Daltrey seeks charity successor

By Georgie Rogers
6 Music News reporter

Singer Daltrey hopes to expand the annual cancer concerts overseas

Roger Daltrey has asked Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher and Stereophonics singer Kelly Jones to take on organising the Teenage Cancer Trust charity gigs.

"He's asked me and Noel a couple of times to our faces," said Jones.

"If you're in a band and you can help people who are worse off, it's not really much to ask for.

Daltrey launched the annual concerts in 2000. "I would love to find someone from a younger generation to take over from me," The Who frontman has said.

Stereophonics have appeared in a number of the fundraising concerts over the years.

"It's a big job and we're like, 'Come on Roger, you'd do it a lot better than us', and he carries on doing it," said Jones, ahead of Stereophonics headline slot at this year's concert at Royal Albert Hall on Thursday.

Stereophonics released their sixth studio album, Pull The Pin, in 2007

Jones said he has still not given Daltrey a serious answer: "It depends how much time it involves. I think it's an important thing for somebody to do.

"I've never really given it as much thought as answering it with a serious tone. We'll see. You see what happens in life."

Daltrey has said he's worried bands will start to screen his calls when the time for the annual gigs comes up.

"He did call me on a private number actually," responded Jones. "I've never been able to call Roger Daltrey back."

'Yearly breakdown'

"I think he does get a bit embarrassed - that might not be the right word - but I think he does know that he's pestering people all the time to do it, but good on him," said Jones.

"I think somebody does need to pester people to do stuff like this, and if he's the one doing it then good on him."

Daltrey, who turned 65 this month, previously told BBC 6 Music he is looking for a replacement, with a view to expanding the concerts on an international level.

"I would like to take the model of what we've done here and concentrate on getting it started in other countries now."

Part of the job involves persuading high-profile artists to take part, which can be tiring: "It does take an awful lot of energy. I call it my 'yearly breakdown'."