Thanks a Lot Mr. Kibblewhite

Roger Daltrey

Image | BOOK COVER: Thanks a lot Mr Kibblewhite by Roger Daltrey

(Raincoast Books)

"It's taken me three years to unpack the events of my life, to remember who did what when and why, to separate the myths from the reality, to unravel what really happened at the Holiday Inn on Keith Moon's 21st birthday," says Roger Daltrey, the powerhouse vocalist of The Who. The result of this introspection is a remarkable memoir, instantly captivating, funny and frank, chock-full of well-earned wisdom and one-of-a-kind anecdotes from a raucous life that spans a tumultuous time of change in Britain and America.
Born during the air bombing of London in 1944, Daltrey fought his way (literally) through school and poverty and began to assemble the band that would become The Who while working at a sheet metal factory in 1961. In Daltrey's voice, the familiar stories — how they got into smashing up their kit, the infighting, Keith Moon's antics — take on a new, intimate life. Also here is the creative journey through the unforgettable hits including My Generation, Substitute, Pinball Wizard, and the great albums, Who's Next, Tommy, and Quadrophenia. Amidst all the music and mayhem, the drugs, the premature deaths, the ruined hotel rooms, Roger is our perfect narrator, remaining sober (relatively) and observant and determined to make The Who bigger and bigger. Not only his personal story, this is the definitive biography of The Who. (From Raincoast Books)

From the book

On a muggy Florida night in March 2007, Pete and I walked onto the stage at the Ford Ampitheatre in Tampa. For the ninth time that month, the seventh-ninth in the past nine months, the band started into I Can't Explain. I swung my mic straight out toward the audience, ready to go like always. Ready to hit that first line... "Got a feeling inside." But the mic weighed a ton. Out it went like a ship's anchor. Whether it came back, I can't tell you. Everything went black.
The next thing I knew, I was backstage. The lights were swimming, concerned voices came and went. Pete was there, wanting to know what was wrong. And in the distance I could hear the din of twenty thousand disappointed fans.

From Thanks a Lot Mr Kibblewhite by Roger Daltrey ©2018. Published by Raincoast Books.

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