The Who isn’t finished yet. After a year mostly spent apart, Pete Townshend confirms that he and Roger Daltrey will be working together again in 2025.
“I met with Roger for lunch a couple of weeks ago,” Townshend tells The Standard. “We’re in good form. We love each other. We’re both getting a bit creaky, but we will definitely do something next year.”
Their most recent tour together dates back to 2023, when the Who’s shows were augmented with strings. Townshend indicates that any future dates would more closely resemble Daltrey’s more stripped-down 2024 U.S. tour.
“The last big tours that we’ve done have been with a full orchestra, which was glorious,” Townshend argues, “but we’re now eager to make a noise and make a mess and make mistakes.”
The Who played a couple of stand-alone shows in March in support of Teenage Cancer Trust at London’s Royal Albert Hall. More recently, Daltrey inducted Peter Frampton into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Townshend will take the stage in November at the Theatre Royal in London for a performance of The Seeker, an upcoming concept album completed with his wife Rachel Fuller. The most recent album under the Who banner remains 2019’s Who.
Townshend points the finger at Daltrey for this delay, though the dam may be close to breaking: “The album side of it – Roger’s not keen but I would love to do another album,” Townshend adds, “and I may try to bully him on that.”