Yes, they really did. On Thursday, what’s left of The Who, Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend, appeared at London’s Royal Albert Hall. During a nearly two-hour-long concert, the pair and the much younger backing band dragged out the band’s most notable old chestnut, “My Generation,” so that the 81-year-old Roger could belt out this anthem of teenage defiance for the 896th time since July 15, 1965. And yes, the old belter said it again: “Hope I die before I get old.” Really, it’s far too late for that, Rog, but in the course of the show, Daltrey also revealed the unfortunate news that he is going deaf and blind.
Deaf and blind? It looks as if life is imitating art. Daltrey is starting to resemble Tommy, the title character in The Who’s famed “rock opera” from 1969, who was not only deaf and blind, but dumb as well (that means he couldn’t speak, kids, not that he was stupid). Daltrey himself made reference to this on stage Thursday, saying: “The joys of getting old mean you go deaf. I also now have got the joy of going blind. Fortunately, I still have my voice, because then I’ll have a full Tommy." He didn’t say anything about sure playing a mean pinball, as Tommy did, but the old guy probably has a few arcade tricks up his sleeve.
Daltrey, who only occasionally sounded like an 81-year-old man on Thursday as he ran through The Who’s venerable classics, may regard his incipient deafness and blindness with a certain amount of relief: he may soon be able to tune out the leftist ravings of his longtime partner Townshend entirely. Back in 2016, Daltrey and Townshend had a bitter falling-out over Brexit, the endeavor to free Britain from the European Union. Daltrey supported the idea of economic independence for Britain, and Townshend favored the Sceptered Isle’s continuing serfdom to the globalist European socialist conglomerate.
Daltrey explained in 2018: “I’m not anti-Europe, I’m anti-Brussels, but people don’t get the distinction… That’s why I’m so angry about it. I want someone at least answerable to me that I can say: “F**k off, you’re useless!”
That makes perfect sense, of course, but Townshend is a doctrinaire leftist and is thus furiously intolerant of dissent. In Nov. 2024, he complained that Daltrey’s pro-Brexit stance was “very problematic for me. I think he was wrong. But we are a nation divided down the middle.” Townshend did, however, add generously: “He’s not a fascist Right-winger, he’s a very decent man.”
Oh, good grief. The narcissistic myopia of these people! The left constantly acts as if its positions were the serene and unquestionable truth, default mode for the world, and that any deviation from their line means that you’re evil or stupid or both — or an anomalously decent guy, like Daltrey.
One point in Townshend’s favor, however, is that unlike numerous other performers today, he doesn’t self-righteously lecture his audience or demand that it also affirm leftist stances. It could be that the disagreements between Daltrey and Townshend preclude that, or maybe these two superannuated rockers are old enough to realize that they likely have fans who are fervent patriots and believe in sound economies, low crime rates, and secure borders. Singers and other performers used to take this for granted and steer clear of controversial issues.
Related: Giant of Avant-Garde Music Says: ‘If We Lose America, Shame on Us’
Back in 1972, when there were still four members of The Who, Elvis Presley, the King of Rock and Roll himself, was asked: “What is your view on compulsory National Service?” The King answered: “I'd just soon to keep my own personal views about that to myself. 'Cause I'm just an entertainer and I'd rather not say.” The follow-up question: “What about politics?” Elvis responded: “I'm not involved in that at all. I'm just an entertainer.” If entertainers today took those words to heart, we would all be better off.
Still, Roger and Pete deserve some gratitude for not having died before they got old. Back in Apr. 2012, the late, great Kathy Shaidle gave us here at PJ Media “6 Reasons The Who Is Better Than That Stupid Band You Like.” In it, she left me some wisdom I should have heeded before I wrote the beginning of this column: “Complaining that Pete Townshend got old and didn’t die, and, worst of all, still sings that song in concert without a camp wink or apologetic shrug, is a peevish complaint that’s way past its sell-by date.” Kathy was right. Long may they wave.
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