Pete Townshend
Background information
Birth name	Peter Denis Blandford Townshend
Born	19 May 1945 (1945-05-19) (age 62) London, England
Genre(s)	Hard rock, pop rock, rock
Occupation(s)	Musician, Songwriter
Instrument(s)	Guitar, Piano, Vocals, Bass guitar, Drums, Mandolin, Ukulele, Banjo
Years active	1960 – present
Label(s)	Track, Polydor, Atlantic, Atco, Decca, Rykodisc
Associated acts	The Who, Deep End, Ronnie Lane
Website	petetownshend.co.uk
Notable instrument(s)
Rickenbacker 330 Gibson SG Special Gibson Pete Townsend signature Les Paul Deluxe Fender Stratocaster Gibson Pete Townshend Signature SJ-200

Pete Townshend (born Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend on 19 May 1945 in Chiswick, London), is an award-winning English rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, composer, and writer. is the 139th day of the year (140th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Hard Rock redirects here. ... For other uses, see Pop rock (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Rock music (disambiguation). ... “Instrumentalist” redirects here. ... A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. ... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ... For other uses, see Guitar (disambiguation). ... A short grand piano, with the lid up. ... In music a singer or vocalist is a type of musician who sings, i. ... A sunburst-colored Precision Bass The electric bass guitar (or electric bass; pronounced , as in base) is a bass stringed instrument played with the fingers (either by plucking, slapping, popping, or tapping) or using a pick. ... For other kinds of drums, see drum (disambiguation). ... This article is about the musical instrument. ... The ukulele (Hawaiian: , pronounced ; Anglicised pronunciation usually IPA: ), sometimes spelled ukelele (particularly in the UK) or uke, is a chordophone classified as a plucked lute; it is a subset of the guitar family of instruments, generally with four strings or four courses of strings. ... For other uses, see Banjo (disambiguation) The banjo is a stringed instrument developed by enslaved Africans in the United States, adapted from several African instruments. ... In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... Track Records is a record label founded by The Who to distribute artists and projects they wanted to support. ... Polydor Records is a record label once headquartered in Germany. ... Atlantic Records (Atlantic Recording Corporation) is an American record label, and operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Warner Music Group. ... Atco Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, currently operating through WMGs Rhino Entertainment. ... It has been suggested that Decca Music Group be merged into this article or section. ... Rykodisc Records is an American record label, and subsidiary of Warner Music Group. ... The Who are a British rock band that first formed in 1964, and grew to be considered one of the greatest[1] and most influential[2] bands in the world. ... Deep End was a short-lived supergroup founded by guitarist Pete Townshend of The Who and featuring David Gilmour of Pink Floyd. ... Ronald Lane (April 1, 1946 - June 4, 1997) was an English singer, songwriter and bass player (nicknamed Plonk) best known for his membership in two prominent English rock bands, Small Faces (1965-69) and Faces (1970-75). ... Rickenbacker 330JG Rickenbacker International Corporation, also known as Rickenbacker (pronounced ) [1]), is an electric guitar manufacturer, notable for having invented the first electric guitar during the 1930s. ... The Gibson SG is a popular model of solid-bodied electric guitar that was introduced in the early 1960s. ... The Gibson Les Paul is a popular solidbody electric guitar originally developed in the early 1950s. ... Stratocaster redirects here. ... 1960 Gibson J-200 Gibson J-200 (Super Jumbo 200) is an acoustic guitar model produced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation. ... is the 139th day of the year (140th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... For other uses, see Chiswick (disambiguation). ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ... For the UK magazine, see Guitarist (magazine). ... For other uses, see Singer (disambiguation). ... A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. ... A composer is a person who writes music. ...

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^[1] and most influential^[2] rock bands of all time, in addition to being "possibly the greatest live band ever."^[3] 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 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). The Who are a British rock band that first formed in 1964, and grew to be considered one of the greatest[1] and most influential[2] bands in the world. ... The Whos Tommy, the first album explicitly billed as a rock opera A rock opera is a rock music album or stage production that resembles the form of an opera. ... Alternate cover Deluxe edition cover Tommy is the first of The Whos two full-scale rock operas (the second being Quadrophenia), and the first musical work explicitly billed as a rock opera. ... Alternate cover Original soundtrack version Quadrophenia is a double album released by The Who on October 19, 1973, one of the groups two full-scale rock operas. ... Odds and Sods is a compilation album by British rock band, The Who. ... For other uses, see Banjo (disambiguation) The banjo is a stringed instrument developed by enslaved Africans in the United States, adapted from several African instruments. ... A sunburst-colored Precision Bass The electric bass guitar (or electric bass; pronounced , as in base) is a bass stringed instrument played with the fingers (either by plucking, slapping, popping, or tapping) or using a pick. ... For other kinds of drums, see drum (disambiguation). ...

Townshend has also written newspaper and magazine articles, book reviews, essays, books, and scripts.

Early life

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". Look up Family in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Clifford Blandford Townshend (1917-1986) was an English jazz musician noted for playing saxophone in The Royal Air Force Dance Orchestra, popularly known as The Squadronaires. ... The saxophone (colloquially referred to as sax) is a conical-bored instrument of the woodwind family. ... The Squadronaires were a band formed in the 1940s British Air Force that went on to become a popular dance band. ... Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ... Dancers Earl Barton and Lisa Gaye take the stage in Rock Around the Clock as Bill Haley and His Comets play in the background. ... For other uses, see Guitar (disambiguation). ...

Townshend's biggest guitar influences include Link Wray, John Lee Hooker, Bo Diddley and Hank Marvin of The Shadows. Link Wray and His Ray Mens The Swan Singles Collection 1963-1967 Fred Lincoln Link Wray Jr (May 2, 1929 – November 5, 2005) was an American rock and roll guitar player most noted for pioneering a new sound for electric guitars in his hit 1958 instrumental Rumble, by Link... John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an influential American post-war blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter born in Coahoma County near Clarksdale, Mississippi. ... Bo Diddley (born December 30, 1928) aka The Originator, is an influential American rock and roll singer, songwriter, and guitarist. ... Brian Robson Rankin (born 28 October 1941), known by the stage name Hank B. Marvin, is an English guitarist, lead guitarist for The Shadows. ... The Shadows were an English instrumental rock n roll group active from the 1950s to the 2000s. ...

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, due to another band with the same name, The Detours renamed themselves The Who. Drummer Doug Sandom was replaced by Keith Moon not long afterwards. The band (now comprising Daltrey on vocals and harmonica, 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. Ealing Art College is a school of higher educational in St. ... John Alec Entwistle (October 9, 1944 – June 27, 2002) was an English bass guitarist, songwriter, singer, and horn player, who was best known as the bass guitarist for the rock band The Who. ... Dixieland music is a style of jazz. ... Doghouse Skiffle Group Skiffle is a type of folk music with a jazz and blues influence, usually using homemade or improvised instruments such as the washboard, tea chest bass, kazoo, cigar-box fiddle, musical saw, comb and paper, and so forth, as well as more conventional instruments such as acoustic... Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ... Roger Harry Daltrey, CBE (born 1 March 1944), is a rock vocalist, songwriter, and actor, best known as the founder and lead singer of English rock band The Who. ... Doug Sandom (b. ... Keith Moon at his Pictures of Lily-drumkit Keith John Moon (August 23, 1946 – September 7, 1978) was the drummer of the rock group The Who. ... A harmonica is a free reed wind instrument. ... A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a public figure, especially a celebrity, or for a work such as a book or movie. ... Peter Meaden was a 1960s Mod and short time manager of the band The Who during their early days. ... Chris Stamp, a former filmmaker, was the co-manager (with Kit Lambert) and executive producer of The Who until 1973, at which point tensions between Pete Townshend and Lambert caused the management team to be replaced by former assistant Bill Curbishley. ... Kit Lambert (May 11, 1935 – April 7, 1981) was a record producer and the manager for The Who. ...

Music career

Breakthrough

See also: 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. The first incident of guitar-smashing was brought about because Townshend accidentally smashed his guitar on the low roof of an early concert venue. He was so enraged at cracking the neck of his guitar that he systematically destroyed the rest of his kit, bringing the already uneasy show to an abrupt end. The onstage destruction of instruments soon 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 are a British rock band that first formed in 1964, and grew to be considered one of the greatest[1] and most influential[2] bands in the world. ... This article is about the song. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... An instrument amplifier is an electronic amplifier designed for use with an electric or electronic musical instrument, such as an electric guitar. ... For the Marty Friedman album, see Loudspeaker (album) An inexpensive low fidelity 3. ... Gustav Metzger was born to Polish-Jewish parents in Nuremberg, Germany in 1926 and came to Britain as a refugee under the auspices of the Refugee Children movement. ... Auto-destructive art is a term invented by the artist Gustav Metzger in the early 1960s and put into circulation by his article Machine, Auto-creative and Auto-destructive Art in the summer 1962 issue of the journal Ark. ...

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^[4][5] live bands^[6][7] 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. Official Live8 DVD, released in November 2005 Live 8 was a series of concurrent benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. ...

