I have terrible hearing trouble. I have unwittingly helped to invent and refine a type of music that makes its principal proponents deaf.

Pete Townshend

 

Biography
   

Pete Townshend (born Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend on May 19, 1945 in Chiswick, London), is an award-winning English rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, and composer.

Townshend made his name as the guitarist and principal songwriter for rock band The Who. His career with them spans more than 40 years, during which time the band grew to be considered one of the greatest and most influential rock bands of all time, in addition to being "possibly the greatest live band ever." Townshend is the primary songwriter for the group, writing over 100 songs on the band's eleven studio albums, including the rock operas Tommy and Quadrophenia, plus dozens of additional songs that appeared as non-album track singles, bonus tracks on reissues and tracks on rarities compilations such as Odds and Sods. Although known mainly for being a guitarist, he is also an accomplished singer and keyboard player, and has played many other instruments on his solo albums, and on some Who albums (such as banjo, bass guitar, drums).

Townshend has been a follower of the Indian religious guru Meher Baba, whose teachings require abstinence from drug use, something with which Townshend has had several public battles. His solo career, while only sporadically active, gave him the chance to play with one of his heroes, John Lee Hooker, as well as other respected rock musicians such as Eric Clapton, David Gilmour and Ronnie Lane, among others.

In addition to Townshend's musical activities, he has written newspaper and magazine articles, book reviews, essays, books, and scripts. He has also been a long-standing supporter of various charities and other philanthropic efforts. Suffering from hearing loss as a result of extensive exposure to loud music through headphones and in concerts, Townshend helped fund the formation of Hearing Education and Awareness for Rockers.

Townshend met and married Karen Astley in 1968, but the couple separated in 1994 and Townshend announced they would divorce in 2000. In 1997 he met Rachel Fuller, his current partner.

In 2003, he was the subject of international headlines, when he accepted a Police Caution for accessing a website alleged to advertise child pornography. (Investigative journalist Duncan Campbell later stated in a Guardian article that Townshend was "falsely accused of accessing child pornography." ) Despite this potentially career-ending controversy, in 2006, The Who released its first album of new material in almost 25 years, and launched a successful world tour.Contents [hide]

Biography

Childhood

Born into a musical family (his father Cliff Townshend was a professional saxophonist in The Squadronaires and his mother Betty a singer), Townshend exhibited a fascination with music at an early age. He had early exposure to American rock and roll (his mother recounts that he repeatedly saw the 1956 film Rock Around the Clock) and obtained his first guitar from his grandmother at age 12, which he described as a "Cheap Spanish thing."

Townshend's biggest guitar influences include Link Wray, John Lee Hooker, Bo Diddley and Hank Marvin of The Shadows.

Early career

In 1961 Townshend enrolled at Ealing Art College, and, a year later, he and his school friend from Acton County Grammar School John Entwistle founded their first band, The Confederates, a Dixieland duet featuring Townshend on banjo and Entwistle on horn. From this beginning they moved on to The Detours, a skiffle/rock and roll band fronted by then sheet-metal welder Roger Daltrey. In early 1964 The Detours renamed themselves The Who. Drummer Doug Sandom was replaced by Keith Moon not long afterwards. The band (now comprising Daltrey on vocals, Townshend on guitar, Entwistle on bass, and Moon on drums) were soon taken on by a mod publicist (named Peter Meaden) who convinced them to change their name to The High Numbers to give the band more of a mod feel. After bringing out one single ("Zoot Suit"), they dropped Meaden and were signed on by two new managers, Chris Stamp and Kit Lambert. They dropped The High Numbers name and reverted to The Who.

