DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times The Who’s Pete Townshend apologizes after halting Tuesday’s concert when singer Roger Daltrey left with bronchitis.

Bit hard to explain

Singer Roger Daltrey’s bronchitis forces the Who to cancel.

BY SEAN DALY

Times Pop Music Critic

TAMPA — As if fighting Father Time isn’t hard enough for aging rockers, another nasty foe felled British legends the Who at Ford Amphitheatre Tuesday: bronchitis.

After less than a minute of the opening song I Can’t Explain, guitarist Pete Townshend waved off the band, the group fell silent and ailing singer Roger Daltrey, 63, promptly walked off the stage.

After a few minutes of discussion in the shadows — and with the crowd of 9,000 murmuring restrained dissent — Townshend returned to the stage and canceled the show.

This was the first show the Who have canceled like this in 40 years, according to Simon Townshend, Pete’s brother, who also plays in the band.

“I just talked to Roger and he can barely speak,” 61-year-old Pete Townshend told the crowd. “I tried to get him to come out here, but he’s really, really sick.”

Townshend said the cause was “bronchitis,” although band officials did not confirm Daltrey’s malady.

Perhaps calming the masses, Townshend quickly announced that the show has been rescheduled for March 25 at Ford Amphitheatre. Tuesday’s tickets will be honored for that show. Refunds also will be available at point

of purchase. Refunds will be granted until March 25.

As fans of the band wandered out of the venue, there were scattered boos and dejected harrumphs, but for the most part, the crowd was collectively understanding.

“Twenty-five years ago, we would have had a riot,” said Joe Backes, 45, a big Who fan from Spring Hill. “We’re older and more mellow now.”

Backes said he would return March 25, as would his wife, Margaret Perreira, 49.

“I’m definitely coming back,” she said. “I just feel bad for Roger.”

Bradenton’s Rick Spahn, 50, and his 16-year-old son, Steven Spahn, who have bonded over the band during classic-rocking car rides, were equally sympathetic, but also a little “bummed.”

“I’ve been a Who fan since I was 17, so I’ve been waiting,” Rick said. “But I’m glad they’re coming back to do it again.”

As to the crowd’s relatively calm reaction to the cancellation, son Steven smiled and said, “It could have been a lot worse.”

Formed 40-plus years ago, the Who, along with the Rolling Stones and the Beatles, helped spearhead the industry-shaking British Invasion. Ironically, as the band tried to play I Can’t Explain on Tuesday night, black-and-white images of the boys in their 1965 salad days flashed on a video screen behind them.

Go figure: The Who famously sang about hoping to “die before I get old.” They never said anything about hoping for bronchitis.

Sean Daly can be reached at sdaly@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8467. His Pop Life blog is at blogs.tampabay.com/popmusic.

DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times A stunned crowd awaits the final word on the show, which was rescheduled for March 25.