EXCLUSIVE: Inside the Rift Tearing Apart One of the World's Most Iconic Rock Acts — 'They Just Don't Understand Where They Are All Coming From Anymore'
Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey appear to be duking it out after years performing together with The Who.
Oct. 9 2025, Published 6:40 p.m. ET
Pete Townshend has lifted the lid on the tensions at the heart of The Who, admitting his relationship with frontman Roger Daltrey has grown increasingly strained as the band nears its end.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the guitarist says the pair "are very different" and "don't communicate very well" – a confession underscoring the deep creative and personal divide within what was one of rock's most enduring partnerships.
A Feud Between Rockers Exposed
Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey aren't seeing eye-to-eye.
The 80-year-old spoke candidly to AARP Magazine ahead of the band's farewell tour, The Song Is Over: The North American Farewell Tour, which opened in Florida. Townshend revealed Daltrey, 81, "got upset" with him over what he described as "different needs as performers," adding their relationship has often been hampered by unspoken frustrations.
"We don't communicate very well," he said. "He and I are very different, and we have different needs as performers. He got upset because he felt I had sometimes given the impression of having left the building.
"Roger complained about the fact that he is deaf. He's a singer, and he has to be 100 percent fit to do his job." According to a source close to the band, the gulf between the two legends runs deeper than creative disagreements.
"They just don't understand where each other is coming from anymore," the insider claimed. "Pete's driven by the music and the craft – he sees everything as a continuation of his art. Roger's about the live show, the physical energy, the connection with fans.
Townshend claimed his bandmate Daltrey "got upset" and admitted they don't 'communicate very well.'
"They respect each other but talk past one another. It's like they're speaking different languages now." Despite decades of tension, the pair have continued performing together to honor the legacy of the My Generation band following the deaths of drummer Keith Moon in 1978 and bassist John Entwistle in 2002.
Townshend even acknowledges the current lineup feels more like an homage than a continuation of the original group.
"The Who still sells records – the Moon and Entwistle families have become millionaires," he said. "There's also something more, really: the art, the creative work, is when we perform it. We're celebrating. We're a Who tribute band."
It's 'Hard For Him To Hear'
The iconic rockers appear to have different views when it comes to their band.
Industry insiders say the description was not meant as self-deprecation, but as a reflection of Townshend's realism.
"Pete's very aware that The Who today isn't the same band that changed rock in the '60s," another source claimed. "He sees it as a celebration of what they built, not a continuation. But for Roger, that can sound like giving up – and that's hard for him to hear."
Even so, Townshend insists that he still values performing alongside his longtime collaborator.
"Apart from that, it does whet an appetite to think about how we should bow out in our personal lives – what we do with our families and our friends and everything else at this age," he said. "We're lucky to be alive. I'm looking forward to playing. Roger likes to throw wild cards out sometimes in the set, and we have learned and rehearsed a few songs that we don't always play."
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The Who is still on tour after performing for decades.
The Who's latest tour opened at Florida's Amerant Bank Arena, where fans were treated to a 23-song set that included the live debut of Going Mobile, with Townshend’s brother, Simon, taking lead vocals. The 1971 track, from Who’s Next, had never been performed by the band before.
Despite a brief technical hitch during the show, Daltrey kept the crowd laughing. "You never remember the perfect show," he told fans. "You remember the f---ups."
