ROGER DALTREY TO PERFORM THE WHO'S LEGENDARY "TOMMY" ALBUM FROM START TO FINISH

LOS ANGELES, May 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- ROGER DALTREY, the iconic lead singer of The Who, will perform The Who's legendary rock opera TOMMY in its entirety from start to finish. (The Who never actually played the complete TOMMY.)  Daltrey premiered the spectacular show at The Royal Albert Hall in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust on March 25 and is now taking it on the road.  Tickets for the AEG Live-produced tour go on sale Thursday, May 19 (Canada performances) and Friday, May 20 at 10:00 AM (U.S.; see below for full list of on sales) and a special American Express card member pre-sale begins Monday, May 16 at 10:00 AM via www.aeglive.com (ending May 18 in Canada and May 19 in the U.S.).  In addition, a variety of VIP packages will be available including options for artist meet-and-greets, reserved seating, collectible memorabilia and more (for additional details, please click here: www.aeglive.com).  

Employing the use of striking visuals to accompany the music, every show will be an unforgettable concert experience for lifelong fans and newcomers alike, who will be treated not only to the full majesty of TOMMY, but also to a variety of Who classics and more.

The much-anticipated six-week tour launches September 13 in Hollywood, FL and concludes November 2 at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, MB.  Fan Club pre-sales are available for most dates.  Details are being finalized, so please check www.thewho.com for updates.

TOMMY is not only one of the most acclaimed and defining works of the rock era, it is an enduring album that resonates on radio to this day where it has found multi-generational appeal. Inducted into The Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998, the 20 million-selling double album also spawned a successful 1975 film of the same name--with DALTREY playing the title role--which re-underlined its place in the cultural firmament.

Rock And Roll Hall of Fame inductee DALTREY is pulling out all the stops with a full band that will bring the rock opera's wide-ranging sounds and textures to life vibrantly on stage every evening. Joining DALTREY will be Frank Simes (guitar), Scott Deavours (drums), Jon Button (bass), Loren Gold (keyboards) and also on guitar will be SIMON TOWNSHEND, younger brother of The Who's guitarist PETE TOWNSHEND.

Commenting on the tour, Pete Townshend says, "Great to see Roger performing TOMMY with his band in 2011.  I will be there in spirit. Roger has my complete and most loving support.  Roger is touring his unique concert version of TOMMY using his faithful presentation of the original work as the backbone for a set of wider material.  It is wonderful to hear the way Roger and his new band re-interpret the old Who songs."

Throughout this tour, songs such as "Pinball Wizard," "The Acid Queen," "I'm Free," "See Me, Feel Me" and "We're Not Gonna Take It" promise to transport attendees into the world of this classic album with shuddering intensity and poetic power.  

A 1989 tour by The Who saw them reprise TOMMY live. The upcoming DALTREY tour will differ in that all of the album's songs will be played in sequence.  When DALTREY and his band performed TOMMY earlier this year--at a sell-out concert at London's Royal Albert Hall March 25--London's Independent called the show "a faithful reading...The stand-outs, 'I'm Free,' and 'See Me, Feel Me' and the anthemic climax of 'We're Not Gonna Take It' are rousing."  Afterwards The Who blogosphere was alight with comments from long-standing fans lucky enough to see the show.  These included comments like "Roger nailed Tommy" and "Last night's concert was the best I've ever seen--what a great band."

Roger describes the show and visuals as "A Tommy Show for today's audience from a different perspective."

"TOMMY, an album that tells a story about a 'deaf, dumb, and blind boy' who becomes the leader of a messianic movement, will always be seen as a turning point for the band," says DALTREY. "Within it, I found the new voice of The Who and the band found its stride in making that music, adjusting it, using all that knowledge that we had from jazz and the blues into making it work in a rock way."

The tour dates are as follows:

SOURCE AEG