Band gets performing masterclass from The Who frontman Roger Daltrey

  • Video report from ITV News Meridian's Malcolm Shaw


As a rebellious young man he famously sang the words "Hope I die before I get old".  But Roger Daltrey is still going strong at the age of seventy-seven.

For a masterclass in how to perform one of The Who's best-loved songs, who better than Roger Daltrey to teach the next generation.  The legendary rock star has a career spanning almost sixty years.


  • Roger explains how vital music has been for him


Roger says: "If they stick with their music and keep their feet on the ground, and that's what it did for me. I could have got into all kinds of mischief but fortunately being in a band kept me out of it".

At his farm in Sussex, Roger's been meeting the four members of The Act. 

They've just won a competition for new bands, with a track called Stage Fright.  Penned by their lead singer, Tilly, when she was seven.

The Act. Credit: ITV News Meridian

She explains the meaning behind the track: "When you close your eyes on stage and you just forget everything. It's about that. And just not being nervous on stage to do anything. Just do whatever you can do and it works".

The group have been performing together for a couple of years now.  Honing their skills under the expert eye of Jason West, a professional musician who runs a course called "How to be in a band".


  • Jason West uses his experience to keep the band going in the right direction


He says: "From the forming and becoming a band, out to the other end of playing and touring and being successful without falling into those pitfalls I think that is really a big part of the whole programme".

The Act won a top-of-the-range Martin acoustic guitar in the competition. 

But they've decided it should be auctioned to raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust, a charity which Roger Daltrey has championed, providing bespoke facilities for hospital treatment.

The band decided to auction off the guitar. Credit: ITV News Meridian

One good turn deserves another.  And Roger had a gift for the band: one of the mics he's used on stage.   

He once articulated teenage angst with the lyrics "hope i die before i get old".  But with help from youngsters like these, Roger Daltrey is fighting to ensure teenagers with cancer live long and live well.