Roger Daltrey Biography
Roger Harry Daltrey, 1 March 1944, Hammersmith, London, England. Best-known as vocalist with the Who, Daltrey began his solo career in 1973. His debut album was produced by former pop singer Adam Faith and consisted of several songs written by management protégé Leo Sayer. "Giving It All Away" reached the UK Top 5 but although "I'm Free', taken from the orchestrated version of Tommy, gave Daltrey another hit later that year, the singer was unable to match the success he enjoyed with his parent group. With Sayer now embarking on a solo career, Daltrey was forced to look to other talent to provide material and later releases, including Ride A Rock Horse and One Of The Boys, featured songs by Paul Korda, Andy Pratt and Philip Goodhand-Tait. Although engendering a greater range and style, such recordings were commercially undermined by Daltrey's commitments to the Who and his nascent acting career. He starred in several films, including Ken Russell's Tommy and Lisztomania, but is best recalled for 1980"s acclaimed portrayal of criminal-turned-writer John McVicar in McVicar. Daltrey also appeared in Jonathan Miller's television adaptation of John Gay's The Beggar's Opera, but resumed recording in 1984 with Parting Should Be Painless. Successive releases were low-key, but the artist found renewed fame in Buddy, a children's television series, which in turn spawned the movie Buddy's Song, co-starring Chesney Hawkes.
During this period Daltrey also ran a successful trout farm and worked tirelessly for several charities. Any chance of a life of leisure was put on hold during the 90s thanks to the success of his increasingly prolific acting career, and several high profile concert performances. His performance at April 1992's Freddie Mercury Aids benefit concert was one of the show's highlights. In 1995, following two successful concerts at the Carnegie Hall in New York the previous year performing the music of Who songwriter Pete Townshend, Daltrey undertook an ambitious tour. Despite appearances from Townshend (in New York) and bass player John Entwistle, the tour was not a success and resulted in a number of concerts being cancelled. Daltrey was back in his favoured position in 1996 when the Who reconvened for a series of concerts in Europe and the USA to perform Quadrophenia. Two years later Daltrey was the guest singer on the British Rock Symphony tour, covering songs by various UK artists in addition to classic Who material. He continued to work with the Who in the new millennium and, following Entwistle's sudden death in June 2002, reignited his creative partnership with Townshend. In December 2004, Daltrey was awarded a CBE in the New Year's Honours List.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.
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