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Roger Daltrey Is Still Very Mad About People Smoking Weed at Who Shows

of The Who performs on the first night of the band's residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on July 29, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

I have heard on at least two occasions, when talking to friends or listening to the section of a podcast where the hosts have a freewheeling chat unconnected to their show’s ostensible subject matter, about people who have attended a concert by the Who and found themselves on the receiving end of a lecture from frontman Roger Daltrey about smoking pot in the crowd. Daltrey, who says he has an allergy to weed smoke that affects his ability to sing, delivered another of his rants at Madison Square Garden on Monday.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=hl5rb8L9pXI

His full remarks, to the best that I can transcribe them over the baffled reaction of the crowd, were:

Thank you so much for coming. I’ve gotta tell you, all the ones smoking grass down in front here: I’m totally allergic to it. I’m not kidding. Whoever it is down there, you fucked my night. You made me really—I’m allergic to that, and my voice just goes [slurping sound], it sucks up. So fuck you!

Daltrey—the very wealthy singer of a once-revolutionary young band famous for smashing their instruments onstage, penning gloriously unhinged songs about youthful rebellion, and playing louder than just about anyone else—has been documented doing this before.

The most recent recording I can find comes from Long Island’s Nassau Coliseum, in 2015, in which Daltrey threatens to stop the show if people keep smoking, then advises them to “stick it up your fuckin’ ass.”

https://youtube.com/watch?v=_nMi59Yx6lM

The funniest part about these very funny recordings is the way that Daltrey always tries to begin with a chummy good-natured approach, but quickly works himself into a frothy rage. In a 2013 video, guitarist Pete Townshend asks the crowd to stop smoking on Daltrey’s behalf, perhaps because he’s capable of making the request without completely losing it.

If you’re a fan of “My Generation” who wants to toke up while taking in one of the defining bands of the freewheeling ’60s, please buy a ticket away from the stage.