The Who’s Roger Daltrey has revealed he is going blind.
The British singer, 81, is currently performing a limited run of shows in the iconic 1960s band at the Royal Albert Hall for the Teenage Cancer Trust.
During the first of these nights, on 27 March, Roger told the 5,000-strong audience about his deteriorating eyesight.
‘The joys of getting old mean you go deaf, I also now have got the joy of going blind,’ he said.
‘Fortunately I still have my voice, because that I’ll have a full Tommy,’ he continued, referring to the title of The Who’s 1969 album, largely considered to be the first rock opera.
Roger was joined on stage with guitarist Pete Townshend, and together they performed all their classics, including I Can’t Explain, Substitute, Who Are You?, The Kids Are Alright, I Can See For Miles, Baba O’ Riley, The Seeker and My Generation.
Pete, 79, also talked about his ailments, sharing that ‘four and a half weeks ago, I had my left knee replaced’, later revealing he had done it by dancing in the style of Sir Mick Jagger.
Frontman Roger finished by telling the audience: ‘People say to me, ‘how the f*** do you still do it’, and I’ve got to tell you I’ve had one dream in life, and got really, really lucky.
‘And I look at those youngsters every night that come on the stage here, and I think, “if they can deal with their lot, this is a piece of piss”.’
The gig comes as Daltrey steps back from his role as curator of the Teenage Cancer Trust’s Royal Albert Hall concerts, having launched the series in 2000.
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However, he will remain an honorary patron of the charity, with The Cure’s Robert Smith taking over curation duties next year.
The Who will return to the Royal Albert Hall for another gig in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust on Sunday.
This comes after another singing legend Sir Elton John revealed he lost sight in his right eye in July after it got infected in the South of France.
‘It’s been four months now since I haven’t been able to see. My left eye is not the greatest,’ he told Good Morning America.
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