Legendary frontman Roger Daltrey has claimed that The Who laid the structural foundations for heavy metal, asserting that the iconic British group was actually the very first band of the genre.
The 82-year-old rock icon shared his perspective during a new interview with Rolling Stone while discussing the enduring legacy of the band and how their early work set them apart from their contemporaries in the 1960s. Reflecting on their historical impact, the vocalist noted that their pioneering role has often been overlooked by international audiences.
“We were just different than everybody else. Americans don’t really know The Who from the early ’60s, but as the drummer of Deep Purple [Ian Paice] said recently in a magazine, ‘The Who started it all.’ We were the first heavy metal band,” he stated.
Roger Daltrey further highlighted the technological and theatrical innovations driven by The Who, pointing out that their sonic requirements directly shaped the development of classic rock instrumentation and stage performance styles.
“Jim Marshall invented the 4×12 [speaker cabinet], 100-watt stack for [The Who guitarist] Pete Townshend. All the guitar smashing that Jimi Hendrix became famous for, in his style, was basically copied from Pete Townshend, first of all. And the first rock opera, of course, we elevated rock to be maybe up its own a** in a way, you could say it. We were doing it before anyone, but it’s not important in the long run.”
The singer’s comments align with sentiments previously expressed by his long-time bandmate and guitarist Pete Townshend. Back in 2019, Pete Townshend told the Toronto Sun that The Who essentially formulated the blueprints for the heavy metal sound with the release of their seminal 1970 live album, Live At Leeds. He noted at the time that while their aggressive style was rapidly adopted and refined by emerging acts such as Led Zeppelin, The Who quickly moved on to explore other creative avenues.
According to Pete Townshend, groups like Cream, featuring Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, and Ginger Baker, alongside Jimi Hendrix, entered the scene around 1967 and effectively captured the heavy rock mantle. Pete Townshend admitted that while plenty of other artists went on to provide that definitive heavy metal sound far better than they did, leaning heavily into that specific subgenre was never a primary focus for his own long-term musical ambitions.
Alongside his reflections on rock history, Roger Daltrey is preparing to return to the live stage for a newly booked run of solo performances across the United States. Dubbed the “A Great Night Out” tour, the late-summer trek marks his return to the road two years after his highly praised semi-acoustic 2024 summer tour and the subsequent, acclaimed farewell tour with The Who.
The 2026 solo run is scheduled to kick off on August 23 at the Mesa Arts Center in Mesa, Arizona. The itinerary will extend through September, featuring a rare appearance at New York City’s The Town Hall on September 27 before wrapping up on September 29 at the Chevalier Theatre in Medford, Massachusetts.
The upcoming tour follows a major milestone for the singer, who was officially honored with a knighthood by The Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle this past December. The royal honor recognized his extensive contributions to music as well as his philanthropic leadership in launching and curating the Teenage Cancer Trust concert series at the Royal Albert Hall, an initiative that has raised millions of dollars for charity over the past 25 years. Over his six-decade career, Roger Daltrey was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alongside The Who in 1990, received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Grammy Foundation in 2001, and accepted the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors alongside Pete Townshend in 2008.
