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Roger Daltrey’s opinion on Freddie Mercury
Roger Daltrey is part of a select group of incredible singers who emerged in the United Kingdom during the 1960s and became the voice of an entire generation around the world. Alongside bands like The Rolling Stones, The Beatles and The Kinks, The Who showed the world what Rock and Roll really was and what it could become.
As one of the biggest inspirations for aspiring musicians who would go on to become stars in the following decades, Daltrey witnessed the evolution of that style firsthand. Over the years, he has shared his opinion on many singers who emerged later, including the late legendary Queen frontman Freddie Mercury.
What is Roger Daltrey’s opinion on Freddie Mercury
Roger Daltrey has always been a big fan of Queen and Freddie Mercury, he believed the singer was the best virtuoso Rock singer of all time. “When we lost Freddie, we not only lost a great personality, a man with a great sense of humor, a true showman., but we lost probably the best. The best virtuoso Rock n’ Roll singer of all time. He could sing anything in any style. He could change his style from line to line and, God, that’s an art. And he was brilliant at it,” Roger Daltrey said.
He had the chance to see Mercury many times and when the band prepared the charity tribute show in 1992 he was invited to be part of. “I knew him, I’ve met him quite a few times. But, I mean, friends in this business is hard, to say you’re friends with anyone, but we’ve met each other quite a few times. I was a great fan, very good fan. (This tribute) Freddie would love it. I mean, the bigger the better, he would love it.”
He continued:
“To be honest, it was quite widely known in the business that Freddie wasn’t very well. I just admire their (the band’s) integrity, for (not telling anyone). The integrity of this band has been a showcase for everybody. Everybody talks about Freddie, Freddie but you got to remember those three other guys up there, Brian, Roger and John.”
“I mean, those guys must be flying through the hoop. To lose a band member like Freddie and actually be up there playing all those songs that they played with him, imagine what is going through their minds. I don’t know, I just can’t imagine, unimaginable. (I had gone through that) and it took me a long time to get over it. There’s something about a musical bond, it’s almost a stronger type of family,” he said in an interview with Much Music in 1992 (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage). That night Roger Daltrey joined John Deacon, Roger Taylor, Brian May and Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi on stage to perform “I Want it All”.
Freddie also admired The Who and attended the same art college as Pete Townshend
Freddie was also a fan of The Who, and Queen was influenced by the band in its early days, as Brian May has said many times. Curiously, like Pete Townshend, Mercury studied at Ealing College of Art in London, although they attended at different times. The Who’s guitarist and songwriter left the college a year before Freddie enrolled in 1966.
“I went to Ealing Art School a year after Pete Townshend left. Music was a sideline to everything we did. The school was a breeding ground for musicians, I listened to Hendrix, really. I got my diploma and then I thought I’d chance it as a freelance artist. I tried, I did it for a couple of months. But I’d done it for so long I thought, ‘My God, I’ve done enough.’”
“The interest wasn’t there. And the music thing just grew and grew. Finally I said, ‘Right, I’m taking the plunge, it’s music.’ I’m one of those people who believes in doing those things which interest you. Music is so interesting, dear,” Freddie Mercury told Melody Maker in 1974.
Roger Daltrey recently said that Freddie was very good but Mick Jagger is the best frontman
Although Daltrey had previously praised Mercury, saying he was the best virtuoso Rock singer, when it comes to the best Rock frontman, in his opinion Mick Jagger is the greatest. “Mick is extraordinary. His fitness is extraordinary. For me, he’s the best rock frontman there’s ever been.”
“Everyone talks about Freddie Mercury, he was very good at being Freddie Mercury. But I don’t think anyone can beat the frontman that Mick is, and their music kind of lives on. They kept loyal to the blues roots they came from, and good luck to them. They’re making another record at the moment, I think, which is great. So I just take my hat off to them,” he said in an interview with Pollstar in 2025.