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, and a second pioneering rock opera, Quadrophenia; his wild, guitar-smashing stage persona – which has become virtually de rigueur 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. Alternate cover Deluxe edition cover Tommy is the first of The Whos two full-scale rock operas (the second being Quadrophenia), and the first musical work explicitly billed as a rock opera. ... The Whos Tommy, the first album explicitly billed as a rock opera A rock opera is a rock music album or stage production that resembles the form of an opera. ... Alternate cover Original soundtrack version Quadrophenia is a double album released by The Who on October 19, 1973, one of the groups two full-scale rock operas. ... A short grand piano, with the lid up. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Nicholas Nicky Hopkins (February 24, 1944 in Ealing, West London – September 6, 1994 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA) was an English musician who featured on scores of the most important British and American popular music recordings of the 1960s and 1970s, playing piano and organ. ... John Rabbit Bundrick (born November 21, 1948) is a prominent American-born rock keyboardist, pianist, and organist, having played on albums by The Who, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Roger Waters, Free, and Crawler, among several others. ... A pianist who played with The Who in their rock opera album Quadrophenia Among his many other musical credits, he also was featured on on the Leon Russell album Mad Dogs and Englishmen, as well as Eric Claptons late seventies solo album, Backless. ...

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. It 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). 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. Meher Baba (Persian: مهر بابا Devanāgarī: महर बाबा ), (February 25, 1894, Merwan Sheriar Irani – January 31, 1969), was an Indian spiritual teacher who said he was the Avatar. ... Happy Birthday is a collaboration album by Pete Townshend and friends including Ronnie Lane, pressed and released in 1970 by Universal Spiritual League. ... I Am is a collaboration album by Pete Townshend and Ronnie Lane pressed in 1972. ... With Love is a 1976 album by Pete Townshend and friends dedicated to Townshends spiritual mentor Meher Baba. ... Ronald Lane (April 1, 1946 - June 4, 1997) was an English singer, songwriter and bass player (nicknamed Plonk) best known for his membership in two prominent English rock bands, Small Faces (1965-69) and Faces (1970-75). ... Who Came First is the first major-label solo album by Pete Townshend, guitarist and lead songwriter of The Who. ... Small Faces album cover Faces were an early 1970s rock band formed in 1969 from the ashes of The Small Faces after Steve Marriott left to form Humble Pie; new members Ron Wood (guitar) and Rod Stewart (vocals) (both from The Jeff Beck Group) joined Ronnie Lane (bass), Ian McLagan... Ronald Lane (April 1, 1946 - June 4, 1997) was an English singer, songwriter and bass player (nicknamed Plonk) best known for his membership in two prominent English rock bands, Small Faces (1965-69) and Faces (1970-75). ... Rough Mix was a collaboration between The Who guitarist Pete Townshend and Faces bassist Ronnie Lane, released in 1977. ... Keith Moon at his Pictures of Lily-drumkit Keith John Moon (August 23, 1946 – September 7, 1978) was the drummer of the rock group The Who. ... Empty Glass is the sophomore solo album by Pete Townshend, guitarist for the successful rock band The Who. ... Let My Love Open the Door is a song written and performed by Pete Townshend. ... All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes is the third official solo album by English Rock musician and songwriter Pete Townshend from The Who. ... The Whos Tommy, the first album explicitly billed as a rock opera A rock opera is a rock music album or stage production that resembles the form of an opera. ... White City: A Novel is a solo album by Pete Townshend of The Who. ... Psychoderelict was a concept album written, produced and engineered by Pete Townshend. ... Brian Robson Rankin (born 28 October 1941), known by the stage name Hank B. Marvin, is an English guitarist, lead guitarist for The Shadows. ... Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer-songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist, poet, entrepreneur, painter, record producer, film producer and animal-rights activist. ... A generally powerful, sometimes eerie, sometimes somber form of rock with elements of stringed instruments included, such as violins. ... David Jon Gilmour CBE (born March 6, 1946 in Cambridge) is an English musician best known as a guitarist, singer, and songwriter in the band Pink Floyd. ... John Henry Bonzo Bonham (May 31, 1948 – September 25, 1980) was an English drummer and member of the English rock band Led Zeppelin. ... Ronald Lane (April 1, 1946 - June 4, 1997) was an English singer, songwriter and bass player (nicknamed Plonk) best known for his membership in two prominent English rock bands, Small Faces (1965-69) and Faces (1970-75). ...

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 McAnuff 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. (McAnuff and Townshend later co-produced the animated film The Iron Giant, also based on the Hughes story.) // Many successful recording artists release at least one live album at some point during their career. ... Deep End was a short-lived supergroup founded by guitarist Pete Townshend of The Who and featuring David Gilmour of Pink Floyd. ... The Tube was an innovative United Kingdom pop/rock music television programme which ran which ran for 5 series, from 1982 until 1987 plus numerous specials including one at the Millennium. ... Desmond McAnuff (born June 19, 1952 in Princeton, Illinois) is a Tony award-winning director of such hit Broadway musicals as Big River and The Whos Tommy. ... For other uses of Broadway, see Broadway. ... Alternate cover Deluxe edition cover Tommy is the first of The Whos two full-scale rock operas (the second being Quadrophenia), and the first musical work explicitly billed as a rock opera. ... 1 Aspinall Street, Mytholmroyd, West Yorkshire, where Ted Hughes was born. ... The Iron Giant is a 1999 animated science fiction film, directed by Brad Bird, produced by Warner Bros. ...

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. The Boy Who Heard Music is a internet novella written by Pete Townshend. ...

Recent Who work

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.^[8] 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 25 February 2006, he announced the issue of a mini-opera inspired by the novella for June 2006. In October 2006 The Who released an album, Endless Wire. A full opera entitled The Boy Who Heard Music based on this concept also debuted at Vassar College in July 2007. The Boy Who Heard Music is a internet novella written by Pete Townshend. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... is the 56th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A novella is a narrative work of prose fiction somewhat longer than a short story but shorter than a novel. ... Endless Wire is a studio album by The Who, and their first new studio album of original material in twenty-four years following the release of Its Hard in 1982. ... Vassar College is a private, coeducational, liberal arts college situated in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, USA. Founded as a womens college in 1861, it was the first member of the Seven Sisters to become coeducational. ...

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, on 31 May 1976 that was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records, where the volume level was measured at 126 decibels 32 metres 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). This article discusses the way the word deaf is used and how deafness is perceived by hearing and Deaf communities. ... Tinnitus (pronounced or ,[1] from the Latin word for ringing[2]) is the perception of sound in the human ear in the absence of corresponding external sound(s). ... For other uses, see Headphones (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Decibel (disambiguation). ... This article is about the unit of length. ... The Smothers Brothers are an American musical-comedy team, formed by real-life brothers Tom and Dick Smothers. ... Keith Moon at his Pictures of Lily-drumkit Keith John Moon (August 23, 1946 – September 7, 1978) was the drummer of the rock group The Who. ... H.E.A.R. is a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing hearing loss, mainly from loud rock music. ...

Interviews

From the The Who's emergence on the British musical landscape, Pete Townshend could always be counted upon for good copy. By early 1966 he had become the band's spokesman, interviewed separate from the band for the BBC television series A Whole Scene Going admitting that the band used drugs and that he considered The Beatles' backing tracks "flippin' lousy". Throughout the 1960s Townshend made regular appearances in the pages of British music magazines, but it was a very long interview he gave to Rolling Stone in 1968 that sealed his reputation as one of rock's leading intellectuals and theorists. The Who are a British rock band that first formed in 1964, and grew to be considered one of the greatest[1] and most influential[2] bands in the world. ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... The White Album, see The Beatles (album). ... This article is about the magazine. ...

Townshend gave interview after interview to the newly risen underground press, not only providing them with a star for their covers, but firmly establishing his reputation as an honest and erudite commentator on the rock 'n' roll scene. In addition, he wrote his own articles, starting a regular monthly column in Melody Maker, and contributing to Rolling Stone with an article on his avatar Meher Baba and a review of The Who's album Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy. The phrase underground press, especially underground newspapers (or simply underground papers) is, these days, most often used in reference to the alternative print media, independently published and distributed, associated with the countercultural movements of the late 1960s and early 1970s. ... Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was (until its closure) the worlds oldest weekly music newspaper. ... This article is about the magazine. ... Meher Baba (Persian: مهر بابا Devanāgarī: महर बाबा ), (February 25, 1894, Merwan Sheriar Irani – January 31, 1969), was an Indian spiritual teacher who said he was the Avatar. ... The Who are a British rock band that first formed in 1964, and grew to be considered one of the greatest[1] and most influential[2] bands in the world. ... Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy is a compilation album by British rock band The Who. ...

Townshend has withdrawn from the press on occasion. On his 30th birthday, Townshend discussed his feelings that The Who were failing to journalist Roy Carr, making acid comments on fellow Who member Roger Daltrey and other leading members of the British rock community. Carr printed his remarks in the NME causing strong friction within The Who and embarrassing Townshend. Feeling betrayed, he stopped interviews with the press for over two years. The Who are a British rock band that first formed in 1964, and grew to be considered one of the greatest[1] and most influential[2] bands in the world. ... Roger Harry Daltrey, CBE (born 1 March 1944), is a rock vocalist, songwriter, and actor, best known as the founder and lead singer of English rock band The Who. ... For other uses, see NME (disambiguation). ... The Who are a British rock band that first formed in 1964, and grew to be considered one of the greatest[1] and most influential[2] bands in the world. ...

