The awkward question, of course, is always left until last. At any press conference, the last thing reporters want is for the person being questioned to flounce or storm out at the beginning, leaving you nothing to write about except the flounce or the storm. So you save the difficult one.
As Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend of The Who took to the stage to talk about their appearance in Sunday’s Super Bowl XLIV half-time show, the inevitable question hung in the air like a thunderstorm that refused to break. The opening enquiries were polite and occasionally unpredictable. What sportsmen did they admire? Ho-hum. What was the Rock and Roll Circus like? Interesting, but not what we’d come to hear. Should there be an NFL team in London? Roger didn’t really understand the question.
Finally. “Pete, a lot of people are looking forward to seeing you, but some are not …” At last, the inevitable question about Townshend’s arrest in 2003 for accessing child pornography on the internet, which he claimed was part of research for his own campaign against child abuse – he has said that he believes that he may have been sexually abused as a child. Nevertheless, he was placed on the sex offenders’ register for five years.
The NFL’s invitation to The Who has led child protection groups here to object to Townshend’s presence. They have called for the NFL to reconsider, book someone else. When it became clear that the show was going ahead as planned, they leafleted homes near Sun Life Stadium, where The Who will play on Sunday evening, about what they clearly saw as the monster in their midst. As if Townshend, 64, was planning to slip through the tightest security at any sporting event in the world and lurk menacingly among the palm trees of North Miami.
The question was so gently lobbed that you felt it had been staged. But Townshend, of course, knew it was coming in any case. “I’ve been saddened by it,” he said. “It’s difficult to deal with in soundbites. It’s sad. We’re on the same side, and that’s all I can really say. For any family that has suffered an issue of childhood abuse, vigilance is more important that vigilantism.”
The veteran guitar player cautioned against uninformed reactions to his appearance at the showpiece for the family-friendly NFL. “I’ve been working in research and fundraising in the area for over 40 years,” he said. “I have my own story that some of you know. Anyone who has any doubts as to whether I should be here should investigate further. Everything you need to know, funnily enough, is out there on the internet.”
Earlier, Daltrey and Townshed had played acoustic versions of Behind Blue Eyes and Pinball Wizard, and they ended the event with Won’t Get Fooled Again – possible clues to their likely set on Sunday, which they have promised will be an extended mash-up of greatest hits.
The closest any of the earlier questions had veered towards controversy broached the fact that one of the two teams, the Indianapolis Colts, traditionally runs out to a Who track, to which Daltrey diplomatically replied: “May the best team win.”
And the closest that any answer had come to outraging those present concerned that question about the Rock and Roll Circus – an event staged in December 1968 by The Rolling Stones that included The Who and John Lennon and Yoko Ono among others. Daltrey remembered with sadness his last meeting with Brian Jones of the Stones before his death, while Townshend revealed his admiration of Ono – and that was controversial.
“I think she’s amazing,” he said of the woman widely held responsible for breaking up The Beatles. “No really, I am one of the select [band of] Yoko Ono fans.” There were nervous chuckles, sharp intakes of breath and even a mutter of disbelief from Daltrey. Unlike the final question, no-one had seen that one coming.
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