Breakthrough of The Who

After The High Numbers once again became The Who, Townshend wrote several successful singles for the band, including "I Can't Explain," "Pictures of Lily," "Substitute," and "My Generation". Townshend became known for his eccentric stage style during the band's early days, often interrupting concerts with lengthy introductions of songs, swinging his right arm against the guitar strings in his signature windmill-style, often smashing guitars on stage, and often repeatedly throwing his guitars into his amplifiers and speaker cabinets. Although the first incident of guitar-smashing was thought to be an accident, the onstage destruction of instruments became a regular part of The Who's performances that was further dramatized with pyrotechnics. Afterwards, he would flip it into the crowd. At a concert in Germany, a police officer walked up to him, pointed his gun at him, and ordered Townshend to stop smashing the guitar. Townshend, always a voluble interview subject, would later relate these antics to German/British artist Gustav Metzger's theories on Auto-destructive art, to which he had been exposed at art school. In his later years, Townshend attributed the motivation for his onstage destruction of guitars to a youthful anger he had long since outgrown.

The Who thrived, and continue to thrive, despite the deaths of two of the original members. They are regarded by many rock critics as one of the best live bands from a period of time that stretched from the late 1960s to the early 1980s, the result of a unique combination of high volume, showmanship, a wide variety of rock beats, and a high-energy sound that alternated between tight and free-form. The Who continue to perform critically acclaimed sets in the 21st century, including a highly regarded performance at the Live 8 music festival in July 2005.

Townshend remained the primary songwriter and leader of the group, writing over 100 songs which appeared on the band's 11 studio albums. Among his most well-known accomplishments are the creation of Tommy, for which the term "rock opera" was coined, a second pioneering rock opera, Quadrophenia, his wild, guitar-smashing stage persona--which has become virtually de rigeur in the majority of rock acts since the 1970s--his use of guitar feedback as sonic technique, and the introduction of the synthesizer as a rock instrument. Townshend revisited album-length storytelling throughout his career and remains the musician most associated with the rock opera form. Townshend also demonstrated prodigious talent on the guitar and was influential as a player, developing a unique style which combined aspects of rhythm and lead guitar and a characteristic mix of abandon and subtlety. Many tracks also feature Townshend on piano or keyboards, though keyboard-heavy tracks usually featured guest artists such as Nicky Hopkins, John Bundrick or Chris Stainton.

Spiritual path

Townshend has been a follower of the Indian religious guru Meher Baba, who blended elements of Vedantic, Sufi, and mystic schools. Baba's teachings were a major source of inspiration for many of his works, including Tommy, and the unfinished Who project Lifehouse. The Who song "Baba O'Riley," written for Lifehouse and eventually appearing on the album Who's Next, was named for Meher Baba and minimalist composer Terry Riley. Although Baba's teachings require abstinence from drug use, Townshend has had several public battles with substance abuse, including a 1981 heroin overdose in which he came close to death.

Solo career

In addition to his work with The Who, Townshend has been sporadically active as a solo recording artist. Between 1969 and 1971 Townshend, along with other devotees to Meher Baba, recorded a trio of albums devoted to the yogi's teachings: Happy Birthday, I Am, and With Love. In response to bootlegging of these, he compiled his personal highlights (and "Evolution", a collaboration with Ronnie Lane), and released his first major-label solo title, 1972's Who Came First was a moderate success and featured demos of Who songs as well as a showcase of his acoustic guitar talents. He collaborated with The Faces bassist and fellow Meher Baba devotee Ronnie Lane on a duet album (1977's Rough Mix). Townshend's solo breakthrough, following the death of Who drummer Keith Moon, was the 1980 release Empty Glass, which included a top-10 single, "Let My Love Open the Door". This release was followed in 1982 by All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes, which included the popular radio track "Slit Skirts." Through the rest of the 1980s and early 1990s Townshend would again experiment with the rock opera and related formats, releasing several story-based albums including White City: A Novel (1985), The Iron Man: A Musical (1989), and Psychoderelict (1993).

The end of the 1967 TV appearance. Townshend (far right) is about to smash his guitar against an amp.

Keith Moon sets off the explosives.

A shot of flame expands from the drum.

Keith Moon and Roger Daltrey reel from the explosive force. Townshend's tinnitus can be attributed to this event.

Townshend also got the chance to play with his hero Hank Marvin for Paul McCartney's Rockestra sessions, along with other respected rock musicians such as David Gilmour, John Bonham and Ronnie Lane.

