“He’s just a bloke,” Daltrey said with a laugh. “I just think he’s so entertaining, he’s so funny, and he’s got a heart of gold. I see quite a lot of Keith Moon in him and maybe that’s what I’m attracted to. When people talk about the spat between him and Noel, I just think, ‘Don’t people understand? That’s what it’s all about.’ It’s rock wrestling, as I call it. Someone’s got to be a Jackie Pallo or a Mick McManus; someone’s got to be booed and another one has to be cheered. It creates interest.”
