The Spin Doctors: The band Roger Daltrey compared to The Who
What comes to mind when you think of The Who? Perhaps you hum the iconic introduction to ‘Baba O’Riley’, reflect on the complex narratives woven throughout their discography, or marvel at their electrifying live performances. Whatever it may be, these elements serve as a testament to The Who’s enduring legacy as one of the best and most exciting bands to ever devote themselves to music.
The Who’s ability really resonated on stage. It wasn’t just their music that stopped the world in its tracks, but their stage presence did so, too. It wasn’t enough that the British invasion was happening, but they were louder than ever; Pete Townshend was throwing his guitar around his neck, Roger Daltrey was screaming, and Keith Moon couldn’t stop blowing his drums up.
Their live sound also meant that the band didn’t do encores. The idea of coming back on stage to perform some more seemed exhausting to the band, as they left it all out the first time. Rebelling against the common notion that when they leave the stage, they’re not actually leaving, The Who gave people everything during their set, to the point that there was nothing else available for the encore section of the show.
“Our encores were always shitty, if you ever got an encore, you regretted asking for it,” said Roger Daltrey when talking about the attitude towards them, “We all gave it all out in the show. If you give a good show out, you’ve got nothing left for a good encore. And pretentious crap about, oh, we go off now, so we can be called back. What a load of bollocks.”
Townshend grew tired of the band by 1983 and so left; however, The Who were never too far away from the public, as they frequently reformed for shows such as Live Aid, anniversaries, and general gigs. Even when the band wasn’t together, a number of iterations of them came forward, as Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend would often perform with different line-ups, wheeling out the occasional classic.
Granted, none of these performances ever came close to a show like The Who in full force, but some of them did still stand out as something special. For instance, during an appearance on the David Letterman Show, Roger Daltrey performed with The Spin Doctors. While The Spin Doctors’ music may not be as heavy as The Who’s, they could certainly perform with power, to the point that even Roger Daltrey had to admit they weren’t far off the real thing.
“They’re a great band. They remind me so much of how it used to be. And it was wonderful to play with them, just to be reminded of where I come from,” said Daltrey, reminiscing on that performance and subsequently reminiscing on his time with The Who. “Because I mean, it’s like everything in life. Time seems to make you take a lot for granted, unless you’re constantly reminded of where you’ve been.”