Nevertheless, Townshend has maintained close relationships with journalists, and sought them out in 1982 to describe his two-year battle with cocaine and heroin. Some of those press members turned on him in the 1980s as the punk rock revolution led to widespread dismissal of the old guard of rock. Townshend attacked two of them, Julie Burchill and Tony Parsons, in the song "Jools And Jim" on his album Empty Glass after they made some derogatory remarks about Who drummer Keith Moon. Meanwhile several journalists denounced Townshend for what they saw as a betrayal of the idealism about rock music he had espoused in his earlier interviews when The Who participated in a tour sponsored by Schlitz in 1982 and by Miller Brewing in 1989. Townshend's 1993 concept album Psychoderelict offers a scathing commentary on journalists in the character of Ruth Streeting, who attempts to scandalize the main character, Ray High. Punk rock is an anti-establishment music movement beginning around 1976 (although precursors can be found several years earlier), exemplified and popularised by The Ramones, the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. ... Julie Burchill (born July 3, 1959 in Frenchay, Bristol) is an English writer, renowned for her invective and often contentious prose. ... muffin is cool ... Empty Glass is the sophomore solo album by Pete Townshend, guitarist for the successful rock band The Who. ... Keith Moon at his Pictures of Lily-drumkit Keith John Moon (August 23, 1946 – September 7, 1978) was the drummer of the rock group The Who. ... Schlitz is an American beer, often considered the archetype of working-class beers brewed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. ... Miller Brewing is a large American piss maker based in Milwaukee. ... In popular music, a concept album is an album which is unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical (Shuker 2002, p. ... Psychoderelict was a concept album written, produced and engineered by Pete Townshend. ...

By the 1990s Pete was still a popular interview subject although his comments were sometimes given a scandalous spin. A 1990 book of interviews by Timothy White, Rock Lives, contained Townshend's thoughts on the meaning of his song "Rough Boys" that gave the mistaken impression that he was gay or bisexual. The information was picked up by the British tabloid press that spread this misinformation around the world. Townshend kept silent on the issue out of respect for his gay friends, until clarifying in a 1994 Playboy interview that he was neither gay nor bisexual. Timothy White (January 25, 1952 - June 27, 2002) was a noted rock music journalist and editor. ...

Townshend still continues to write pieces on rock and his place in it, mostly for his website but he also remains a celebrity sought after by music magazines and newspapers to the present day.

On 25 October 2006, Townshend declined at the last minute to do a scheduled interview with Sirius Satellite Radio star Howard Stern after Stern's co-host Robin Quivers and sidekick Artie Lange made joking references to his 2003 arrest^[9]. Stern conducted an interview instead with Roger Daltrey and repeatedly expressed regret about the utterances of his on-air colleagues stating that they did not reflect his own feelings of respect for Townshend. is the 298th day of the year (299th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Sirius Satellite Radio NASDAQ: SIRI is one of two satellite radio (SDARS) services operating in the United States and Canada, along with XM Satellite Radio. ... This article is a biography of Howard Stern as an individual; for information regarding his radio show see The Howard Stern Show. ... Robin Ophelia Quivers (born August 8, 1952) is an American talk show host and Howard Sterns primary co-host on his morning radio show. ... Arthur Steven Lange, Jr. ... Roger Harry Daltrey, CBE (born 1 March 1944), is a rock vocalist, songwriter, and actor, best known as the founder and lead singer of English rock band The Who. ...

Later in 2006, Townshend appeared on the popular Living Legends radio show in an exclusive interview with Opal Bonfante. The live interview was broadcasted worldwide on Radio London, his first live interview for fifteen years. Townshend spoke about his forthcoming UK tour, his online novella and his memories of the old pirate radio stations. Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Opal Bonfante (born Devon, England, 1982) is a British television and radio presenter. ... Radio London as a name has many meanings: 1. ...

Musical equipment

Throughout his solo career and his career with The Who, Townshend has played (and destroyed) a large variety of guitars. The Who are a British rock band that first formed in 1964, and grew to be considered one of the greatest[1] and most influential[2] bands in the world. ...

In the early days with The Who, Townshend played an Emile Grimshaw SS De Luxe and 6-string and 12-string Rickenbacker semi-hollow electric guitars primarily (particularly the Rose-Morris UK-imported models with special f-holes). However, as instrument-smashing became increasingly integrated into The Who's concert sets, he switched to more durable and resilient (and sometimes cheaper) guitars for smashing, such as the Fender Stratocaster, Fender Telecaster and various Danelectro models. In the late 1960s, Townshend began playing Gibson SG models almost exclusively, specifically the Special models. He used this guitar at the Woodstock and Isle of Wight shows in 1969 and 1970. The Who are a British rock band that first formed in 1964, and grew to be considered one of the greatest[1] and most influential[2] bands in the world. ... Rickenbacker 330JG Rickenbacker International Corporation, also known as Rickenbacker (pronounced ) [1]), is an electric guitar manufacturer, notable for having invented the first electric guitar during the 1930s. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... Stratocaster redirects here. ... The Fender Telecaster, also known as a Tele, is typically a dual-pickup, solid-body electric guitar made by Fender. ... Danelectro DC-3 reissue. ... The Gibson SG is a popular model of solid-bodied electric guitar that was introduced in the early 1960s. ... Woodstock may refer to: Woodstock Music and Art Festival, a 1969 U.S. rock festival which inspired a 1970 Warner Bros. ... For other uses, see Isle of Wight (disambiguation). ...

By 1972, Gibson changed the design of the SG Special which Townshend had been using previously, and thus he began using other guitars. For much of the 1970s, he used a Gibson Les Paul Deluxe, some with only two mini-humbucker pickups and others modified with a third pickup. He can be seen using several of these guitars in the documentary The Kids Are Alright, although in the studio he often played a Gretsch guitar, most notably on the album Who's Next. The Gibson Guitar Corporation, of Nashville, Tennessee, USA, is one of the worlds best-known manufacturers of acoustic and electric guitars. ... The Gibson Les Paul is a popular solidbody electric guitar originally developed in the early 1950s. ... For the song by Tom Lehrer, see That Was the Year That Was. ...

During the 1980s, Townshend mainly used Rickenbackers and Telecaster-style models built for him by Schecter and various other luthiers. Since the late-1980s, Townshend has used the Fender Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster, with Lace-Sensor pickups, both in the studio and on tour. Some of his Stratocaster guitars feature a Fishman PowerBridge piezo pick-up system to simulate acoustic guitar tones. This piezo system is controlled by an extra volume control behind the guitar's bridge. Rickenbacker 330JG Rickenbacker International Corporation, also known as Rickenbacker (pronounced ) [1]), is an electric guitar manufacturer, notable for having invented the first electric guitar during the 1930s. ... Schecter can refer to: Schecter Guitar Research, an American guitar manufacturer. ... An engravers impression of Antonio Stradivari examining an instrument. ... The Eric Clapton Stratocaster is the signature model electric guitar of English guitarist Eric Clapton, and was the first signature model guitar ever released by Fender. ...

Townshend has used a number of other electric guitars, including various Gretsch, Gibson, and Fender models. He has also used Guild, Takamine and Gibson J-200 acoustic models. One Gretsch was a vintage model given to him by Joe Walsh. Gretsch is a U.S. musical instrument manufacturer currently being distributed by guitar company Fender and drum craft company Kaman. ... The Gibson Guitar Corporation, of Nashville, Tennessee, USA, is one of the worlds best-known manufacturers of acoustic and electric guitars. ... It has been suggested that Fender Amplifier History be merged into this article or section. ... The Takamine logo. ... 1960 Gibson J-200 Gibson J-200 (Super Jumbo 200) is an acoustic guitar model produced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation. ... For other persons named Joe Walsh, see Joe Walsh (disambiguation). ...

Townshend playing a Fender Stratocaster

There are several Gibson Pete Townshend signature guitars, such as the Pete Townshend SG, the Pete Townshend J-200, and three different Pete Townshend Les Paul Deluxes. The SG was clearly marked as a Pete Townshend limited edition model and came with a special case and certificate of authenticity, signed by Townshend himself. There has also been a Pete Townshend signature Rickenbacker limited edition guitar of the model 1997, which was his main 6-string guitar in the Who's early days. The Gibson Guitar Corporation, of Nashville, Tennessee, USA, is one of the worlds best-known manufacturers of acoustic and electric guitars. ... Rickenbacker 330JG Rickenbacker International Corporation, also known as Rickenbacker (pronounced ) [1]), is an electric guitar manufacturer, notable for having invented the first electric guitar during the 1930s. ...

He also used the Gibson ES-335, one of which he donated to the Hard Rock Cafe. Townshend also used a Gibson EDS-1275 double neck very briefly around 1968, and both a Harmony Sovereign H1270 ^[10] and a Fender XII Guitar for the studio sessions for Tommy for the 12-string guitar parts. The Gibson ES-335 was the worlds first commercial semi-hollowbody electric guitar, released by Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1958. ... The Gibson EDS-1275 is a doubleneck Gibson guitar introduced in 1958. ... Harmony is the use and study of pitch simultaneity, and therefore chords, actual or implied, in music. ... It has been suggested that Fender Amplifier History be merged into this article or section. ... Alternate cover Deluxe edition cover Tommy is the first of The Whos two full-scale rock operas (the second being Quadrophenia), and the first musical work explicitly billed as a rock opera. ...

