With a UK General Election campaign underway, it is impossible to avoid, whether on television or in newspapers, the fatuous – and in the case of Jacob Rees-Mogg when discussing the Grenfell Tower tragedy – crass remarks of mealy-mouthed politicians.
‘Mealy-mouthed‘ has never been a term used to describe Pete Townshend.
As guitarist and songwriter of The Who, in interview he is verbose, witty and conflicted (often in the same lengthy answer). All of these traits evident when he spent almost ninety minutes in conversation with broadcaster and journalist Mariella Frostrup before an audience at the Central Hall, Westminster in London last week.
But this being Pete Townshend, the most articulate rock musician of his generation, he was also fascinating (in a way politicians have long-since ceased to be), funny and as one has come to expect, foul-mouthed – my youngest son and I had a bet as to the timing of Pete’s first use of the f-word, George with eight minutes almost exactly right.
Townshend was there primarily to promote his debut novel ‘The Age of Anxiety‘ which was published this week (Frostrup referring to him as ‘the oldest debut novelist in history.’)
But their discussion naturally spread to his career with The Who, ruminations on artistic endeavours – and the burst of latter-day creativity from a 74 year-old that has brought forth not only a novel, but songs for a new Who album (their first in thirteen years), scheduled to be released at the end of November.
Both projects, explained Townshend, came to fruition during a 2018 writing sabbaticial during which he also taught himself to play the pedal steel guitar (‘I thought if Ronnie Wood can play one it can’t be that difficult.’)
In describing the conception and crux of ‘The Age of Anxiety‘, he went off into what those familiar with his interviews down the years recognise as ‘Townshend tangent territory’ – Frostrup showing a sure touch throughout in steering him back to the original question.
‘I felt I had one big ambitious project, a “Tommy” or “Quadrophenia” left in me,’ he explained, going on to add: ‘A working title for the book was ‘Floss’. But then I realised the Americans would think it was something dental related. Everything is about teeth in America. I have English teeth. They are brown and tea-stained and I’m not getting them whitened, so fuck off“.
Prompted by Frostrup who revealed the film rights to ‘The Age of Anxiety‘ had been sold and that Roger Daltrey may be involved in the project, Townshend remarked: ‘Roger is a great interpreter and very good actor, but my reservation is knowing that he’d say “I like your book Pete, but here’s a few changes.” Just like when I read a recent interview with him about the new album and he said “Pete wrote some great songs, but it took a lot of work from me to turn them into Who songs”. Turn my songs into Who songs?’
Townshend rolls his eyes at the audience: ‘What does he mean by that? Sing them?’
The prospect of he and Who frontman Daltrey being involved in a film project evoked memories of the big screen adaptation of ‘Tommy‘ – the 1969 rock opera by The Who, written almost entirely by Townshend, Daltrey playing the lead role when it came to be filmed.
‘In 1974 I spent six months working on the “Tommy” film and at the end I said to Ken Russell, the director, I will never ever, ever get involved in a film again. I didn’t even like that film – liked Ken Russell, just not the film he made.’
Frostrup then reminded him of another film opportunity that came his way.
‘I was sent the script of a film Ridley Scott was planning to make,’ said Townshend, ‘I flicked through it and didn’t like it.’
‘And the film was?’ enquired Frostrup.
‘Blade Runner.’
Displaying no reticence in discussing personal issues, Townshend made reference to his days as a heavy drinker (‘I had to be drunk to stay in that awful band,’) and his arrest in 2003 for accessing a child pornography website – his intention to prove how banks were channelling profits from paedophile rings.
‘Rachel (Townshend’s wife) had tried to get me to stop obsessing over this conspiracy about the banks being complicit in the child porn trade, but I wouldn’t. The police knew I was innocent and 99% of the letters I received were supportive. It was all down to the Daily Mail, who paid £40,000 to get hold of my name while the investigation was still in process and I hadn’t yet had a chance to prove that I hadn’t hidden any evidence.’
As a creator and purveyor, first in the exhilarating early hit singles composed for The Who and then with audacious, ground-breaking albums he composed such as ‘Tommy‘, ‘Who’s Next‘ and ‘Quadrophenia,’ Townshend has barely an equal when it comes to defining what rock music can articulate and convey.
In conversation, his theorising and range of references is quite dizzying and brings to mind interviews given by Orson Welles, the equally inspired, equally loquacious film director, a man often credited with making the greatest film of all time – many holding the view that ‘Who’s Next‘ is the rock music equivalent of ‘Citizen Kane.’
One noticeable difference, however, between the two men is that by late in life (he died at 70) Welles had become a distinctly rotund figure – Townshend on the other hand appears slim and sprightly, making a claim to the Central Hall audience of ‘I’m still a fast runner. I could steal the wallet of most of the people in this room and be able to outrun them.’
He spoke candidly about deceased band mates drummer Keith Moon (died 1978) and bass guitarist John Entwistle (d. 2002) and offered an unsentimental appraisal of what The Who exist as today, 55 years into their career.
‘We’re not The Who,’ he asserted, ‘Roger and I are a brand name who play Who songs.’
During the course of the evening he delivered a range of the typically unguarded nuggets he has always been unable to resist, (‘most creative people, myself included, are completely nuts. Bob Dylan is the nuttiest person I’ve ever come across, but it’s perfect for what he does‘…….’During our recent American tour I didn’t come across one person who liked Donald Trump‘……..’I voted Remain in the EU Referendum, but not sure I would again’.)
Replying to a quote from Daltrey who has called the new Who album ‘our best since “Quadrophenia“‘ he remarked, ‘When Roger says something I’ve done is great I tend to agree with him.’
In response to a question asked by Frostrup but submitted by an audience member, who had seen The Who two hundred times, (‘I can recommend a good psychiatrist‘ quipped Townshend), on whether he would have liked to have seen the group rated by most as the greatest live band of all time, he answered ‘no, not really.’
‘What – are The Who too loud or angry?’ enquired Frostrup.
‘I just don’t like them,’ he replied in the dismissive, provocative way he sometimes views The Who, ‘but I’d go and see Primal Scream.’
‘But don’t you think,’ said Frostrup firing back, ‘in fact I know there is, a young audience who respond to what ‘Who’ songs express.’
‘People have a choice,’ he replied smiling, but sticking to his curmudgeonly guns, ‘they can go to the Natural History Museum or come and see us.’
As she brought this illuminating, hugely entertaining interlude with an authentic rock music pioneer to a close, Frostrup enquired whether there were any regrets in a career where so much had been achieved.
Initially Pete offered a shake of his head, but then remarked: ‘Yeah…..I should’ve done Blade Runner’
Contrary, candid, charismatic. From Pete Townshend we expect no less.
This article was first published on 12/11/2019.
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NEIL SAMBROOK is the author of ‘MONTY’S DOUBLE‘ – an acclaimed thriller now available as an Amazon Kindle book.
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