The Scoop: Pete Townshend says Roger Daltrey is ‘a dwarf’ with ‘short man’s syndrome’
- Pete Townshend says Roger Daltrey turned into a 'sex god'
- 'Tommy' is just as pertinent today as it was in 1975
- Townshend was an 'abused, neglected child'
LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 12: Pete Townshend of The Who performs at The O2 Arena on July 12, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Matthew Baker/Getty Images)
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(NewsNation) — Almost 50 years after The Who’s rock-opera “Tommy” debuted on screen, Pete Townshend still can’t get over the lionization of Roger Daltrey that happened after Daltrey starred as the titular actor in the 1975 film.
In a talk with the Chicago Tribune’s Chris Jones at the University Club last week, Townshend said, “The Who was just about drifting away when (‘Tommy’) the film came out and Roger Daltrey turns into a sex god! I mean, he’s got short man’s syndrome – he’s a dwarf! So then we all had to play with and put up with a short man with short man’s syndrome who was the sexiest man in the land! That haunted me.”
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – OCTOBER 22: Roger Daltrey attends the UK Premiere of “Sensation – The Story of The Who’s Tommy” at Riverside Studios on October 22, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images) 
LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 12: Pete Townshend of The Who performs at The O2 Arena on July 12, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Matthew Baker/Getty Images)
The legendary guitarist and The Who’s frontman have had a long and complicated history, with Daltrey telling Record Collector: “Me and Pete don’t socialize at all. It’s a working relationship. We’re two different people, very much so. And may it remain that way.”
Townshend used his childhood as a muse for Tommy
Townshend, in Chicago for the final week of “Tommy” at the Goodman Theatre, recalled how his own childhood formed the basis for the show.
“I wrote to my unconscious thinking of my experience in war-damaged Acton, West London, looking in abandoned buildings for watches and occasionally finding bodies,” Townshend said. “I wanted to do a story about a post-war experience and was writing from the perspective of an abused, neglected child…and how we were pushed aside by a generation that didn’t value us.”
“It’s shocking how pertinent Tommy is today,” Townshend said, before clarifying the lyric, “I hope I die before I get old.”
“I’m 78 – I’m old!” He laughed. “That line was misinterpreted. My father’s generation didn’t care what we thought and I just didn’t want to end up thinking or behaving like them.”
