Roger Daltrey Says 'I'm on My Way Out' Weeks After 80th Birthday

Roger Daltrey, frontman of The Who, has addressed his mortality, weeks after his 80th birthday.

The rocker, who hit the milestone on March 1, gave a long self-examination to U.K.'s The Times while explaining his decision to step down as the curator of the annual Teenage Cancer Trust (TCT) charity concerts.

“I have to be realistic. I’m on my way out,” the legendary singer wrote. “The average life expectancy is 83 and with a bit of luck I’ll make that, but we need someone else to drive things.”

Daltrey further detailed the nervousness he felt before recent shows, admitting concerns “about how many words” he had to remember.

“We haven’t done anything for seven months and this winter’s been brutal,” the rocker noted. “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,” Daltrey continued, “but tonight, for the first time in my career, I think, ‘Blimey, this is hard.’”

Despite his trepidation, the 2024 Teenage Cancer Trust concerts were once again hailed as a triumph. The highlight was an all-star rendition of the Who’s “Baba O'Riley” featuring Daltrey alongside Robert Plant and Eddie Vedder. This marked the 24th and final year that Daltrey will serve as the event’s curator.

Is Roger Daltrey Touring?

Daltrey will be hitting the road for a short run of intimate concerts in June. The singer will perform classic songs by the Who, as well as solo material, along with special question-and-answer sessions.

Meanwhile, Daltrey's Who bandmate, Pete Townshend, has suggested the famed rockers could reconvene for one last trek.

“It feels to me like there’s one thing the Who can do,” Townshend explained to The New York Times, “and that’s a final tour where we play every territory in the world and then crawl off to die."