Most recently in 2006, Townshend had a pedalboard designed by longtime gear guru Pete Cornish. The board apparently is composed with a compressor, an old Boss OD-1 overdrive pedal, as well as a T-Rex Replica delay pedal. Pete Cornish is a British designer of electric guitar effects and other electronic musical instruments. ... T-Rex Engineering ApS is a manufacturer of hand-made electric guitar effects pedals. ...

Over the years, Pete Townshend has used many types of amplifiers, including Vox, Fender, Marshall, Hiwatt etc., sticking to using Hiwatt amps for most of four decades. Around the time of Who's Next, he used Fender amps. Nowadays, his rig consists of four Fender Vibro-King stacks and a Hiwatt head driving two custom made 2x12" Hiwatt/Mesa Boogie speakers. Vox is a musical equipment manufacturer formerly based in Britain, and now owned by Japanese electronics giants Korg, which is most famous for making the AC30 guitar amplifier and the Vox organ. ... Fender redirects here. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Hiwatt is a British company that manufactures amplifiers for electric guitars and bass guitars. ... For the song by Tom Lehrer, see That Was the Year That Was. ...

Townshend figured prominently in the development of what is widely known in rock circles as the "Marshall Stack". It has been recounted by others during the start of popularity of Jim Marshall's guitar amplifiers, that Townshend became a user of these amps.

He also ordered several speaker cabinets that contained eight speakers in a houseing standing nearly six feet in height with the top half of the cabinet slanted slightly upward. These became hard to move and were incredibly heavy.

Jim Marshall then cut the massive speaker cabinet into two separate speaker cabinets, at the suggestion of Townshend, with each cabinet containing four 12-inch speakers. One of the cabinets had half of the speaker baffle slanted upwards and Marshall made these two cabinets stackable. The Marshall stack was born, and Townshend used these as well as Hiwatt stacks.

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. Eel Pie Publishing is a publishing house founded by musician and author Pete Townshend in 1977, and named after Eel Pie Island. ... Henry Kenneth Alfred Russell, known as Ken Russell (born July 3, 1927), is an iconoclastic English film director, particularly well-known for his films about famous composers and his controversial, often outrageous pioneering work in film. ...

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. Faber and Faber, often abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in the UK, notable in particular for publishing a great deal of poetry and for its former editor T. S. Eliot. ... Eric Victor Burdon (born 11 May 1941, in Walker, Newcastle upon Tyne) was the lead singer of The Animals and later of War. ... Brian Eno (pronounced IPA: ) born on 15 May 1948 in Woodbridge, Suffolk, England) is an English electronic musician, music theorist and record producer. ... Steven Berkoff (born August 3, 1937) is an English actor, writer and director. ...

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. Sir William Gerald Golding (19 September 1911 – 19 June 1993) was a British novelist, poet and Nobel Prize for Literature laureate best known for his novel Lord of the Flies. ... 1 Aspinall Street, Mytholmroyd, West Yorkshire, where Ted Hughes was born. ...

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. Broadway theatre is often considered the highest professional form of theatre in the United States. ...

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. The Boy Who Heard Music is a internet novella written by Pete Townshend. ...

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).

Religion

Townshend showed no predilection for religious belief in the first years of The Who's career and few would have suspected that the violent guitar-smasher was even a closet acolyte. By the beginning of 1968, however, Townshend had begun to explore spiritual ideas. In January 1968, The Who recorded his song "Faith in Something Bigger" (Odds and Sods LP). Later that same month during a tour of Australia and New Zealand, The Small Faces' member Ronnie Lane introduced Townshend to the writings of the Indian "perfect master" Meher Baba, who blended elements of Vedantic, Sufi, and mystic schools. The Who are a British rock band that first formed in 1964, and grew to be considered one of the greatest[1] and most influential[2] bands in the world. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      This article... Odds and Sods is a compilation album by British rock band, The Who. ... Small Faces were a British mod group formed in 1965[1] by Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones, and Jimmy Winston (who was soon replaced by Ian McLagan). ... Ronald Lane (April 1, 1946 - June 4, 1997) was an English singer, songwriter and bass player (nicknamed Plonk) best known for his membership in two prominent English rock bands, Small Faces (1965-69) and Faces (1970-75). ... Meher Baba (Persian: مهر بابا DevanāgarÄ«: महर बाबा ), (February 25, 1894, Merwan Sheriar Irani – January 31, 1969), was an Indian spiritual teacher who said he was the Avatar. ... Vedanta , meaning literally the end section of the Vedas, is a branch of Hindu philosophy. ... Sufism (Arabic تصوف taṣawwuf) is a system of esoteric philosophy commonly associated with Islam. ...

Townshend swiftly absorbed all the writings of Meher Baba he could find and by April 1968, announced himself a disciple of Baba. It was at that time that Townshend, who had been searching the past two years for a basis for a rock opera, created a story inspired by the teachings of Baba and other Indian spiritualists that would ultimately become Tommy. Meher Baba (Persian: مهر بابا Devanāgarī: महर बाबा ), (February 25, 1894, Merwan Sheriar Irani – January 31, 1969), was an Indian spiritual teacher who said he was the Avatar. ... Alternate cover Deluxe edition cover Tommy is the first of The Whos two full-scale rock operas (the second being Quadrophenia), and the first musical work explicitly billed as a rock opera. ...

Tommy did more than revitalize The Who's career (which was moderately successful at this point but had plateaued), it also marked a renewal of Townshend's songwriting and his spiritual studies infused most of his work from Tommy forward, including 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. However, unlike other openly spiritual rock stars whose music became dogmatic once they discovered religion, Townshend generally soft-pedaled the religious nature of his work. This may have been because his newfound passion was not shared by his bandmates, whose attitude was tolerant, but who were unwilling to become the spokesmen for a particular religion. Few of the thousands of fans who packed stadiums across Europe and America to see The Who noticed the religious message in the songs: that "Bargain" and the middle section of "Behind Blue Eyes" from Who's Next and "Listening To You" from Tommy were all originally written as prayers, that "Drowned" from Quadrophenia and "Don't Let Go The Coat" from Face Dances were based on sayings by Meher Baba, that the "who are you, who, who, who, who" chorus from the song "Who Are You" was based on Sufi chants, or that "Let My Love Open The Door" was not a message from a lover but from God. Alternate cover Deluxe edition cover Tommy is the first of The Whos two full-scale rock operas (the second being Quadrophenia), and the first musical work explicitly billed as a rock opera. ... The Who are a British rock band that first formed in 1964, and grew to be considered one of the greatest[1] and most influential[2] bands in the world. ... For the 2005 album by the band Lifehouse, see Lifehouse (Lifehouse album). ... Teenage Wasteland redirects here. ... For the song by Tom Lehrer, see That Was the Year That Was. ... Terry Riley – (Portrait by Betty Freeman) Terry Riley (born 24 June 1935) is an American composer associated with the minimalist school. ... Bargain is a song written by Pete Townshend of The Who, and it appears on their famous album, Whos Next (1971). ... Behind Blue Eyes is a song written by Pete Townshend of The Who for his Lifehouse project. ... For the song by Tom Lehrer, see That Was the Year That Was. ... Alternate cover Original soundtrack version Quadrophenia is a double album released by The Who on October 19, 1973, one of the groups two full-scale rock operas. ... Beloved God is the common name of a prayer created by Meher Babas secretary, Adi K. Irani. ... Face Dances is an album by British rock band The Who originally released in 1981 in the US on Warner Bros. ... Meher Baba (Persian: مهر بابا Devanāgarī: महर बाबा ), (February 25, 1894, Merwan Sheriar Irani – January 31, 1969), was an Indian spiritual teacher who said he was the Avatar. ...

In interviews Townshend was more open about his beliefs, penning an article on Baba for Rolling Stone in 1970 and stating that following Baba's teachings, he was opposed to the use of all psychedelic drugs, making him one of the first rock stars with counterculture credibility to turn against their use.^[11] This article is about the magazine. ... A fractal pattern similar to the spiral patterns that may be seen as the result of some psychedelic drug experiences. ... In sociology, counterculture is a term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. ...

His stardom quickly made him the world's most notable follower of Meher Baba. Having just missed out on meeting his avatar with Baba's death 31 January 1969 (work on Tommy kept him from making the pilgrimage), Townshend made several trips to visit Baba's tomb in India as well as becoming a frequent visitor to the Meher Baba Spiritual Center in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. At home he recorded and released his most overtly spiritual songs on records assembled, pressed and sold by Baba organizations. When these records became widely bootlegged, Townshend put together a selection of the tracks for release as the solo album Who Came First. One of the songs from that album, "Parvardigar", a Baba prayer set to music by Townshend, would gradually be accepted as a hymn by the Baba movement. In 1976 he opened the Oceanic Centre in London, using it as a haven for English Baba followers and Americans making a pilgrimage to Baba's tomb as well as a place for small concerts (one such in 1979 was released on CD in 2001 as Pete Townshend & Raphael Rudd—The Oceanic Concerts) and a repository for films made of Baba. is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1969 (number) 1969 (movie) 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ... Categories: | | ... Who Came First is the first major-label solo album by Pete Townshend, guitarist and lead songwriter of The Who. ... O Parvardigar is the common name of a prayer created by Meher Baba, sometimes called the Universal Prayer or the Masters Prayer. ...

