The Who: Roger Daltrey shares worrying health update during Royal Albert Hall concert for Teenage Cancer Trust
Roger Daltrey has shared a worrying health update that has fans wondering what the future has in store for The Who.
Daltrey, who has been with the band since its inception in 1964, took to the stage with the rest of the band for a concert in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust yesterday (March 30) at the Royal Albert Hall.
The British rock band played their way through all their hits, from 1965 single I Can’t Explain to tracks such as Baba O’ Riley and Won’t Get Fooled Again. The event was a complete sell-out, raising plenty of money for the charity.
But one moment during the concert saw singer Daltrey, 81, make a frightening admission about his health. During a rendition of I Can See For Miles, which Daltrey dedicated to a 19-year-old girl he visited in hospital, who recently died, his voice cracked up towards the end.
He said: “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 that I’ll have a full Tommy.”
The gig comes as Daltrey steps back from his role as curator of the Teenage Cancer Trust’s Royal Albert Hall concerts, having launched the series in 2000, however, he will remain an honorary patron of the charity, with The Cure’s Robert Smith taking over curation duties next year.
At the end of the gig, Daltrey added: “People say to me, ‘how the f*** do you still do it’, and I’ve got to tell you I’ve had one dream in life, and got really, really lucky. I look at those youngsters every night that come on the stage here, and I think, ‘if they can deal with their lot, this is a piece of p***’.”
The Who will return to the Royal Albert Hall for another gig in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust on Sunday.