Roger Daltrey, the host of the WHO legend, revealed that he gradually lost his hearing and vision after he turned 81 on March 1.
As Sky News reported, Daltrey told audiences at Royal Albert Hall in London at a concert on March 27: “The joy of getting older means you’re deaf.”
Despite these challenges, the iconic rock star reassuring fans, saying: “Luckily, I still have my own voice because then I would have a full Tommy.”
Daltrey’s reference to Tommy (the protagonist of Who’s 1969 rock opera) is a poignant man. In the story, Tommy is a deaf, blind and silent boy who becomes a Messianic character.
This is not the first time Datre talks about his hearing problems. In 2018, at a concert in Las Vegas, he warned fans about the dangers of loud music and said, “Bring your f king taking tern the Gigs.”
In recent interviews, rock legends also reflected aging and mortality rates. During a discussion with The Times in January 2024, he said: “My dreams come true, so, listen, I’m ready to go. My family is great and all taken care of.”
“You have to be realistic,” he continued. “You can’t live your life forever. People of my age, we’re in the way. This old instrument has no guitar strings.”
Daltrey’s teammate, Pete Townshend, 79, also talked about the challenge of getting older. At the same London concert, he humorously revealed that he had recently undergone knee replacement surgery.
“I changed my left knee four and a half weeks ago,” he said to the crowd. “Maybe I should have auctioned the old one.”
Townshend admitted that he had a knee injury and tried to move like Rolling Stones host Mick Jagger, who was still directing the stage with his signature energy at the age of 81.
News of the health struggle between Daltrey and Townshend comes two years after they suggest the end of decades.
“I think Roger and I will look forward at some point and try to figure out if we want to do Elton John and end it somehow,” Townshun said in 2023.
“It’s hard to make a decision, say we’re going to do it, or because we don’t know how we’re going to be or how we’re going to be healthy,” he admitted.
The WHO was first established in 1964 and continues to be one of the most influential rock bands of all time. However, the group faced its share of its losses over the years.
Drumist Keith Moon died in 1978 at the age of 32, and bassist John Entwistle died in 2002 at the age of 57, both of which are related to substance abuse.
