Watching the erstwhile Mr. Daltrey last night in 'Trafalgar Battle Surgeon' was a revelation. I've obviously always admired his vocal ability, but his acting career has been something of a stop-start affair. His role in 'McVicar' was stunning; his role in 'Tommy' was OK; his role in 'Buddy's Song' was awful.

I've been longing for him to be given the opportunity to play a part that gives him the opportunity to develop the character - guest roles in the odd TV series ('Highlander', 'Midnight Caller', '.com For Murder' etc) are all very well and good, but he has no chance there to get into the scenario for an extended period of time and, therefore, display his true talent.

Billy Murray in 'The Bill' and 'Eastenders' had the opportunity; Roger would be equally well-suited to a role that forms part of an extended, character driven piece that he can really call his own. just as 'Tommy' did for him with The Who on stage, a part in a soap-opera might be just the thing for him. Clearly he has other commitments to fulfill, but I'm sure, given the opportunity, he'd jump at the chance to be involved in an acting project that kept him interested and developing over a longer timeframe.

Come on casting directors out there - open your eyes.

"Playing so free like a breath rippling by"

The definitive Who lyric? Perhaps?

Maybe there was method in the madness of Pete's decision to play primarily acoustic on the '89 tour and then rely heavily on it for the '96 session of Quadrophenia shows. I firmly believe that this was a plan by Pete to allow him to learn to play electric guitar on stage again. His reliance on chord play during the band's classic perion attracted no little mirth amongst fans oif other players because he seemed unable to play the fiddly solos of a Page or Clapton. Because of the techniques he learnt on those two tours, he then gave us some truly amazing moments in '97 and then from '99 - 2004. He dsplayed a freedom of expression, a willingness to explore and a new level of creativity on stage.

At Portsmouth in 2002, I nearly collapsed at the front from the man's intensity. A look came into his eyes just towards the end of "My Generation" which was genuine rage - rage within himself that said to everyone present that this is The Who.

The Strat was dismantled in seconds.

He has more to give and I hope we can be witness to it.

Pete's recent slew of diary entries are an absolute revelation. Nowhere else can you find such an insight into the workings of the mind of a true genius.

Something that has been at the forefront of his recent posts is how deeply his relationship with Rachel is affecting him. The admission that she has been the rod propping up up a sometimes lilting scarecrow can come as absolutely no surprise. This was evident in the first instance when the band released "Real Good Looking Boy" in 2004:

Now I'm here with you little darling
And you say "You're beautiful as you are"
And I've managed somehow to survive
You came into my life like a fragrance
You helped me find a way to laugh
And now I know how so-called beauty lies

Straight away I knew that Rachel was the source of not only that lyric, but also Pete's reason. What happened to him at the hands of the press, as a result of trying to be a person that was not afraid to try to do some good, would have broken a less strong human being. Having someone equally as strong behind him gave him the focus and the mental stability he needed just at the right time.

I remember standing there in the crowd at The Forum in March 2004.

I was scared.

Scared that there was a small possibility the crowd could perhaps contain some kind of nutter that would hurl abuse at him all night because of what happened.

Scared that the reception to the new Who material had been lukewarm.

Scared that there were journalists in the room.

Scared that I was seeing my first Who show not to feature John Entwistle.

Scared that my hero might be scared.

I had nothing to fear in the slightest where Pete was concerned.

Pete appears to be enthralled at the moment - the possibility of on-going work with his best friend. Working and building a relationship with the love of his life. Developing himself and discovering himself as he nears the completion of his autobiography.

This is an exciting time for us as "fans", but for Pete - just imagine...........

13/11/2000 

Groovy - it looks as if I have managed to fathom the process out, so I shall be returning later tonight to blog - I'm unusually excited about it too - a place to exercise a bit of limited creativity that exists within me.

Wouldn't my old teachers be shocked........?

Hell, this is my first attempt at a blog - who knows how it'll turn out; I'm a technophobe and I work for a computer hardware / software re-seller. How about that for irony?

The title of the blog says it all to be honest.

It's what it's about. It's what I'm about - THEY are four people that have helped me get to where I am now. I can never repay them - they probably don't want me to.

Unconditionally, I love, respect and adore them - I have learnt much from them.

I hope to have fun with this and I hope to continue to explore..........