(Credits: Far Out / Alamy)
Fri 14 November 2025 6:00, UK
The claim that “rock is dead” has been circulated for what feels like ages, and unfortunately, the prospect of it being true has become more plausible over the years.
Certainly, plenty of artists are keeping the genre’s heart beating: countless legacy acts still storm their stages and stay true to their roots. They have left their inspiration on emerging artists whose mission is to sustain rock’s life force for as long as possible. But what happens when the originators become disillusioned? According to Roger Daltrey, they pivot their focus to someone more exciting.
The Who’s co-founder is as legendary a musician as they come. His lead vocals captured the band’s magical realism, sung with enviable effortlessness. With his signature swing of his microphone, Daltrey’s enrapturing on-stage persona earned him the reputation of a musical god among men.
The Who’s infectious sound emerged in the 1960s, pulling from the Mod rock scene and evolving into eccentric territory, with de facto leader Pete Townshend’s rock opera 1969’s Tommy solidifying the band as fantastical and formidable talents. Engraved into the Who’s DNA is a sound for everyone, an assemblage of inspirations and fruitful experimentation that reimagined how rock ‘n’ roll could be performed and forever remain in people’s minds.
As with most geniuses, that of the Who eventually grew stagnant, with the untimely death of their drummer, Keith Moon, and a waning creative spark leading to their disbandment in 1983. Daltrey and Townshend have continued to perform in the decades since, even embarking on a whirlwind farewell tour this year, but something has shifted. The celebratory spirit of the duo’s performances as the Who acknowledges the sheer brilliance of their artistry, but in an era where rock music is nowhere near as dominant as it once was, there is a touch of sadness in their memory.
Such is a sentiment that Daltrey could possibly agree with. Speaking with The Times in 2016, the frontman reflected on rock ‘n’ roll’s death and how the rap genre may be the sole accurate reflection of public consciousness. He said, “The sadness for me is that rock has reached a dead end… the only people saying things that matter are the rappers, and most pop is meaningless and forgettable.” Harping on the fleeting nature of pop music, Daltrey claimed, “You watch these [new pop stars] and you can’t remember a bloody thing.”
Daltrey suggested that the aggression that drove the Who towards their varied creative streaks lent them a sense of danger that persisted in the modern age. Indeed, from the band’s infamous lore of fists thrown between Daltrey and Townshend behind the scenes, their personal brand of mad genius has followed them for a decade. But, from Daltrey’s perspective, such danger is sorely missed in the contemporary pop music machine.
Rock and hip-hop have always crossed influences, from Blondie’s nod to hip-hop artists Fab 5 Freddy and Grandmaster Flash on 1980’s ‘Rapture’ to nu metal’s unique blend of metal and rap, heard in the likes of Limp Bizkit, Korn and Slipknot. Daltrey’s acknowledgement of rap’s influence, then, is not too surprising.
Rather, it is a welcome nod to the music industry’s inevitable shift into more innovative territory, one that rap, in its takeover of popular music, has proven to do seamlessly.
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