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The Baba O’Riley performer opened up about his age and future after he chose to step down as the curator of the annual charity event Teenage Cancer Trust (TCT) concerts at the Royal Albert Hall after he turned 80 on March 1.
Since becoming the curator for the event, Daltrey has helped raise over £32 million for NHS units that care for young cancer patients.
Now, writing in The Times, Daltrey has opened up about exiting the role and shared that he wants to “be realistic” about the time he has left.
Roger Daltrey says ‘I’m on my way out’
Writing in The Times, Daltrey said: “I have to be realistic. I’m on my 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.”
Adding: “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.”
Daltrey has been the frontman of The Who for 60 years after the band formed back in 1964 and created hits including ‘Pinball Wizard’ ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’ and ‘Who Are You’.
But in recent times, he shared that performing live has become harder, as he wrote that he had concerns over “how many words” he needed to remember for the TCT shows.
Writing: “On at 8.40pm and I’ve got to say I really feel it tonight,” he wrote, adding: “We haven’t done anything for seven months and this winter’s been brutal. I’ve been in hibernation. For the whole of January, I lost my voice completely.
“I live like a monk and if I went on tour for a week I’d be fit as a butcher’s dog again, but tonight, for the first time in my career, I think, ‘Blimey, this is hard.’”
While Daltrey has stepped down from his role with TCT, the charity has shared that over the next year, several guest curators will lend a hand to the events.
