Ovation: Roger Daltrey bows out of Teenage Cancer Trust with dad rock by the campfire
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“It’s a bit of a death trap up ’ere cos there’s so many groups on,” Roger Daltrey jokingly grumbled, stumbling over a tangle of leads on a stage crowded with equipment. “You think the hearing’s bad? Take a look at the eyesight!”
The 80-year-old frontman for The Who regularly jokes about his failing senses, yet still cut a robust presence presenting the last night of this year’s week of Teenage Cancer Trust concerts at the Royal Albert Hall. Poignantly, this was Daltrey’s final show curating for a charity he has figure-headed for 24 years, and some big names had come to ensure he went out in style.
Paul Weller (who appeared at the very first TCT show in 2000), kicked off proceedings in superb fashion with a set including classics from The Jam, The Style Council and The Who’s So Sad About Us with Daltrey joining in roaring voice. “We’re the warm-up act,” joked Weller. “We’re here every Sunday.”
By the end of the night, there was a fistful of rock superstars on stage, including Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant, Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder and Stereophonics’ Kelly Jones, bellowing along with Daltrey’s solo band on a rambunctious folky cover of The Who’s Baba O’Riley. That remarkable congregation provided a worthy send off, even if it was more backstage old boy’s club than rock spectacular.
It’s not just that there were about as many women on the bill as you would expect to find in the Garrick club, but also that there was a sense of doughty dad-rock worthiness as the old rockers got out acoustic guitars out to deliver unplugged versions of a few of personal favourites. At least Plant brought his fantastic band, Saving Grace, to deliver a set of huge sonic dynamism, albeit while neglecting to perform anything from his own back catalogue. There is something magnificent about the 75-year-old Plant’s dedication to exploring byways of roots music even if it means denying his audience what they want to hear. “It’s never too late to start again,” he insisted. Still, every time he raises his voice to reach for the stars, you can’t shake the feeling that here is a Formula 1 driver pootling about in a camper van.
Nevertheless, during the interval I spoke to a woman whose daughter is currently in a TCT ward, and she couldn’t care less about what any critic thought of the quality of the entertainment. Daltrey has led this incredible live-music enterprise for 24 years, during which they have raised £32 million, built and supported 28 teenage cancer wards, and spawned an American offshoot. It’s an unimpeachable achievement that was celebrated in videos from Paul McCartney, David Gilmour, Nile Rodgers and Steve Coogan going full Alan Partridge, hailing The Who as “a proper rock band, not like The Beatles or The Stones”.
An ebullient Daltrey promised that he is not retiring or turning his back on the Teenage Cancer Trust. “I’ve completed the job I set out to do,” said the octogenarian rocker. Going forward, he continued, “We’re going to get curators each year, rather than [me] trying to do another 20.”
The future of the TCT lies in other hands, perhaps giving a greater role to musicians more reflective of the tastes of the teenagers they care for. The old guard have done their bit, and more besides. This was perhaps less than the sum of its headline parts, but was a fitting salute to a great rock star, and rang the registers one more time for a life-changing charity.
No further performances
