Roger Daltrey of THE WHO: TOMMY AND QUADROPHENIA LIVE shares his thoughts on his new public television special

What is your association with public television?

My association with public television goes way back to the '80s when I auditioned for the part of the Dromio twins — two parts actually — in the Shakespeare play The Comedy of Errors. And, much to my surprise, I got it! That was a co-production with PBS in America and the BBC in England. From there, I did The Beggar's Opera — the original of what became The Threepenny Opera. That was also in the '80s and another co-production with the BBC and PBS. So, I kind-of go back to the '80s with [public television] — and not on a rock 'n' roll level.

What was the Tommy and Quadrophenia project? I think you're one of the executive producers on it.

Well, the Tommy show was something that we did in the '80s — in '89 — as a charity show at the Universal Amphitheatre in Hollywood with lots of guest stars. It was a program that had already been released for charity way back when. It was kickin' around and we thought about Quadrophenia. We had footage of it. We didn't film it as an arena show, but we had the footage that our cameras used as part of the show. It's so bloody complicated to describe. All you see in the Quadrophenia DVD is what happened on the screen behind the band on stage. [This footage] only reflected the action on the stage. Because we didn't shoot Quadrophenia as an arena show, it has a strength that perhaps wouldn't have been there if we had [included] shots of the audience (which you kind-of expect when you're doing an arena show). It just managed to stay focused.

[So, Quadrophenia] was kickin' around and I just thought — let's put the two bits together. We did a lot of work on Quadrophenia to get it to happen. We had bits of music — two very long instrumental passages with just a flag flying on the screen [behind the band]. And, of course, as we only had these screen [shots], we were just stuck — I thought, "Well, we can't put that on the bloody screen for six minutes; what do we put here?" I was very instrumental in putting that bit together. You know, kind-of tying one of those loose ends up.

You and Pete Townshend are allegedly working on a new project. What's the writing and rehearsal process been like?

Allegedly … yes, and Pete and I are allegedly still together … [laughs]. Yeah … finding our feet really. We're still experimenting. I mean, it's all very, very experimental. I think we might put something out with tickets for our concerts — a selection of stuff we've done up till now. But that's not to say it won't be redone when it's on the album. We're trying to find a way to record it. Pete kind-of feels like it should be me and him. And I feel, "Pete, we are what we are. We're a band. Let's get in there and ... you know, you need drums, you need a bass, you need a rhythm section. And the songs are great, Pete. Let's just go and play them. We can have them done in a week" [laughs]. But you know, Pete's always searching for that other [step]. That's the sort of writer he is — he's always searching for that next step … [and] the next step. He's always willing to scratch off another layer … and what's behind that, and what's behind that, and what's behind that. And, that's the make of a great artist.

After John Entwistle's death, how difficult a decision was it for you and Pete to carry on as The Who?

Initially, the shock of John dying … [caused us to feel] low. God, we just wanted to stop really. But then we sat down and … we had a sell-out tour. We were all rehearsed, all trained up, ready to go. It would have been so easy to stop because emotionally that was what we wanted to do. But when we sat down and actually realized the amount of people we were employing through that summer, just this little bunch of four musicians — when you multiply it out by the 50 roadies we take out on the road, truck drivers, lighting crew, this, that and everything else. And then, you start to multiply that with all the car parking attendants and all the people that run the venues. It goes down through this line — over 30 gigs in 30 venues. You're talking about thousands of people who were gonna be affected by this — literally, out of their pocket — if we cancelled. So we thought, "We've got no choice. Let's just do it." Once we made the decision, it was easy. But up to then, it was hard … very hard. And, in a lot of ways, it was very nerve-wracking in the show. But, in some ways, [the tour] helped us through the grief. In other ways, [the tour] kind-of prolonged it. It was a double-edged sword. [The tour] helped us through the initial stages, but for me, [the grief] held on longer — becoming much more difficult to let go of it. Losing John had a very, very big effect on me. He was very dear to me.

On a much lighter note, what do you think is responsible for the resurgence of interest in The Who? Why are you still relevant today?

I think we're still relevant in two things. One is we still play well. We're a great rock band. We play like our lives depend on it — we always did. When we stop playing like our lives depend on it, I don't want to do it anymore. The second is the songs. The songs don't date. There's something about the [song] structures and things that Pete Townshend wrote about. The structure in which he writes — the classical structures he uses and the voicings of the songs are not just three-chord … songs — they're much, much more than that. For some reason or the other, they don't date. It's as simple as that.

As you look at the changes that have happened in the music industry, particularly the internet and downloads and the availability of information, how has this technology helped bands like The Who?

It's hard to quantify that. I think [technology] helps and it hinders. I mean, you won't ever beat the live gig. And that's really weird at the moment — the Net and downloads and all this. Cutting through all that, live music is healthier today than it ever has been. And I think that's wonderful. That's a sign that [technology] is doing a lot. You know, it may be getting the word out there that bands are playing.

Last question: In your mind, what is The Who's legacy?

The legacy … Oh, I don't know — four geezers who got lucky meeting each other. I think we remained true to what we got into it for. Music, to us, was a celebration. We never forgot that we came out of the factory to play it. We never forgot the joy of being lifted out of that mundane day-to-day life that you get from music. I think that'll be the legacy of all the great rock bands. Let's shoot for that.