Roger Daltrey
When it comes to The Who, the collaboration of musicians really shouldn’t have worked. The band allowed four extremely different people to blend into one seamlessly. Maybe it was fate, but the four puzzle pieces of Keith Moon, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle and Roger Daltrey made The Who who they are.
In essence, The Who are one of the forefathers of classic rock. They created certain tropes of the rock and roll world. Throwing TV’s out of windows, driving cars into swimming pools – all of which mainly done by Keith Moon. When you think rock star, that’s what comes to mind.
But when I think rock star, I think Roger Daltrey. Just hearing that famous scream towards the end of Won’t Get Fooled Again solidifies that fact for me. Daltrey was unique in the fact that he didn’t follow the main stereotypes and conventions of rock stardom that his band members did follow; doing drugs, smoking and wrecking instruments. He lived in the music, he captured the listener’s attention through his uniquely powerful voice and stage presence. That’s all he needed.
Even though Pete Townshend is the creative force behind the Who, through writing the songs, composing the guitar riffs and creating extremely complex concept albums, without Daltrey (or Moon or Entwistle), The Who weren’t The Who. Townsend managed to write what Daltrey felt, and Daltrey translated that through the intense power and emotion that he managed to harness through his voice. He helped to distinguish the term ‘rock god’, with all eyes focusing on him whenever The Who took to stage. And still does in recent years with The Who still going strong, even though it’s whittled down to just Daltrey and Townsend now.
By Sophie McEvoy
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Feature compiled by Thomas Johnston