Townshend became a lower-profile member after 1982, having felt that his just-ended two-year indulgence in cocaine and heroin had made him a poor candidate to be a spokesman. Nevertheless his discipleship remains an ever-present element of his career and a key to those looking for the meaning and background to his work.

Personal life

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. Ted Astley (1922-1998) was a British composer often known by his full name Edwin Astley. ... Emma Townshend (born 1969) is a singer, songwriter and pianist. ... “Bisexual” redirects here. ... This article is about the magazine. ... Heterosexuality is a sexual orientation characterized by esthetic attraction, romantic love or sexual desire exclusively for members of the opposite sex or gender, contrasted with homosexuality and distinguished from bisexuality and asexuality. ... Rachel Fuller (b. ... Richmond is a suburb and the principal settlement of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in south west London, England. ...

Charity work

Pete Townshend has woven a long history of involvement with various charities and other philanthropic efforts throughout his career, both as a solo artist and with The Who. His first solo concert, for example, was a 1974 benefit show which was organized to raise funds for the Camden Square Community Play Center.

The earliest public example of Townshend’s involvement with charitable causes is the relationship he established with the Richmond-based Meher Baba Association. In 1968, Townshend donated the use of his former Wardour Street apartment to the Meher Baba Association. The following year, the association was moved to another Townshend-owned apartment, the Eccleston Square former residence of wife Karen. Townshend sat on a committee which oversaw the operation and finances of the center. "The committee sees to it that it is open a couple of days a week, and keeps the bills paid and the library full," he wrote in a 1970 Rolling Stone article. Meher Baba (Persian: مهر بابا DevanāgarÄ«: महर बाबा ), (February 25, 1894, Merwan Sheriar Irani – January 31, 1969), was an Indian spiritual teacher who said he was the Avatar. ... This article is about the magazine. ...

In 1969 and 1972 Townshend produced two limited-release albums, Happy Birthday and I Am, for the London-based Baba association. This led to 1972’s Who Came First, a more widespread release, 15 percent of the revenue of which went to the Baba association. A further limited release, With Love, was released in 1976. A limited-edition boxed set of all three limited releases on CD, Avatar, was released in 2000, with all profits going to the Avatar Meher Baba Trust in India, which provided funds to a dispensary, school, hospital and pilgrimage center. The Avatar Meher Baba Perpetual Public Charitable Trust (AMBPPCT) is a Trust created by Meher Baba in 1959 to fulfill after his death various directives given by him. ...

In July 1976, Townshend opened Meher Baba Oceanic, a London activity centre for Baba followers which featured film dubbing and editing facilities, a cinema and a recording studio. In addition, the centre served as a regular meeting place for Baba followers. Townshend offered very economical (reportedly £1 per night) lodging for American Baba followers who needed an overnight stay on their pilgrimages to India. "For a few years, I had toyed with the idea of opening a London house dedicated to Meher Baba," he wrote in a 1977 Rolling Stone article. "In the eight years I had followed him, I had donated only coppers to foundations set up around the world to carry out the Master’s wishes and decided it was about time I put myself on the line. The Who had set up a strong charitable trust of its own which appeased, to an extent, the feeling I had that Meher Baba would rather have seen me give to the poor than to the establishment of yet another so-called 'spiritual center'." This article is about the magazine. ...

Townshend also embarked on a project dedicated to the collection, restoration and maintenance of Meher Baba-related films. The project was known as MEFA, or Meher Baba European Film Archive.

Children's charities

Townshend has been an active champion of children’s charities. The debut of Pete Townshend’s stage version of Tommy took place at San Diego’s La Jolla Playhouse in July 1992. The show was earmarked as a benefit for the London-based Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Foundation, an organization which helps autistic and retarded children. Alternate cover Deluxe edition cover Tommy is the first of The Whos two full-scale rock operas (the second being Quadrophenia), and the first musical work explicitly billed as a rock opera. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ...

Townshend performed at a 1995 benefit organized by Paul Simon at Madison Square Garden's Paramount Theatre, for The Children’s Health Fund. The following year, Townshend performed at a benefit for the Bridge School, a California facility for children with severe speech and physical impairments. In 1997, Townshend established a relationship with Maryville Academy, a Chicago area children’s charity. Between 1997 and 2002, Townshend played five benefit shows for Maryville Academy, raising at least $1,600,000. In addition, proceeds from the sales of his 1999 release Pete Townshend Live were also donated to Maryville Academy. Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, half of the folk-singing duo Simon and Garfunkel who continues a successful solo career. ... Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG, known colloquially simply as The Garden, has been the name of four arenas in New York City, United States. ...

As a member of The Who, Pete Townshend has also performed a series of concerts, beginning in 2000, benefitting the Teenage Cancer Trust in the UK, raising several million pounds. In 2005, Townshend performed at New York’s Gotham Hall for Samsung’s Four Seasons of Hope, an annual children's charity fundraiser. The Who are a British rock band that first formed in 1964, and grew to be considered one of the greatest[1] and most influential[2] bands in the world. ... Teenage Cancer Trust is a charity that focuses on the needs of teenagers and young adults with cancer, leukaemia, Hodgkin’s and related diseases by providing specialist teenage units in NHS hospitals. ...

Drug rehabilitation

Townshend has also advocated for drug rehabilitation. “What I’m most active in doing is raising money to provide beds in clinics to help people that have become victims of drug abuse,” he said in a late 1985 radio interview. “In Britain, the facilities are very, very, very lean indeed ... although we have a national health service, a free medical system, it does nothing particularly for class A drug addicts – cocaine abusers, heroin abusers ... we’re making a lot of progress ... the British government embarked on an anti-heroin campaign with advertising, and I was co-opted by them as a kind of figurehead, and then the various other people co-opted me into their own campaigns, but my main work is raising money to try and open a large clinic.” This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. ... For other uses, see Heroin (disambiguation). ...

The "large clinic" Townshend was referring to was a plan he and drug rehabilitation pioneer Meg Patterson had devised to open a drug treatment facility in London; however, the plan failed to come to fruition. Two early 1979 concerts by the Who raised £20,000 for Patterson’s Pharmakon Clinic in Sussex.

Further examples of Townshend’s anti-drug activism took place in the form of a 1984 benefit concert, an article he wrote a few days later for Britain’s Mail On Sunday urging better care for the nation’s growing number of drug addicts, and the formation of a charitable organization, Double-O Charities, to raise funds for the causes he’d recently championed. Townshend also personally sold fund-raising anti-heroin T-shirts at a series of UK Bruce Springsteen concerts, and reportedly financed a trip for troubled former Clash drummer Topper Headon to undergo drug rehabilitation treatment. Townshend's 1985–86 band, Deep End, played two benefits at Brixton Academy in 1985 for Double-O Charities. A benefit concert is a concert featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate humanitarian crisis. ... Springsteen redirects here. ... Topper Headon Nicholas Bowen Headon (born May 30, 1955, in Bromley, Kent, England), better known as Topper Headon (because of his resemblance to the cartoon monkey), was the drummer for the English punk rock band The Clash. ...

Amnesty International

In 1979, Townshend became the first major rock musician to donate his services to the human rights organization Amnesty International when he performed three songs for its benefit show The Secret Policeman's Ball - performances that were released on record and seen in the film of the show. The show was Townshend's first major live solo appearance. Townshend's acoustic performances of three of his songs ("Pinball Wizard", "Drowned", and "Won't Get Fooled Again") were subsequently cited as having been the forerunner and inspiration for the "unplugged" phenomenon in the 1990s. Townshend had been invited to perform for Amnesty by Martin Lewis, the producer of The Secret Policeman's Ball who stated later that Townshend's participation had been the key to his securing the subsequent participation for Amnesty (in the 1981 sequel show) of Sting, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Phil Collins and Bob Geldof. Other performers inspired to support Amnesty International in future Secret Policeman's Ball shows and other benefits because of Townshend's early commitment to the organization include Peter Gabriel, Bruce Springsteen, David Gilmour and U2 singer Bono who in 1986 told Rolling Stone magazine: "I saw The Secret Policeman's Ball and it became a part of me. It sowed a seed...." Human rights are rights which some hold to be inalienable and belonging to all humans. ... Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Amnesty international Amnesty International (commonly known as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization which defines its mission as to undertake research and action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of the rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience... The Secret Policemans Ball was the third of the benefit shows staged by the British Section of Amnesty International to raise funds for its research and campaign work in the human rights field. ... Tommy track listing Fiddle About (12) Pinball Wizard (13) Theres a Doctor (14) Pinball Wizard is a song written by Pete Townshend and performed by the English rock band The Who, and featured on their 1969 rock opera Tommy. ... For the Farscape episode of the same name, see Wont Get Fooled Again (Farscape episode). ... It has been suggested that Unplugged be merged into this article or section. ... Martin Lewis. ... The Secret Policemans Ball was the third of the benefit shows staged by the British Section of Amnesty International to raise funds for its research and campaign work in the human rights field. ... This article is about the musician. ... Eric Patrick Clapton CBE (born 30 March 1945), nicknamed Slowhand, is a Grammy Award winning English rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and composer. ... Geoffrey Arnold (Jeff) Beck (born June 24, 1944 to Arnold and Ethel Beck in Wallington, Greater London) is an English rock guitarist. ... For other uses, see Phil Collins (disambiguation). ... Robert Frederick Xenon Geldof[1], KBE[2], known as Bob Geldof (born 5 October 1951) [3], is an Irish singer, songwriter, actor and political activist. ... The Secret Policemans Ball was the third of the benefit shows staged by the British Section of Amnesty International to raise funds for its research and campaign work in the human rights field. ... Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950, in Cobham,[1] Surrey, England) is an English musician. ... Springsteen redirects here. ... David Jon Gilmour CBE (born March 6, 1946 in Cambridge) is an English musician best known as a guitarist, singer, and songwriter in the band Pink Floyd. ... This article is about the Irish rock band. ... For other uses, see Bono (disambiguation). ... This article is about the magazine. ...

