Billy Idol on The Who’s final tour: ‘I hate to think about that because I love those guys’

It’s time for The Who to say goodbye to North America, and Billy Idol has some feelings about it.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers are set to kick off The Song Is Over North American Farewell tour in Sunrise, Florida, on Saturday. Idol is the support act for the tour’s final show on Sept. 28 in Las Vegas. He tells ABC Audio he has mixed feelings about opening, saying it’s “gonna be a great day and it’s gonna be a terrible day.”

“I hate to think about that because I love those guys,” he says. He notes that even if he wasn’t opening the show he “was gonna come anyway” and that he told Roger Daltrey he was coming “by hook or by crook.”

Daltrey first suggested that Idol perform a song from Quadrophenia, as Idol previously performed with The Who on their 1996-1997 Quadrophenia tour. In the end, Daltrey and Pete Townshend decided to offer Idol a slot as opener.

“So that’s gonna be fantastic, and I’ll be able to commiserate with The Who fans,” he says. “We’ll all be feeling the same way.” 

The Who announced in May they would embark on what they say will be their final tour of North America.

Daltrey said during a press conference, “It’s not easy to end the big part of my life that touring with The Who has been.” Townshend noted that “all good things must come to an end.”

He added, “This tour will be about fond memories, love and laughter.”

In addition to Idol, opening acts on the tour include Candlebox, Billy Bob Thornton and his band The Boxmasters, The Joe Perry Project, Booker T. Jones, Joe Bonamassa, Tom Cochoran and ZZ Ward.

A complete list of The Who tour dates can be found at TheWho.com.

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