Townshend has also recorded several live albums, including one featuring a supergroup he assembled called Deep End, who performed just two concerts and a TV show session for The Tube, to raise money for a charity supporting drug addicts. In 1984 Townshend published a collection of short stories entitled Horse's Neck. He has also reported that he is writing an autobiography. In 1993 he and Des MacAnuff wrote and directed the Broadway adaptation of the Who album Tommy, as well as a less successful stage musical based on his solo album The Iron Man, based upon the book by Ted Hughes. (MacAnuff and Townshend later co-produced the animated film The Iron Giant, also based on the Hughes story.)

A production described as a Townshend rock-opera and titled The Boy Who Heard Music was scheduled to debut as part of Vassar College's Powerhouse Summer Theater program in July 2007.

Hearing loss

Townshend suffers from partial deafness and tinnitus as a result of extensive exposure to loud music through headphones and in concert, including The Who concert at Charlton Athletic Football Ground, London 1976-05-31, that was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records, where the volume level was measured at 126 dB 32 m from the stage. A big part of his condition can be attributed to an infamous 1967 appearance on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. While Townshend was standing in front of him, Keith Moon rigged his drum kit to set off more explosives than he was supposed to. In 1989, Townshend gave the initial funding to allow the formation of the non-profit hearing advocacy group H.E.A.R. (Hearing Education and Awareness for Rockers).

Personal relationships

Townshend met Karen Astley (daughter of composer Ted Astley) while in art school and married her in 1968. The couple separated in 1994 and Townshend announced they would divorce in 2000. They have three children, Emma (b. 1969), who is a singer/songwriter, Aminta (b. 1971), and Joseph (b. 1989). For many years Townshend refused to confirm or deny rumors that he was bisexual. In a 2002 interview with Rolling Stone magazine, however, he explained that, although he engaged in some brief same-sex experimentation in the 1960s, he is heterosexual. Townshend now lives with his long-time partner, musician Rachel Fuller. He currently lives in Richmond, England.

Police caution

As part of the Operation Ore investigations, Townshend was cautioned by the police in 2003 after acknowledging a credit card access in 1999 to the Landslide website alleged to advertise child pornography. He claimed in the press and on his website to have been engaged in research for A Different Bomb (a now-abandoned book based on an anti-child pornography essay published on his website in January 2002), his autobiography and as part of a campaign against child pornography. The police searched his house and confiscated 14 computers and other materials and after a four-month forensic investigation confirmed that they had found no evidence of child abuse images. Consequently, the police offered a caution rather than pressing charges, issuing a statement: "After four months of investigation by officers from Scotland Yard's child protection group, it was established that Mr Townshend was not in possession of any downloaded child abuse images." In a statement issued by his solicitor , Townshend said, "I accept that I was wrong to access this site, and that by doing so, I broke the law, and I have accepted the caution that the police have given me." As a statutory consequence of accepting the caution, Townshend was entered on the Violent and Sex Offender Register for five years. This would normally prevent travel abroad, but in Townshend's case such restrictions have been waived, making possible his numerous concert performances with and without The Who since receiving the caution.

A later investigator stated that he was "falsely accused". After obtaining copies of the Landslide hard drives and tracing Townshend's actions, investigative journalist Duncan Campbell wrote in PC Pro Magazine, "Under pressure of the media filming of the raid, Townshend appears to have confessed to something he didn't do." Campbell states that their entire evidence against Townshend was that he accessed a single site, which was not connected with child pornography.

New Who album after 24 year gap

From the mid-1990s through the present, Townshend has participated in a series of tours with the surviving members of The Who, including a 2002 tour that continued despite Entwistle's death.

In February 2006, a major world tour by The Who was announced to promote their first new album since 1982. Townshend published a semi-autobiographical story The Boy Who Heard Music as a serial on a blog beginning in September 2005.[15] The blog closed in October 2006, as noted on Townshend's website. It is now owned by a different user and does not relate to Townshend's work in any way. On February 25, 2006, he announced the issue of a mini-opera inspired by the novella for June 2006. In October of 2006 Pete and The Who released an album entitled Endless Wire. A full opera entitled The Boy Who Heard Music based on this concept also debuted at Vassar College in July 2007.

