Legendary singer going deaf and blind at 81: ‘The joys of getting old’

“The joys of getting old”: The Who’s frontman made a devastating admission about his health during a live show this week.

I hope I die before I get old.

Roger Daltrey of the rock band The Who has revealed that he is slowly going deaf and blind after turning 81 on March 1.

“The joys of getting old mean you go deaf. I also now have got the joy of going blind,” Daltrey told the crowd at London’s Royal Albert Hall during a concert on Thursday, March 27, per Sky News.

“Fortunately, I still have my voice,” he quipped, “because then I’ll have a full Tommy.”

Tommy is the name of the main character from The Who’s 1969 album-turned-rock opera of the same name. He is not only deaf and blind but also mute, reports the New York Post.

This wasn’t the first time Daltrey revealed he’s going “very, very deaf,” blaming his condition as the result of his more than 60-year career as a rock and roll singer.

“Take your f**king earplugs with you to the gigs,” he told the crowd during another concert in Las Vegas in 2018, according to TMZ.

Roger Daltrey from The Who performs at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Picture: James Manning/PA via AP

Daltrey has also discussed ageing and death in more recent interviews, including one with The Times in January 2024.

“My dreams came true so, listen, I’m ready to go at any time,” he told the outlet at the time. “My family are all great and all taken care of.”

“You’ve got to be realistic,” the My Generation singer continued. “You can’t live your life forever. Like I said, people my age, we’re in the way. There are no guitar strings to be changed on this old instrument.”

Daltrey’s fellow The Who bandmate Pete Townshend has also joked about being an ageing rock star on the cusp of octogenarians.

“Four and a half weeks ago, I had my left knee replaced,” Townshend, 79, told the London crowd last week. “Maybe I should auction off the old one.”

According to the Baba O’ Riley guitarist, he injured his knee after trying to dance around the stage like Rolling Stones star Mick Jagger, 81.

Pete Townshend (left) and Roger Daltrey.

The news of their deteriorating health comes two years after Daltrey and Townshend suggested The Who might be retiring nearly 60 years after the band was first formed in 1964.

“I suppose Roger and l, at some point, will look ahead and try to work out whether or not we want to do an Elton John and end it in some way,” Townshend said in 2023 while referencing Elton John’s successful farewell tour.

“It’s difficult to make a decision going forward, to say we’re going to do this or that, because we don’t know how well we’re going to be or how fit we’re going to be,” he continued.

Townshend also admitted that he and Daltrey were both getting “old.”

“That in itself has a downside because, apart from what you can or can’t do on the stage, when you finish touring, you come back to normal life,” the Magic Bus writer said. “Whatever it is that you decide to do to fill your time away from the road – and it’s harder and takes longer.”

Keith Moon, the band’s original drummer, passed away in 1978 at the age of 32. The Who’s original bassist, John Entwistle, died in 2002 at 57. Both deaths were related to drug use.

The Post has reached out to Daltrey’s reps for comment.

This article originally appeared in the New York Post and was reproduced with permission.

Originally published as Legendary singer going deaf and blind at 81: ‘The joys of getting old’