Miscellaneous efforts

Highlights of Pete Townshend’s other public charitable efforts include the following:

• A 1972 Tommy performance which raised nearly £10,000 for the Stars Organization for Spastics charity.
• A 1979 Rock Against Racism benefit concert, organized to raise money to pay the legal costs of those arrested in a London area anti-racism demonstration. Townshend helped organize the show, topped the bill, and supplied the event lighting and equipment.
• A 1981 Rock Against Unemployment benefit concert, part of the People’s March For Jobs campaign.
• A 1982 Prince’s Trust Gala Benefit performance.
• Involvement in fundraising supportive of Nelson Mandela’s African National Congress.
• Performing in a 1986 Royal Albert Hall benefit show for the victims of a Colombian Volcano disaster which killed over 25,000 people.
• A 2001 benefit show for San Diego’s La Jolla Playhouse which raised approximately $100,000.
• Performing in Rock the Dock, a 1998 benefit for striking Liverpool dock workers.
• Organizing an online auction in 2000 to raise funds for Oxfam’s emergency services to help those affected by floods in Mozambique and a combination of drought and food shortages in Ethiopia. Among the auctioned items were a selection of gold and platinum awards, letters from celebrities such as Eric Clapton and Paul McCartney, and musical instruments (including a smashed Rickenbacker guitar and the guitar on which Townshend composed the Who classic "Behind Blue Eyes"). The centerpiece of the auction, however, was a 1957 Fender Stratocaster which was given to Townshend as a gift by Eric Clapton after Townshend had helped arrange Clapton’s 1973 comeback show at the Rainbow. The guitar was ultimately purchased by Pete Townshend, Mick Jagger and David Bowie, and presented to British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
• Performing at the Royal Albert Hall in a 2004 Ronnie Lane tribute show which served as a fundraiser for both Lane’s family and multiple sclerosis research.

A benefit concert is a concert featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate humanitarian crisis. ... A benefit concert is a concert featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate humanitarian crisis. ... For other people named Mandela, or other uses, see Mandela. ... Albert Hall redirects here. ... Oxfam International logo Oxfam International is a confederation of 13 organizations working with over 3000 partners in more than 100 countries to find lasting solutions to poverty and injustice. ... Eric Patrick Clapton CBE (born 30 March 1945), nicknamed Slowhand, is a Grammy Award winning English rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and composer. ... Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer-songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist, poet, entrepreneur, painter, record producer, film producer and animal-rights activist. ... Rickenbacker 330JG Rickenbacker International Corporation, also known as Rickenbacker (pronounced ) [1]), is an electric guitar manufacturer, notable for having invented the first electric guitar during the 1930s. ... Stratocaster redirects here. ... Eric Patrick Clapton CBE (born 30 March 1945), nicknamed Slowhand, is a Grammy Award winning English rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and composer. ... Sir Michael Phillip Mick Jagger (born July 26, 1943) is a English rock musician, actor, songwriter, record and film producer and businessman. ... David Bowie (IPA: []) (born David Robert Jones on 1947 January 8) is an English singer, songwriter, actor, multi-instrumentalist, producer, arranger and audio engineer. ... For other people of the same name, see Tony Blair (disambiguation) Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born May 6, 1953)[1] is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, Leader of the Labour Party, and Member of Parliament for the constituency... Ronald Lane (April 1, 1946 - June 4, 1997) was an English singer, songwriter and bass player (nicknamed Plonk) best known for his membership in two prominent English rock bands, Small Faces (1965-69) and Faces (1970-75). ...

Legal troubles

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.^[12][13] 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) and 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 ^[14], 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.^[15] 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. Operation Ore is a large-scale international police operation that commenced in 1999 intending to indict thousands of users of websites featuring child pornography. ... A police caution is an alternative to prosecution available to be administered by the police in the United Kingdom. ... Child pornography refers to pornographic material depicting children. ... Forensics redirects here. ... Child sexual abuse is an umbrella term describing criminal and civil offenses in which an adult engages in sexual activity with a minor or exploits a minor for the purpose of sexual gratification. ... In the United Kingdom, the Violent and Sex Offender Register (ViSOR) is a database that can be accessed by the Police and some Probation Service personnel. ...

A later investigator stated that he was "falsely accused".^[16] 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 among the Landslide offerings which was not connected with child pornography.^[17] Duncan Campbell is a freelance investigative journalist and television producer who has specialised in intelligence issues, was prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act in the ABC Trial in 1978 and made the controversial series Secret Society for the BBC in 1987 (see Zircon affair). ... PC Pro is a computer magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom by Dennis Publishing. ...

Solo discography

• Who Came First (1972), US #69
• Empty Glass (1980), US #5 RIAA: Platinum
• All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes (1982), US #26
• Scoop (1983), US #35
• White City: A Novel (1985), US #26 RIAA: Gold
• Another Scoop (1986), US #198
• The Iron Man: A Musical (1989), US #58
• Psychoderelict (1993), US #118
• A Benefit For Maryville Academy (1998)
• Live: The Fillmore (2000)
• Live: The Empire (2000)
• Live: Sadler's Wells (2001)
• Live: La Jolla (2001)
• Scoop 3 (2001)

Although Townshend has not at this date issued an album entitled The Boy Who Heard Music an opera of that title was scheduled to debut as part of the Vassar College Powerhower Summer Theater program in July 2007. Who Came First is the first major-label solo album by Pete Townshend, guitarist and lead songwriter of The Who. ... Empty Glass is the sophomore solo album by Pete Townshend, guitarist for the successful rock band The Who. ... All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes is the third official solo album by English Rock musician and songwriter Pete Townshend from The Who. ... Scoop is a compilation album by Pete Townshend containing 25 demos of various released and unreleased Who songs, as well as demos of entirely new material. ... White City: A Novel is a solo album by Pete Townshend of The Who. ... Another Scoop is a compilation album by Pete Townshend, and essentially a sequel to Scoop. ... Psychoderelict was a concept album written, produced and engineered by Pete Townshend. ... Pete Townshend Live: A Benefit for Maryville Academy (Platinum 9555) is a 1998 live album by English Rock musician Pete Townshend, member of The Who, recorded at the House of Blues in Chicago. ... Scoop 3 is the third in a series of albums by Pete Townshend partly containing demos and alternate versions of previous Who songs. ... The Boy Who Heard Music is a internet novella written by Pete Townshend. ... Vassar College is a private, coeducational, liberal arts college situated in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, USA. Founded as a womens college in 1861, it was the first member of the Seven Sisters to become coeducational. ...

Compilations and EPs

• A Friend Is A Friend (1990)
• English Boy (1994)
• Coolwalkingsmoothtalkingstraightsmokingfirestoking (1996)
• Avatar Chronicles (2000)
• Lifehouse Chronicles (2000)
• Lifehouse Elements (2000)
• Jai Baba (2001)
• O Parvardigar (2001)
• Scooped (2002)
• Gold (2005)
• The Definitive Collection (2007)

English Boy is the first song on Pete Townshends 1993 album Psychoderelict. ... The Lifehouse Chronicles is a CD box set released in 2000 by Pete Townshend. ... This single CD set is a sampler of the 6 CD Box Set The Lifehouse Chronicles released by Pete Townshend in 2000. ... Jai Baba is an expression used by followers of Meher Baba and means Praise Baba. ... O Parvardigar is the common name of a prayer created by Meher Baba, sometimes called the Universal Prayer or the Masters Prayer. ...

