Legendary Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and The Who frontman Roger Daltrey embarks on a solo tour of North America on June 10th. So he stopped by Bill Maher Real time on Friday to reminisce about his long career and what comes next.
After thanking Daltrey “for all the entertainment over the years,” Maher got straight to the point: “I don’t remember seeing you with a shirt on,” he said, offering a quick montage of Daltrey in his best shirtless shirt.
“A little too much information,” Daltrey said, then admitted, “I get incredibly hot when I sing. It’s like an oven.” Nevertheless, he admitted, at 80 years old, he would rather keep the jersey on this time.
They traveled back in time when Daltrey revealed the iconic cover of Who’s next? consisted of an obelisk holding up a pile of cinders, which in turn led to a pissing contest among the band members.
Maher asked if his longtime bandmate Pete Townshend appreciated Daltrey. “People don’t listen to songwriters. They hear songs,” Maher encouraged.
“We’re still together,” Daltrey said, admitting that “there’s always been friction.” But I think he knows it.” Daltrey argued that friction drives art. “We lived on friction,” he said. “That’s where all good creation comes from.” With bands, he said, “it’s really about chemistry.”
Daltrey showed his age when he talked about being in a band when he was younger and being the only straight guy with “three fuckers” and how they consumed large amounts of anything that came their way .
One of his plans beyond the tour is to complete a biopic about the late Who drummer Keith Moon, whom Daltrey described as “extraordinarily talented.” He was fantastic. They called it sloppy, but it was anything but that.” Daltrey admitted that “Moon” was a “rollercoaster” at times, but said the biopic was “joyful, it’s tragic, there’s so much narrative.” I want to put it on the screen.”
Daltrey was born in a subway station during World War II and his family lived in the rubble and suffered poverty for 15 to 20 years afterward. He built his first guitar himself because there was no money to buy it. But when The Who formed, they used huge closets to impress their audience that they were talented, he said.
His favorite song after all these years? After some back and forth, Daltrey nominated himself Love, rule over me from Who.
This week’s panel discussion included Kellyanne Conway, former senior adviser to President Trump. Fox News Contributor and author of #1 New York Times Bestseller, Here’s the deal: A reminderand Joshua Green, Bloomberg Businessweek National correspondent and author of The Rebels: Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the Fight for a New American Politics.
The panel discussed abortion, the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections and developments in 2024, as well as the economic situation. Conway dominated the conversation, had a few sharp words, and kept Maher on his heels the entire time.
Maher’s “New Rules” editorial focused on the shortcomings of Attorney General Merrick Garland, whose slow response Maher compared to “If the 405 Were a Man,” a reference to the notoriously crowded Los Angeles freeway. Watch the video above for the full shot.