Roger Daltrey says the world needs more than just One Direction for its musical needs.
The Who singer – famous for hits like ‘My Generation’ and ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’ – has bemoaned the lack of bands with "angst and purpose", and singled out the boy band for criticism.
He told the Mail on Sunday newspaper’s Event magazine: "Here we are with the world in the state it is in, and we’ve got One Direction. Where are the artists writing with any real sense of angst and purpose?"
"There are no movements at the moment: we had mod and then there was punk, but it’s so hard to start a movement now. Unless it’s ISIS."
Meanwhile, Roger’s bandmate Pete Townshend laughed off complaints that 1D’s hit ‘Best Song Ever’ sounded too much like The Who’s track ‘Baba O’Riley’, insisting he couldn’t care less if the songs sound similar.
Fans had noted the similarities between the two songs, but the band’s guitarist-and-songwriter admitted he "ripped off" plenty of material himself "over the years".
He said: "It wasn’t important enough to get excited about. I could hear a bit of The Who in it, but so what?
"Considering the stuff we ripped off over the years, it doesn’t really matter."
Roger Daltrey: World needs more than One Direction