Literary work

Although best known for his musical compositions and musicianship, Pete Townshend has been extensively involved in the literary world for more than three decades, writing newspaper and magazine articles, book reviews, essays, books, and scripts.

An early example of Townshend’s writing came in August 1970 with the first of nine installments of "The Pete Townshend Page", a monthly column written by Townshend for the British music paper Melody Maker. The column provided Townshend’s perspective on an array of subjects, such as the media and the state of U.S. concert halls and public address systems, as well as providing valuable insight into Townshend’s mindset during the evolution of his Lifehouse project.

Townshend also wrote three sizeable essays for Rolling Stone magazine, the first of which appeared in November 1970. "In Love With Meher Baba" described Townshend’s spiritual leanings. "Meaty, Beaty, Big and Bouncy," a blow-by-blow account of The Who compilation album of the same name, followed in December, 1971. The third article, "The Punk Meets the Godmother," appeared in November 1977.

Also in 1977, Townshend founded Eel Pie Publishing, which specialized in children's titles, music books, and several Meher Baba-related publications. A bookstore named Magic Bus (after the popular Who song) was opened in London. The Story of Tommy, a book written by Townshend and his art school friend Richard Barnes about the writing of Townshend’s 1969 rock opera and the making of the 1975 Ken Russell-directed film, was published by Eel Pie the same year.

In July 1983, Townshend took a position as an acquisitions editor for London publisher Faber and Faber. Notable projects included editing Animals frontman Eric Burdon’s autobiography, Charles Shaar Murray’s award-winning Crosstown Traffic, Brian Eno and Russell Mills's More Dark Than Shark, and working with Prince Charles on a volume of his collected speeches. Pete commissioned Dave Rimmer’s Like Punk Never Happened, and was commissioning editor for radical playwright Steven Berkoff. Two years after joining Faber and Faber, Townshend decided to publish a book of his own. Horse’s Neck, published in May 1985, was a collection of short stories he’d written between 1979 and 1984, tackling subjects such as childhood, stardom and spirituality. As a result of his position with Faber and Faber, Townshend developed a friendship with the Nobel prize-winning author of Lord of the Flies, Sir William Golding, and became friends with British Poet Laureate Ted Hughes. His friendship with Hughes led to Townshend’s musical interpretation of Hughes's children's story, The Iron Man, six years later.

Townshend has written several scripts spanning the breadth of his career, including numerous drafts of his elusive Lifehouse project, the last of which, co-written with radio playwright Jeff Young, was published in 1999. In 1978, Townshend wrote a script for "Fish Shop" a play commissioned but not completed by London Weekend Television, and in mid-1984 he wrote a script for White City which led to a short film.

In 1989, Townshend began work on a novel entitled Ray High & The Glass Household, a draft of which was later submitted to his editor. While the original novel remains unpublished, elements from this story were used in Townshend’s 1993 solo album Psychoderelict.

In 1993, Townshend authored another book, The Who’s Tommy, a chronicle of the development of the award-winning Broadway version of his rock opera.

The opening of his personal website and his commerce site Eelpie.com, both in 2000, gave Townshend another outlet for literary work. Several of Townshend’s essays have been posted online, including "Meher Baba—The Silent Master: My Own Silence" in 2001, and "A Different Bomb," an indictment of the child pornography industry, the following year.

Townshend’s most recent literary contribution is The Boy Who Heard Music, a novella which began a chapter-a-week online posting in September 2005. It is now available to read at his website. Like "Psychoderelict" this is yet another extrapolation of "Lifehouse" and Ray High & The Glass Household.

Townshend signed a deal with Little, Brown publishing in 1997 to write his autobiography. Reportedly half-complete and titled "Pete Townshend: Who He?" this is a work-in-progress. Townshend's creative vagaries and conceptual machinations have been chronicled by Larry David Smith in his book "The Minstrel's Dilemma" (Praeger 1999).

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