Collaborations

• Happy Birthday (with Ronnie Lane) (1970)
• I Am (with Ronnie Lane) (1972)
• With Love (with Ronnie Lane) (1976)
• Rough Mix (with Ronnie Lane) (1977) US #45
• Because You're Young (with David Bowie on Scary Monsters (and super creeps) (1980)
• Deep End Live! (with David Gilmour et al) (1986)
• The Oceanic Concerts (with Raphael Rudd) (2001)
• Goddess in the Doorway and Being Mick (with Mick Jagger) (2001)
• Slow Burn (song) (with David Bowie on Heathen) (2002)

In 1968 Townshend helped assemble a band called Thunderclap Newman consisting of three musicians he knew. Pianist Andy Newman (an old art school friend), drummer John "Speedy" Keen (who had written "Armenia City in the Sky", covered by The Who on their 1967 album The Who Sell Out) and teenage guitarist Jimmy McCullough (later to join Wings). Townshend produced the band and played bass on their recordings under the tongue-in-cheek pseudonym "Bijou Drains". Their first recording was the single "Something in the Air" which became a number one hit in the UK and a substantial hit elsewhere in the world. Following this success, Townshend produced their sole album Hollywood Dreams. Happy Birthday is a collaboration album by Pete Townshend and friends including Ronnie Lane, pressed and released in 1970 by Universal Spiritual League. ... Ronald Lane (April 1, 1946 - June 4, 1997) was an English singer, songwriter and bass player (nicknamed Plonk) best known for his membership in two prominent English rock bands, Small Faces (1965-69) and Faces (1970-75). ... I Am is a collaboration album by Pete Townshend and Ronnie Lane pressed in 1972. ... With Love is a 1976 album by Pete Townshend and friends dedicated to Townshends spiritual mentor Meher Baba. ... Rough Mix was a collaboration between The Who guitarist Pete Townshend and Faces bassist Ronnie Lane, released in 1977. ... Because Youre Young is a song written by David Bowie in 1980 for the album Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps). ... David Bowie (IPA: []) (born David Robert Jones on 1947 January 8) is an English singer, songwriter, actor, multi-instrumentalist, producer, arranger and audio engineer. ... This is a live CD that contains excerpts of a 1985 performance at the Brixton Academy in Great Britain. ... David Jon Gilmour CBE (born March 6, 1946 in Cambridge) is an English musician best known as a guitarist, singer, and songwriter in the band Pink Floyd. ... Goddess in the Doorway is the fourth album by Mick Jagger and was released in 2001. ... Sir Michael Phillip Mick Jagger (born July 26, 1943) is a English rock musician, actor, songwriter, record and film producer and businessman. ... Slow Burn is a song written by David Bowie for the album Heathen in 2002. ... Thunderclap Newman is a late 1960s one-hit wonder from the United Kingdom (UK). ... John Speedy Keen was a member of the band Thunderclap Newman. ... Back cover The back cover of The Who Sell Out The Who Sell Out is The Whos third album, released in 1967. ... Jimmy McCulloch (born June 4, 1953 in Glasgow, died September 27, 1979 in London) was a Scottish musician most known for playing lead guitar in Paul McCartneys Wings from 1974 to 1977. ... For other uses, see Alias. ... Something in the Air was a UK #1 single for three weeks in July 1969 for Thunderclap Newman. ...

For albums Townshend composed as a member of The Who, see their entry. Not included are albums by other artists on which Townshend played as a session musician. Through much of 2005, Pete Townshend recorded and performed alongside his partner Rachel Fuller, a classically trained pianist and singer-songwriter. The Who are a British rock band that first formed in 1964, and grew to be considered one of the greatest[1] and most influential[2] bands in the world. ... Rachel Fuller (b. ...

In 2006, Townshend opened a website for implementation of The Lifehouse Method based on his 1971 Lifehouse concept. This website is in collaboration with composer Lawrence Ball and software developer David Snowden. Applicants at the website can input data to compose a musical 'portrait' which the musical team may then develop into larger compositions for a planned concert or series of concerts to be announced. The Lifehouse Method is an Internet site where applicants can sit for an electronic musical portrait made up from data they enter into the website. ... Lawrence Ball is a musician and composer who currently lives in North London. ...

Awards

• BRIT Awards 1983 - Life Achievement Award
• Grammy Awards 1993 - Best Musical Show Album (as composer and lyricist of 'The Who's Tommy')

The Brit Awards are the annual United Kingdom pop music awards founded by the British Phonographic Industry. ... Grammy Award statuette The Grammy Awards, presented by the Recording Academy (an association of Americans professionally involved in the recorded music industry) for outstanding achievements in the recording industry, is one of four major music awards shows held annually in the United States (the Billboard Music Awards, the American Music... Tommy (1969) is the first of The Whos two full-scale rock operas (the second being Quadrophenia), and the first musical work explicitly billed as a rock opera. ...

See also

• Guitar Moves
• Cliff Townshend
• The Who

Guitar moves are moves or stunts, which are done involving (most commonly) an electric guitar or bass guitar. ... Clifford Blandford Townshend (1917-1986) was an English jazz musician noted for playing saxophone in The Royal Air Force Dance Orchestra, popularly known as The Squadronaires. ... The Who are a British rock band that first formed in 1964, and grew to be considered one of the greatest[1] and most influential[2] bands in the world. ...

References

1. ^ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
2. ^ Encyclopedia Britannica
3. ^ Rolling Stone MagazineFirst Annual Lifetime Achievement Award in Live Music
4. ^ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
5. ^ Encyclopedia Britannica
6. ^ Rolling Stone Magazine
7. ^ First Annual Lifetime Achievement Award in Live Music
8. ^ http://www.petetownshend.co.uk/projects
9. ^ http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/10/26/D8L0GU380.html
10. ^ http://www.thewho.net/whotabs/equipment/guitar/equip-harmony12.html
11. ^ Pete Townshend – Rolling Stone, No. 71 (November 26, 1970)
12. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2648987.stm BBC
13. ^ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article539974.ece The Times
14. ^ http://edition.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/europe/05/07/uk.townshend/index.html CNN
15. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/child/story/0,7369,951373,00.html Guardian
16. ^ http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,2059832,00.html
17. ^ http://ore-exposed.obu-investigators.com/PC_PRO_Operation_Ore_Exposed_2.html Investigative journalist Duncan Campbell details flaws in the Operation Ore investigations.

1. "The Rolling Stone Interview: Pete Townshend." by Jann Wenner, Rolling Stone, 14-18 September 1968
2. "Pete and Tommy, Among Others" by Rick Sanders & David Dalton, Rolling Stone, July 12, 1969
3. "In Love With Meher Baba" by Pete Townshend, Rolling Stone, November 26, 1970
4. "The Pete Townshend Pages" by Pete Townshend, Melody Maker, 22 August 1970 - 14 April 1971
5. "Pete Townshend: The Penthouse Interview" by Cameron Crowe, Penthouse, December 1974
6. "The Spiritual Responsibility Of Pete Townshend" by Joseph Rose, Hit Parader, June 1975
7. "The Punk as Godfather" by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 31 May 1975
8. "The Punk Meets The Godmother" by Pete Townshend, Rolling Stone, 17 November 1977
9. "Conversations With Pete" by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 19 April 1980
10. "Interview with Pete Townshend" by Greil Marcus, Rolling Stone, June 26, 1980
11. "Heroes and Junkies" by Pete Townshend, Time Out, 12-18 March 1982
12. "Pete Townshend: The Penthouse Interview" by Kathleen McAuliffe, Penthouse, August 1983
13. "Pete Townshend: The Playboy Interview" by David Sheff, Playboy, February 1994
14. "An Introduction to Lifehouse" by Pete Townshend, The Richmond Review, 1999
15. "Machine Gun" by Alan Di Perna, Guitar World Acoustic, no. 38, Summer 2000
16. "Not F-F-Fade Away" by Gary Graff, Guitar One, September 2000
17. "Pete Townshend: The Rolling Stone Interview" by Chris Heath, Rolling Stone, July 2002
18. "Pete Townshend Smashes Guitar... for Charity" Modern Guitars Magazine, 12 August 2005
19. ^  Welsh Affairs Committee - Fourth Report, British House of Commons. Operation Ore "started when, in 2001, the details of 7,272 British suspects who had accessed child abuse images on a US website with their credit cards were passed to UK authorities."
20. ^  Pete Townshend: 'I am not a paedophile', The Daily Mail, 11 January 2003
21. ^  Pete Townshend's statement in full, BBC News website, 11 January 2003
22. ^  Cops can come and get me, The Sun, 12 Jan 2003 - Sun's archive is pay-per-view, story copied on internet at the Archives of The Who Mailing List
23. ^  Child porn probe police meet musician Townshend, The Daily Mail, 13 January 2003
24. ^  I need to clarify a few things I think, Pete's Diaries, 10 November 2004
25. ^  Townshend arrested over child porn, The Guardian, 14 January 2003
26. ^  Townshend to escape charges, Daily Mail, 10 March 2003: "Although police have not formally completed their inquiry, it is believed they are planning to caution Townshend. For that to happen, the 57-year-old would have to make an admission of guilt, therefore giving him a criminal record."
27. ^  Townshend on sex register, Daily Mail, 7 May 2003: "Police stressed that access and payment for child abuse images was an offence. 'Inciting others to distribute these images leads to young children being seriously sexually assaulted to meet the growing demands of the Internet customer.'"
28. ^  The MAPPA Guidance, National Probation Service for England and Wales, Circular 25/2003, 31 March 2003: "Part I of the Sex Offender Act 1997 defines registered sex offenders as those offenders having been convicted or cautioned since September 1997 of certain sexual offences, or who at that point were serving a sentence for a like offence."
29. ^ Silence Day, Pete's Diaries, 10 July 2003
30. "Pete Townshend Blows Off Howard Stern" breitbart.com, 26 October 2006
31. ^ "Operation Ore Exposed" PC Pro, 1 July 2005
32. ^ "Child porn suspects set to be cleared in evidence ‘shambles’" The Sunday Times (UK), 3 July 2005
33. David Jensen's Celebrity Podcasts: Pete Townshend." Download David Jensen's interview with Pete Townshend recorded for Capital Gold UK Radio in March 2007

