Sea Me, Feel Me, Hear Me . . . Roger Daltrey gives surprise show on QM2

There was a special treat yesterday for passengers crossing the Atlantic on board Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 – The Who’s Roger Daltrey gave an impromptu matinee performance in the ship’s Royal Court Theatre.
On board to take part in a song-writing seminar led by Chris Difford, he spent half an hour talking with Entertainments Director Paul O’Loughlin about his early life and how he began his career in music before taking a few questions from the audience.
As Edward Morris reports on the country music website CMT.com, he strapped on a 1963 Gibson guitar – as played by the Everly Brothers – and launched into a couple of Huddie “Lead Belly” Leadbetter, “Midnight Special” and “Goodnight Irene,” saying: “This one’s for my mum because it was my mum’s name.”
Then he brought a seven-piece backing band to accompany him on a succession of songs by his hero, Johnny Cash, including “Folsom Prison Blues,” “Train of Love” and “Ring of Fire.”
He concluded the set with his a few Pete Townshend songs, including “2000 Years,” and “Real Good Looking Boy.” “Who Are You” even featured backing vocals from a member of the audience who had asked a question about the song.
Daltrey also put on a show for the ship’s crew – during which one of the workers surprised him by performing a flawless guitar version of Pinball Wizard.
Cunard lists a number of performers taking part in Difford’s seminars, including are guitarist Matt Deighton, drummer Simon Hanson, singer Claire Deighton and pianist Emma-Jane Thommen, but makes no mention of Daltrey’s presence on board.
Passengers are unlikely to be singing The Who’s “I Can See For Miles” however. The ship has been fog-bound on the Grand Banks for the last couple of days on its approach to New York.