Roger Daltrey Heads Out on Mini US Tour, Confirms Memoir Release Date

The Who’s Roger Daltrey is embarking this week on a mini tour in America, which kicks off in Clearwater, Florida. After a couple more dates in the state it moves on to to Niagara Falls, Ontario, for two more shows on 6 and 8 November.

Daltrey recently uploaded a video (above) while he was in rehearsals in Florida, prior to the start of the tour. In it Daltrey announced the name of his solo show which is called ‘A Quick One (While Pete's Away)’. The name is a jovial reference to the, albeit temporary, absence of fellow bandmate Pete Townshend along with being a nod to 1966 The Who track written by Townshend called “A Quick One, While He's Away”.

Townshend is taking a break from The Who while he plays the Ferryman in musical The Seeker which is by his composer wife Rachel Fuller. It’s based on Hermann Hesse’s novel Siddharta and features some songs by Townshend too.

Pete Townshend in Soho, London in 1970. © Barrie Wentzell

On his quick run mini tour Daltrey’s fellow band members will be guitarist Simon Townshend (Pete’s younger brother), bassist Jon Button, keyboardists Loren Gold and Frank Simes with Scott Devours on drums. All are regular members of The Who’s current touring band, with the one missing member being Pete. On these live shows Daltrey will be playing a selection of “Who hits, rarities and plenty of Roger’s solo hits” including “Pinball Wizard”, “Who Are You” and “Baba O'Riley”.

Along with this micro tour Daltrey has also recently announced that he’ll be publishing his memoirs next year. Townshend already published his autobiography back in 2012, titled Who Am I. Daltrey’s book will be published in autumn 2018 and is being released by Blink Publishing.

The long-awaited autobiography will see the legendary frontman reflect on his life and career, from starting his working life as a worker in a sheet metal factory, to assembling The Who in 1961 and his rise to fame in one of the biggest rock band’s on the planet.

A picture of The Who's Roger Daltrey performing at the Rainbow Theatre, London in 1972. © Jill Furmanovsky

"I've always resisted the urge to ‘do the memoir’ but now, finally, I feel I've enough perspective.” Daltrey said in a statement. “When you've spent more than half a century at the epicenter of a band like The Who, perspective can be a problem. Everything happened in the moment. One minute, I'm on the factory floor in Shepherd's Bush, the next, I'm headlining Woodstock.”

Daltrey first mentioned he might write a book last year in an interview with Rolling Stone, hinting that he didn’t want to write one just for the sake of it. But only if he felt he could do it justice. It seems that time has now come.

“It's taken three years to unpack the events of my life, to remember who did what when and why, to separate the myths from the reality, to unravel what really happened at the Holiday Inn on Keith Moon's 21st birthday," Daltrey continued. "I hope the result is more than just another autobiography. I've been lucky enough to live in interesting times. I've witnessed society, music and culture change beyond recognition. That I'm still here to tell my tale when so many others around me didn't make it is nothing short of a miracle.”

Along with the memoir Daltrey is also working on a new solo album, which will be his first since 1992’s Rocks in the Head.

The Who (Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle and Keith Moon) photographed at The Marquee Club in March 1967. © Ray Stevenson

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