Legendary rock singer Sir Roger Daltrey has revealed he will be celebrating being named in the King’s Birthday Honours list in the best way possible.
The Who’s long-time frontman, 81, formed the iconic band with friends Pete Townshend and John Entwistle in north-west London in 1964.
Before long, they were one of the biggest bands of the 60s and 70s Mod era and have since sold millions of copies of classic albums like Tommy and Who’s Next.
They were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 and, despite only releasing two albums since 1983, remain one of the most popular bands on the planet.
So much so that Sir Roger, who launched the Teenage Cancer Trust Royal Albert Hall concerts, has now been made a knight bachelor for services to charity and music.
He told PA: ‘It’s strange, it’s an experience that I’ve never had before, I’m very humbled by it. But equally, pride isn’t something you wear on the outside – it’s something that you wear in your heart.
‘This sits very well in my heart because it’s for the charity – it is for the music and the music I’ve had the joy of giving it out there – how lucky was I?’
When asked how he would be celebrating being made a knight bachelor, the rocker replied: ‘With a bottle of plonk.’
‘Plonk’ is a slang term used by Brits and Australians of a certain vintage to refer to cheap wine, with its origins apparently dating back all the way to the 1930s.
Sir Roger said he was happy to be honoured for his charity work, which will see him remain an honorary patron of Teenage Cancer Trust – the Cure frontman Robert Smith will take over the concert curation next year.
He continued: ‘It’s kind of weird, but I am deeply honoured to get this, especially for the charity for the Teenage Cancer Trust, and I accept it on their behalf really, because this honour is really for all unsung heroes.’
The first Teenage Cancer Trust show in 2000 raised more than £12million in ticket sales and generated further revenue from a concert film and CD.
Afterwards, Sir Roger was given a humanitarian award in 2003 from Time magazine and, in subsequent years, the band continued to support other charities as well.
Asked whether he could have foreseen his knighthood during the band’s early days, Sir Roger added: ‘No, no, I mean, you’ve got to remember, we came from post-war England, I was born in an air raid.
‘We were born with talent, that’s for sure, you can’t have the success we’ve had and not have some kind of talent, even if it’s for cock-ups.
‘So we got lucky, we were right place, right time, we had the right chemistry.’
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