WHO 2020
Judged against their fellow ‘60s contemporaries, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Kinks, The Who’s recorded bbody of work is relatively small. But what they lack for in sheer quantity is made up by their must listen collection of classic albums; witness the pop art swagger of The Who Sell Out, groundbreaking pop-operas Tommy and Quadrophenia and the introspective angst of Who By Numbers. Simply titled WHO, the band’s first album in 13 years, is a thrilling spirited snapshot of the group in the 21st ce c ntury delivering exquisite songs penned by Pete Townshend (and one by brother Simon), inventive arrangements, powerhouse vocals of Roger Daltrey and spectacular musicianship. Vital and bold, ambitious and defiant, The Who continue to forge their legacy with snotty pride and a winning f**k you attitude.
GM: Roger, you grew up in the hard scrap working town of Shepherd’s Bush, London. What’s the most Sheppard’s Bush thing about you?
ROGER DALTREY: Most Sheppard’s Bush thing? That’s a really tricky one to answer. (long pause) Well, you never forget where you came from. I always feel vvery much aat home even when I go back there today. And it’s very, vvery different ttoday from when I grew up there. It’s what created our work ethic so it was very important and I always carry that with me.
GM: 52 years ago, The Who came to America for the first time and played your very first shows at the RKO Theater in New York City. Being a huge fan of American music, blues and Elvis Presley, in particular, what did it mean for you and the band to set foot in the U.S.?
I was just astounded at the scale of it. I was open mouthed at the amount of food. (laughs) We’ve never seen food like it. We’d just come out of rationing from the war. In those days we used to smuggle steak home. (laughs) We used to call England “the land of suet” and America
