During a recent chat on Shawn Keaveny’s ‘Daily Grind’ podcast, Roger Daltrey of The Who shared some insights into his relationship with his guitars. He nostalgically remembered the pain of smashing his guitar during a performance while talking about what attracted the audience to the band’s shows:
“[Fans] never came to hear the music, they came to see the guitar being broken. The trouble is the guitar was worth 50 gigs. I’ve only ever smashed one guitar and I’m really sorry I did it. I don’t know why, just this thing came over me. I’ve always regretted it.”
His Guitar Wasn’t The Only One Broken
In his 2018 memoir, ‘Thanks A Lot Mr Kibblewhite: My Story,’ Daltrey detailed the emotional turmoil he felt witnessing bandmate Pete Townshend destroying guitars onstage. He wrote:
“It was heartbreaking. When I remembered how much I’d struggled to get my first guitars, it was like watching an animal being slaughtered. An expensive animal that we’d have to replace with another expensive animal before the next gig.”
The singer’s words continued:
“And we had to pay for the hole in the ceiling … from then on, the audience expected us to break our instruments. It was our thing.”
The Fans Wish And The Band Grants
Reflecting on The Who’s performances over the years, Daltrey also explained to NME that he and Townshend have always aimed to give what their audience expects, which often means revisiting their classic hits during tours:
“People want to hear the old music. I don’t know why, but that’s the fact. [Our fanbase ranges] from 80 years old, all the way down to 8 years old. We’ve got quite a lot of young people in our audience these days. It’s quite interesting that they’re picking up on our music.”
According to the Who frontman, the band’s days in studio are likely gone now, especially after the lack of interest in their music from 2019’s ‘WHO.’