Type Lower House Speaker Michael Martin, (Non-affiliated) since October 23, 2000 Leader Harriet Harman, (Labour) since June 28, 2007 Shadow Leader Theresa May, (Conservative) since May 5, 2005 Members 659 Political groups Labour Party Conservative Party Liberal Democrats Scottish National Party Plaid Cymru Democratic Unionist Party Sinn Féin... Operation Ore is a large-scale international police operation that commenced in 1999 intending to indict thousands of users of websites featuring child pornography. ... For other uses, see Guardian. ... PC Pro is a computer magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom by Dennis Publishing. ... The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper distributed in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International which is in turn owned by News Corporation. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Pete Townshend

• Pete Townshend's official web site
• The Boy Who Heard Music.com - Pete and The Who Fan Website
• Pete Townshend's commercial Eelpie web site
• "Pete's Diaries"
• Pete Townshend's equipment
• The Who Location Guide - Includes Pete Townshend locations section.
• 'A Different Bomb' by Pete Townshend as posted by The Smoking Gun website
• The Who Forum: Who & Pete Townshend News and discussion community.
• Rolling Stone interview, 1970
• The Who ("Towser") TV: Online Webcasts
• The Man Who Hears Music
• Pete Townshend: Who, He? (and Us)
• Pete Townshend: Classy and Articulate (1982 Audio interview) at Crawdaddy!
• Pete Townshend at the Internet Movie Database
• Pete Townshend at All Music Guide

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... Crawdaddy! was the first U.S. magazine of rock and roll music criticism. ... The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about movies, actors, television shows, production crew personnel, and video games. ... The All Music Guide (AMG) is a metadata database about music, owned by All Media Guide. ... The Who are a British rock band that first formed in 1964, and grew to be considered one of the greatest[1] and most influential[2] bands in the world. ... This page is a list of the various members of The Who. ... Roger Harry Daltrey, CBE (born 1 March 1944), is a rock vocalist, songwriter, and actor, best known as the founder and lead singer of English rock band The Who. ... John Alec Entwistle (October 9, 1944 – June 27, 2002) was an English bass guitarist, songwriter, singer, and horn player, who was best known as the bass guitarist for the rock band The Who. ... Keith Moon at his Pictures of Lily-drumkit Keith John Moon (August 23, 1946 – September 7, 1978) was the drummer of the rock group The Who. ... Kenneth Thomas Kenney (or Kenny) Jones (born September 16, 1948 in Stepney, London) is a veteran English rock drummer best known for his work in the Small Faces, the Faces, and The Who. ... John Rabbit Bundrick (born November 21, 1948) is a prominent American-born rock keyboardist, pianist, and organist, having played on albums by The Who, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Roger Waters, Free, and Crawler, among several others. ... Pino Palladino (born on October 17, 1957 in Cardiff, Wales, UK) is a noted rock and rhythm and blues electric bass player of Italian ancestry, related to the famous Angelo Palladino, from The Palladinos. ... Zak Starkey (born 13 September 1965 at Queen Charlottes Maternity Hospital in London) is an British drummer, is well-known as the first-born child of The Beatles drummer Ringo Starr (whose real name is Richard Starkey) and his first wife, Maureen Cox. ... Simon Townshend is a British guitarist, singer and songwriter. ... For other persons named Simon Phillips, see Simon Phillips (disambiguation). ... Doug Sandom (b. ... The Who is a British rock band of 1960s and 1970s fame. ... Tim Gorman is a rock keyboardist born and based in San Francisco. ... Brian Kehew is a Los Angeles-based musician and music producer. ... The following is a discography of albums and singles released by the UK rock band The Who. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... A Quick One (1966) is the second album released by British rock band The Who. ... Back cover The back cover of The Who Sell Out The Who Sell Out is The Whos third album, released in 1967. ... Alternate cover Deluxe edition cover Tommy is the first of The Whos two full-scale rock operas (the second being Quadrophenia), and the first musical work explicitly billed as a rock opera. ... For the song by Tom Lehrer, see That Was the Year That Was. ... Alternate cover Original soundtrack version Quadrophenia is a double album released by The Who on October 19, 1973, one of the groups two full-scale rock operas. ... The Who By Numbers (1975) is an album by British rock band The Who. ... For other uses, see Who Are You (disambiguation). ... Face Dances is an album by British rock band The Who originally released in 1981 in the US on Warner Bros. ... Its Hard is the 10th studio album by British rock band The Who and the second album after drummer Keith Moon died. ... Endless Wire is a studio album by The Who, and their first new studio album of original material in twenty-four years following the release of Its Hard in 1982. ... Live at Leeds (1970) is The Whos first live album, and indeed is their only live album that was released while the band was still recording and performing regularly. ... A live album by The Who recorded during the 1982 farewell tour My Generation I Cant Explain Substitute Behind Blue Eyes Baba ORiley Boris The Spider Who Are You Pinball Wizard See Me, Feel Me Love Reign Oer Me Long Live Rock Wont Get Fooled Again... Join Together is a box set of live material released from The Whos 1989 25th Anniversary Tour, including performance from Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey and John Entwistle with Simon Phillips on drums. ... Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970 (1970) is an album by The Who which was released in 1996. ... BBC Sessions by The Who was released 15 February 2000 on Polydor Records. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... The Who, at the time (2002) consisting of John Entwistle, Roger Datlrey, Pete Townshend, Zak Starkey, and John Rabbit Bundrick, performed a concert at the Royal Albert Hall for the Teenage Cancer Trust. ... Encore Series 2002 is a series of recordings from The Whos 2002 American Tour. ... Encore Series 2004 is a series of recordings from The Whos 2004 tour to Japan, Australia, the UK and the U.S. It contains soundboard recordings of all 18 concerts from the tour, available as 2-CD individual shows or as part of a box set. ... Encore Series 2006 is a series of recordings from The Who Tour 2006-2007. ... This is the last concert of the Its Hard tour at the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, December 17, 1982. ... Magic Bus: The Who on Tour is an album by British rock band The Who, released in the United States on November 30, 1968. ... Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy is a compilation album by British rock band The Who. ... Odds and Sods is a compilation album by British rock band, The Who. ... The Kids Are Alright (soundtrack) is an album by British rock band The Who. ... Hooligans is a two-disc compilation album of The Who. ... Join Together is a compilation album of The Who singles released from 1970 to 1973. ... Whos Greatest Hits is a 1983 condensed compilation album from The Who. ... Whos Missing is a compilation of rare and previously unreleased songs by The Who. ... Twos Missing is a compilation of rare and previously unreleased songs by The Who. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Thirty Years of Maximum R&B is a box set by British rock band, The Who. ... The Ultimate Collection (2002) by The Who is a two disc greatest hits set with both singles and top hits from albums, all of which have been remastered. ... Then and Now (2004) is an album by The Who aimed to support their comeback singles, Real Good Looking Boy and Old Red Wine. The set includes hit singles from the 60s, 70s, and 80s. ... The following is a discography of albums and singles released by the UK rock band The Who. ... The Whos Tommy, the first album explicitly billed as a rock opera A rock opera is a rock music album or stage production that resembles the form of an opera. ... Roger Daltrey as Tommy Tommy was a 1975 musical film, based on The Whos 1969 rock opera concept album Tommy. ... Quadrophenia is a 1979 British film based on the 1973 rock opera album Quadrophenia by The Who. ... Soundtrack album cover. ... Monterey Pop is a 1968 film by D.A. Pennebaker that documents the Monterey Pop Festival of 1967. ... For the album of the same name, see The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus (album) The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus is a film released in 1996 of a December 11, 1968 event put together by The Rolling Stones. ... Woodstock (subtitled 3 Days of Peace & Music) is a 1970 documentary on the Woodstock Festival in 1969. ... McVicar is a dramatic British film issued in 1980 by The Who Films, Ltd. ... Buddys Song (1990) is a film starring Chesney Hawkes, Billy Murray, Lee Ross, Nick Moran, Sharon Duce, Emma Amos and Roger Daltrey, based on the novel by Nigel Hinton. ... Peter Meaden was a 1960s Mod and short time manager of the band The Who during their early days. ... Kit Lambert (May 11, 1935 – April 7, 1981) was a record producer and the manager for The Who. ... Chris Stamp, a former filmmaker, was the co-manager (with Kit Lambert) and executive producer of The Who until 1973, at which point tensions between Pete Townshend and Lambert caused the management team to be replaced by former assistant Bill Curbishley. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with The Who. ... Duncan Nimmo is a technical manager from New Zealand. ... Bill Curbishley is a music producer, best known for his work with English rock group The Who. ... This is a history of the equipment that the English rock band The Who used. ... For the 2005 album by the band Lifehouse, see Lifehouse (Lifehouse album). ... Track Records is a record label founded by The Who to distribute artists and projects they wanted to support. ... The Who Tour 2006-2007 is The Whos first worldwide concert tour in several years. ... The Boy Who Heard Music is a internet novella written by Pete Townshend. ... A Tale of Two Springfields is an episode from season twelve of the animated TV series The Simpsons. ...