The 1960s was a time of social and cultural upheaval in the western world underpinned by the burgeoning rock scene. The decade saw the American blues-based rock ‘n’ roll of the 1950s reach the shores of ol’ Blighty. In due course, the British invasion of the US charts came thanks to a generation of blues fanatics. No band illustrated this British blues response more than The Rolling Stones and their innovative guitarist Keith Richards.
The British rock scene bloomed throughout the ’60s with a rapid transformation of what it meant to be a rock band. While The Rolling Stones clung to blues roots, The Beatles sprawled toward psychedelia and bands like The Who and Led Zeppelin opted for something heavier and more eardrum popping.
The Beatles enjoyed a lengthy reign with The Rolling Stones hot on their heels, and despite media-inflated rivalry, they remained respectful of each others’ work. It would appear most of the apparent rivalry was confined to fan bases. That said, there have been reports of petty rivalry over the years between some of the British invasion bigwigs that still cause flurries of excitement today.
In an interview with Coda Collection back in 2021, The Who’s frontman, Roger Daltrey, called The Rolling Stones a “mediocre pub band”, while sparing praise for their lively frontman: “You can not take away the fact that Mick Jagger is still the number one rock ‘n’ roll showman up front. But as a band, if you were outside a pub and you heard that music coming out of a pub some night, you’d think, ‘Well, that’s a mediocre pub band! No disrespect.”
In that interview, Daltrey jumped on comments Paul McCartney had recently made regarding The Stones. In a conversation with The New Yorker, McCartney said The Beatles’ “net was cast a bit wider” and described The Stones as a “blues cover band”. After a media frenzy, McCartney apologised to Richards, explaining that it was a phrase taken out of context.
Following Daltrey’s subsequent comments, though, there was little sign of remorse. One explanation for Daltrey’s slight on The Stones (bar Jagger) could be found in similar comments Richards had made about The Who some six years prior.
In a 2015 conversation with Rolling Stone, Richards gave his assessment of The Who. While he clearly has a lot of time for their iconic guitarist, Pete Townshend, less can be said for his opinion of Daltrey.
“I always thought [Roger] Daltrey was all flash,” Richards started. “I love Pete Townshend, but I always thought The Who were a crazy band anyway. You would say to [Keith] Moon, if you were in a session with him, ‘Just give me a swing,’ and he [couldn’t] … He was an incredible drummer, but only with Pete Townshend. He could play to Pete like nobody else in the world. But if somebody threw him into a session with somebody else, it was a disaster. There’s nothing wrong with that; sometimes you’ve got that one paintbrush, and you rock it.”
“I just was never really interested in that many English rock and roll bands actually, at all,” Richards added. “I mean, I usually like guys like Johnny Kidd and the Pirates, and that was before I was even recording. But there was something [about] the Yeses and the Journeys and all them that just left me a bit cold.”
Richards’ appraisal of The Who came with more sincerity than Daltrey’s unfair dismissal of The Stones as a “pub rock” band. It seems there’s perhaps something of a rift between Daltrey and Richards, but we can’t be certain whether it’s rooted in age-old jealousy or genuine distaste.
