OK, so the days of Roger Daltrey's flowing ringlets are long gone. OK, so the days of mod rebellion have been replaced by trout farms and American Express cards. But as old Rog prepares to work on the forthcoming film of the life of the Kray twins, Mark Pinkus argues thag he's bridging the generation gap better than most. Photo by Steve Double

He's been at it now for 25years, but are people buying Roger Daltrey albums just out of sympathy or because the definitive rock'n'roll voice still has some punch left in it?
Indeed, are they buying them at all?
 At 43, married for 19years and with five children to prove it, it might seem odd that the man of 1965 who sang "I hope I die before I get old" is now acting in Shakespeare plays and advertising American Express cards.

As his 'Hearts On Fire' single is released he explains, "I don't feel old yet, age has nothing to do with years. It's what's inside you; it's a quality that's childlike and if you've still got that, you'll still alright. If I ever lose that, then I hope to die."
 It has to be said, Daltrey is ageing more gracefully than most. Rather than acting like some ancient rocker, he sits casually on the couch in his manager's office wearing jeans and customary black T-shirt over his solid physique. The bright blue eyes and boisterous laugh only enhance the friendly atmosphere.
 Returning to the music scene with the LP 'Can't Wait To See The Movie', Daltrey's latest solo effort and third since the demise of the Who, its obvious the man has plenty to smile about. Accusations are flung that Daltrey is now an old fart. past his best, but
on the strength of the new album this would be unfair. Although a contemporary sound makes the record very much a product of the Eighties (clean-cut rock, long on production), traditionalists can still detect a few traces of early Who which manage to slip in.
 "In doing this album this album I wanted to get out and do something more modern but I always hate to lose touch with, or forget, my roots," says Roger. "I think the lyrics in some ways are very Townshned -like and the guitar break in 'Hearts Of Fire' was the type of thing the Who would have done in their best days.
 "But I could never be the Who.
The Who were the best f**king rock group ever. Critics keep trying to compare me to what the Who did which is so stupid. I hope the critics can look at my album as a new piece of work and as if had been by a new artist."

Being compared to the Who is only one of Daltrey's problems. The tougher one is trying to get along without the band that made his name, especially guitarist and songwriter Pete Townshend.
 "I'm rebuilding myself basically and it's been a painful process. It's been psychologically exhausting, to be honest with you. I was quite happy being Pete's mouthpiece. When the Who finished I felt totally empty. I thought, 'That7s the end of my singing career, what do I do now?' It's been important for me to put some distance between myself and Pete ever did want to work with me again he's only got to pick up the phone. I'm a fan. If Pete wanted to do it tomorrow I'd say 'great, let's go', but Pete doesn't want to do it anymore. But I think it7s a fool who says never, so we'll see."
 To get a break from the music world, Roger became one of the original pop-star-as-actor converts, a career beginning with 'Tommy' and 'Lisztomania' in the Seventies, and followed by the tailor-made role of London armed robber John Mcvicar.
More credibility in the field came last year with his role in the BBC7s version of Shakespeare's 'The Comedy Of Errors'. Turning to the opposite audience, he followed up with the children's series 'Buddy', and is presently heading back to the movies with a full length feature of the same, which he'll act in and produce. He's also currently assuming the associate producer role in the long -awaited film about Kray twins, to be directed by Frank Roddam of 'Quadrophenia' fame. Roger sees this trasition from singing to acting as something of a physical release.
 'I like acting 'cause when I sing I act just within the vocal because that7s all people hear. It has to be all in the voice but acting … it was like an orgasm, at last I can do things with the rest of my body."
 Between the movies and the singing, the future is never very definite for Daltrey but we can expect to see some live shows at the end of the year with the possibly of a few rare performances containing Who songs just to "keep them alive".
 Some may see this as a regressive attempt to re-live past glories, but not Roger. He's too confident in his worth - past and present- for that. As far as his recording career is concerned, he employs the following philosophy.
 "If I can make this record pay for the next one like then I'm quite happy going on like that. If people like it - great. If I get a hit it's a bonus, but it's the singing that's important."