News : Pete Townshend admits he and Roger Daltrey 'don’t communicate very well'

Pete Townshend has openly admitted that he and Roger Daltrey “are very different” and “don’t communicate very well.”

The two members of The Who who are currently on their farewell tour after more than five decades in the iconic rock group have not always been on the same page. The 80-year-old guitarist shared that the 81-year-old frontman has often “got upset” with him because of their “different needs as performers.”

Speaking with the latest issue of AARP Magazine, Pete explained: “We don’t communicate very well. He and I are very different, and we have different needs as performers. He got upset because he felt I had sometimes given the impression of having left the building. Roger complained about the fact that he is deaf. He’s a singer, and he has to be 100 per cent fit to do his job.”

Pete also reflected on the responsibility they have carried since the deaths of drummer Keith Moon in 1978 and bassist John Entwistle in 2002, admitting that in some ways, he sees the band differently now. “The Who [still] sells records the Moon and Entwistle families have become millionaires. There’s also something more, really: the art, the creative work, is when we perform it. We’re celebrating. We’re a Who tribute band,” he said.

Even with their challenges, Pete admitted he still values performing alongside Roger. He added: “But apart from that, it does whet an appetite to think about how we should bow out in our personal lives, what we do with our families and our friends and everything else at this age. We’re lucky to be alive. I’m looking forward to playing. Roger likes to throw wild cards out sometimes in the set, and we have learned and rehearsed a few songs that we don’t always play.”

The Who officially kicked off The Song Is Over: The North American Farewell Tour at Florida’s Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday (16.08.25).

The 23-song set even included the live debut of Going Mobile with Pete’s brother, Simon Townshend, on lead vocals. While Simon had performed the track before, it marked the first time it was included in a Who concert. Originally written by Pete for his abandoned Lifehouse project, the song appeared on the band’s 1971 album Who’s Next. On the original recording, Pete handled vocals, guitars, and synths, John played bass, and Keith was on drums. Roger did not take part.

At one point in the Florida show, a technical glitch interrupted the performance, and Roger turned the moment into humor, joking, “You never remember the perfect show. You remember the f***-ups.”