It’s not every day that you pick up your degree certificate from a rock and roll superstar.

Roger Daltrey made a surprise guest appearance at the BIMM Brighton graduation ceremony at the Hilton Brighton Metropole in Kings Road yesterday.

The Who’s frontman is the first ever patron of the music education group which has bases in Rock Place and Brunswick Street West.

He told the audience of more than 400 graduands that they would have to fight to find new ways to forge a career in the modern music industry.

The singer told The Argus: “These young artists must put pressure on the likes of iTunes to put something back into the business.

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They take 50% of the performance royalties. It is the biggest robbery in history. I-Tunes has stolen the music industry overnight.

“I support BIMM in Brighton because it is giving something back. It teaches the students not only music skills but about the business side of the industry.

“That’s something that bands never got when we were starting out.

“Myconnection to the city goes back to when I used to come on holiday as an 11- year-old and stay in Chapel Street.

“The Who used to play at the Aquarium which was considered the top mod gig.

We also played the Hippodrome.

“We backed Dusty Springfield and Gerry and the Pacemakers – we’d back everybody and anybody just like the bands coming out of BIMM.”

Vaseema Hamilton, BIMM’s principal, said: “The big thing that BIMM Brighton gives students is connectivity. Nobody in the creative industry has ever made it without collaboration and that’s what we teach.”

Truss Pieters travelled from the Netherlands to watch her son Arjan graduate at the Hilton.

She said: “He has graduated with a BA Honours in song writing. He has formed a band, Southern Sunrise, with his girlfriend who he met at BIMM. The band is doing very well