NEED TO KNOW
Roger Daltrey believes his touring has affected his health.
In an interview with The Times published on Friday, Aug. 1, The Who frontman got candid about his health when discussing whether or not his band would tour after their The Song Is Over Tour.
“This is certainly the last time you will see us on tour,” Daltrey, 81, said. “It’s grueling.”
“In the days when I was singing Who songs for three hours a night, six nights a week, I was working harder than most footballers. As to whether we’ll play [one-off] concerts again, I don’t know. The Who to me is very perplexing.”
Matthew Baker/Getty
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
The “Pinball Wizard” singer said he is fortunate that his “voice is still as good as ever.” “I’m still singing in the same keys and it’s still bloody loud, but I can’t tell you if it will still be there in October. There’s a big part of me that’s going: I just hope I make it through.”
Daltrey fell ill with viral meningitis in 2015 and is still feeling the after-effects, noting that it had done “a lot of damage.”
“It’s buggered up my internal thermometer, so every time I start singing in any climate over 75 degrees I’m wringing with sweat, which drains my body salts. The potential to get really ill is there and, I have to be honest, I’m nervous about making it to the end of the tour.”
The “Baba O’Riley” musician reflected on life and death while speaking to The Times in 2024. “My dreams came true so, listen, I’m ready to go at any time. My family are all great and all taken care of,” he told the U.K. outlet at the time.
“You’ve got to be realistic,” he added. “You can’t live your life forever. Like I said, people my age, we’re in the way. There are no guitar strings to be changed on this old instrument.”
Earlier this year, the rocker joked about losing his hearing while onstage. “The joys of getting old mean you go deaf. I also now have got the joy of going blind,” he said, per Sky News, in March during a concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
“Fortunately, I still have my voice, because then I’ll have a full Tommy,” Daltrey quipped, referring to the fictitious Tommy Walker (who is deaf, mute and blind) from The Who’s 1969 rock opera Tommy.
Andrew Benge/Redferns
Daltrey is slated to headline ROGER DALTREY: Dreamland in Margate, UK on Friday, Aug. 8. Up next for The Who are tour stops in New York, Chicago, Atlantic City, Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles and Vancouver.
The band will wrap up its tour on Sept. 28 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
