Pete Townshend opened up about Roger Daltrey’s health problems and the likelihood of surgery in a recent conversation with the Daily Beast.
When asked about the future plans and projects for the Who, the guitarist noted:
“With respect to The Who, Roger’s got a bad knee which will probably need surgery, and so any decisions now about what we’ll do next, I don’t know. But he’s singing great. He’s still on the right side, and I’m on the left side, both in politics and on spiritual matters. And pretty much just life in general [laughing].”
He also revealed that they might consider touring, saying:
“But he’s a good guy, and he’s working hard, and we’re thinking we might try and pick up some of the territories that we’d missed with the orchestral show, but, you know, I’m 78. So I think we shall see what happens. I have to be careful what I say because I don’t want to make this all about Roger’s fear of what is new, but I think he is afraid of what is new [laughing].”
Townshend left the door open for new shows and projects, as he added:
“The way he expresses it is, ‘Pete, you’ve written so many f*cking great songs.’ He said, for example, ‘If we were to use your solo catalogue as part of the Who catalogue, we’d have the best f*cking choice of stuff.’ And already, we don’t have enough time in two and a half hours to play them. He does ‘Let My Love Open the Door,’ and he does ‘Blue, Red and Grey,’ I think, in his solo shows. So, something might happen. But I don’t know.”
Pete also mentioned his solo career plans during the chat. Back in the day, he had a project called ‘Life House,’ which was meant to be a rock-opera concept album. While it was never finished, it inspired The Who’s album ‘Who’s Next,’ featuring hit songs like ‘Baba O’Riley’ and ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again.’
To honor the project, there’s an 11-disc box set with a remastered ‘Who’s Next,’ extra Who tracks, demos, a book by Townshend and experts, and a graphic novel expanding on the ‘Life House’ story. Speaking of what’s next for it, he said:
“I don’t know what’s next for ‘Life House,’ except that a number of film companies and TV companies have seen the graphic novel. And that’s exciting because they’re all now starting to get it [laughing]. I do feel that the art installation aspect of it is still potentially possible to imagine might take place.”
The musician also revealed that he has a new project he’s been working on for a while called ‘Age of Anxiety.’ He noted that this project includes an interactive installation component. Townshend plans to complete this project, and if any AI software or advanced technologies related to data manipulation emerge, he’s open to using them for this project.
