Roger Daltrey on Wild Beatles Fans, Eddie Vedder, Teen Cancer Charity

You sang a song of his once, “Better Man,” with him at one of your solo shows.
It was in Seattle, and I know Eddie lives there. I was hoping that he would be there that night. I didn’t know. But he turned up, and it was great to do it with him. It’s a wonderful song, that.

There are some unique items in the auction. What do you find most interesting?
I think the “Yesterday” lyrics that were donated by George Martin’s son are really a prize. It’s one of a limited number of the lithographs of the original lyrics, signed by Paul [McCartney] and George Martin. That hopefully will make a lot of money.

When did you first befriended the Beatles and Paul?
We supported them in 1964 in at the Blackpool Opera House in Blackpool, England. It was on a Sunday night, and we were on before them. I remember our roadie at the time remarked how John Lennon was standing behind Pete’s amp at the back of the scrim, and he was listening to what Pete was doing. Now we were the first band to do all of that feedback stuff and John Lennon was apparently listening to that. On the next record [“I Feel Fine”], they starting using feedback [laughs].

What else do you remember about that show?
I remember not hearing one bloody note they played. The screaming was, like, the world’s most ridiculous noise. You heard the music for about two seconds, if that, and then it was just a barrage of high-pitched wails. And there was suddenly the smell of urine.

Oh, no.
Apparently Beatles fans used to wet themselves out of excitement.

Was it that way at your shows, too, back then?
I don’t think so. No, we were far too ugly [laughs].

Well, I figured you remained friends since Paul wrote “Giddy” for you, years later.
Well, my wife was very good friends with Linda. All bands are like ships that pass in the night unless you live in a place where bands settle. In London in the Sixties, of course, we were all settled. Then the Stones went to live in France, due to their tax issues, and slowly but surely we became like ships that pass in the night. Now if you want to really mix with bands you have to live in L.A. I’d go completely fucking mad if I had to.

You’ll be seeing the Stones and McCartney again this October at Desert Trip.
The gang is going to be together but not together. We’re all on separate days. We’re all doing our separate shows. We will say, “Hello, good to see you again,” and go our separate ways, and that’s how it is. But it’s always good to see old friends.

You were previously quoted as saying it represented the “greatest remains of [your] era” and “I’m glad we made it.”
Is that what I said? “I’m glad we made it”? An awful lot of my pals from the Sixties aren’t here anymore. I know if you’ve noticed.