IT was not the sort of entrance you would have expected from a rock icon.

Mug of tea in hand, The Who legend Roger Daltrey casually strolled on stage and politely thanked everyone for coming along. But it did not take him long to switch into rock star mode.

The army of Who fans had brought their air guitars and brollies, but they didn’t need the latter because Daltrey seemed to work some Pinball Wizard magic to keep away the showers.

But they definitely needed their air guitars as this twoand- half-hour rock spectacular turned into one big party.

Picnic tables were brushed to one side and mobile phone cameras went into overdrive as Daltrey launched into I Can See For Miles.

And it was not long before he was swinging his microphone in typical lasso fashion and nearly lopping off the ears of one of his guitarists.

That mug of tea seemed to last forever as the 67-year-old rock star took sips and flexed his vocal cords on a catalogue of Who classics, including My Generation, I’m Free, Pinball Wizard and Pictures of Lily.

He also treated us to a wonderful performance of harmonica playing.

The centrepiece of the evening was a track-by-track recital of The Who’s 20 million-selling seminal 1969 rock album Tommy, about a deaf, dumb and blind boy who becomes a messiah.

Daltrey, who is taking his new version of the iconic rock opera across the United Kingdom and America, has the support of a brilliant band.

The line-up includes guitarist Simon Townshend, brother of Who legend and Tommy composer Pete Townshend.

In one of their biggest gigs, young Southampton- Romsey rock band ’Til Dusk did a magnificent job in bringing the audience to the boil for this mouthwatering feast of rock ’n’ roll. Daltrey is such a fan that he asked them to join him at further gigs, and they’re also in the running to support Status Quo in August.

The boys will also be performing at the Clipper launch at Ocean Village on July 29 alongside Toploader and Rufus Stone.