The Who’s Roger Daltrey has told a live audience that he has been informed that he is “going blind”.
The rock legends were playing the first of two shows at London’s Royal Albert Hall on Thursday (March 27) for the Teenage Cancer Trust when the frontman opened up about his condition.
“The problem with this job is that you go deaf,” he said from the stage. “And now I’ve been told that I am going blind.”
Referencing the band’s 1969 rock opera title character, he added: “Thank God I’ve still got my voice. If I lost that I’ll go full Tommy.”
The Who played a hits-packed show at the London venue, with a second date to follow on Sunday night (March 30). Daltrey founded the Teenage Cancer Trust concerts in 2000, but announced last year that he was stepping down as curator, allowing The Cure’s Robert Smith to take the reins.
Daltrey turned 81 earlier this month, and he told The Times last year that he “has to be realistic” about his age, claiming that he is “on the way out”.
“The average life expectancy is 83 and with a bit of luck I’ll make that, but we need someone else to drive things,” he said about the decision to step down from the role.
“I’m not leaving TCT – I’ve been a patron since I first met the charity’s founders, Dr Adrian and Myrna Whiteson, more than 30 years ago – and that will continue, but I’ll be working in the back room, talking to the government, rattling cages.”
Also last year, Daltrey gave an interview about the future of The Who, in which he said he was “happy” that “that part of my life is over”, before clarifying that ultimately any decision about calling it a day would have to be made alongside Pete Townshend.
Townshend told NME last year that he is “pretty sure” there will be more shows by The Who in the future. “I can’t really see the point of making a big deal of [last Who shows], apart from the fact that it might help sell a few tickets,” he said.
“When we started the last US tour the year before last, some of the seats were not filled. An easy way to fill seats is to say ‘We’re not coming back’ or ‘This could be the last set of shows’. What I would prefer was that the band adjusted itself to the audience that wants to see it, rather than just saying ‘We need to fill arenas in order to go home with enough money to make the whole thing worthwhile’. The story of the end of The Who is gonna be when either Roger or I drop dead or can’t function anymore on the stage.”
