Roger Daltrey, voice and icon of The Who, announces a European tour in which he will perform the band's legendary rock opera, 'Tommy', live from start to finish, a feat never even staged by The Who themselves. In addition to the majestic music of 'Tommy', fans each night will also hear a selection of historic Who songs and other music composed by Roger Daltrey over the course of his extraordinary career. Eight concerts will take place in Italy between 9 and 24 March: the first will be on 9 at the Gran Teatro Geox in Padua, on 11 at the Carlo Felice in Genoa and on 12 at the Colosseo in Turin, then again on 18 March at the Teatro Rossetti in Trieste, on 20 at the Comunale in Florence, on 21 and 23 double dates at the Auditorium Conciliazione in Rome and finally on 24 at the Smeraldo Theatre in Milan.
High-impact video content accompanies the music in what promises to be an unforgettable experience for both long-standing fans and new followers, who have only discovered in more recent years THE WHO and Tommyone of the most acclaimed and symbolic works of world rock, a literally transgenerational album that has continued to fascinate audiences for decades. Released in 1969 and inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998, the double album has so far sold more than 20 million copies worldwide and the extraordinarily successful 1975 film of the same name, starring Roger Daltrey as Tommy, has only emphasised the work's place in the global cultural firmament.The live experience of 'Tommy' will be brought to life each night on stage in the vibrant complexity of sound created by Roger Daltrey, accompanied by a band of top musicians: Frank Simes (guitar), Scott Deavours (drums), Jon Button (bass), Loren Gold (keyboards) and SIMON TOWNSHEND, brother of The Who's legendary guitarist Pete Townshend, on guitar, who commented on the tour news: "It's great to see Roger bringing Tommy and his band to the stage. My heart and spirit are with them and Roger has my total support. Roger has put on an outstanding live version of Tommy, using his faithful rendition of the original work as the backbone of a show that also includes other material. It is wonderful to hear how Roger and his new band have been able to reinterpret old Who songs. In this show, tracks such as 'Pinball Wizard', 'The Acid Queen', 'I'm Free', 'See Me, Feel Me' and 'We're Not Gonna Take It' transport the audience into the world of this legendary album with poetic energy and chilling intensity.? On a 1989 tour, The Who performed 'Tommy' live, but the main difference is that Roger Daltrey on this occasion will play all the songs on the album from beginning to end. The preview of this project, which Daltrey presented in March 2011 at London's Royal Albert Hall in a charity concert, generated enthusiastic comments from critics and audiences alike: the Independent called the show 'a faithful and electrifying reinterpretation of a seminal album'. The Who's dedicated blog was flooded with comments from long-time fans who, having witnessed the concert, declared 'Roger nailed Tommy', and Daltrey himself called it 'the Tommy show for modern-day audiences seen from a different perspective', alluding to the use of distinctive and impressive visuals. He adds that 'Tommy - the story of a deaf, dumb and blind boy who becomes the leader of a messianic movement - is the album that still represents a turning point in the history of The Who. In Tommy I found the new voice of The Who and the band found its stride and its identity in playing that music, using all the knowledge we had in jazz and blues to make it work in a rock key."
Here are the Italian tour dates:
Friday 9 March 2012 - Padua, Gran Teatro Geox
Sunday 11 March 2012 - Genoa, Carlo Felice Theatre
Monday 12 March 2012 - Turin, Colosseo Theatre
Sunday 18 March 2012 - Trieste, Teatro Rossetti
Tuesday 20 March 2012 - Florence, Teatro Comunale
Wednesday 21 2012 - Rome, Auditorium Conciliazione
Friday 23 March 2012 - Rome, Auditorium Conciliazione
Saturday 24 March 2012 - Milan, Teatro Smeraldo
Tickets for the concerts will go on sale from Tuesday 29 November on the circuitwww.ticketone.it and later in the usual circuits and sales outlets.
