The Who have revealed they’re ‘still traumatised’ by the death of 11 fans at a Cincinnati concert back in 1979.
Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend, the surviving members of the band, were left heartbroken from the tragedy at the Riverfront Coliseum on 3 December 1979, when members of the audience were crushed in a stampede.
Guitarist Pete explained: ‘I’m still traumatised by it.
‘It’s a weird thing to have in your autobiography that, you know, 11 kids died at one of your concerts. It’s a strange, disturbing, heavy load to carry.’
Roger added to Cincinnati’s WCPO: ‘That dreadful night of the third of December became one of the worst dreams I’ve had in my life.’
The pair are set to play the Riverfront Coliseum for the first time since the tragedy, with part of the ticket sales going to the memorial scholarship fund, set up to benefit students in the suburb of Finneytown where three of the children killed attended the local high school.
Roger, 75, and Pete, 74, are still going strong, having played London’s Wembley Stadium earlier this year.
However, Roger recently opened up about how he believes he’ll lose his voice in the next five years.
He told Billboard: ‘Obviously within the next five years I think my voice will go.
‘Age will get it in the end.’
The rock star remains positive right now though, saying ‘it’s still there at the moment’.
The band recently released their latest album, Who, with Roger calling it their ‘best album’ since they released their rock opera album Quadrophenia.
Pete added: ‘This album is almost all new songs written last year, with just two exceptions.
‘There is no theme, no concept, no story, just a set of songs that I (and my brother Simon) wrote to give Roger Daltrey some inspiration, challenges and scope for his newly revived singing voice.
‘Roger and I are both old men now, by any measure, so I’ve tried to stay away from romance, but also from nostalgia if I can.
‘I didn’t want to make anyone feel uncomfortable. Memories are OK, and some of the songs refer to the explosive state of things today.’
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