As the Who undertake their final tour, it’s worth remembering that half the original group is no longer with us. Drummer Keith Moon died in 1978, and bass guitarist John Entwistle in 2002.
And yet guitarist Pete Townshend and singer Roger Daltrey have continued on as the Who, the famed British Invasion group, which launched its final tour on August 16. As Townshend explains, the group has become something larger than itself, which is why the duo have kept it going all these years.
“It’s a brand rather than a band,” Townshend tells AARP. “Roger and I have a duty to the music and the history. The Who [still] sells records — the Moon and Entwistle families have become millionaires. There’s also something more, really: the art, the creative work is when we perform it. We’re celebrating. We’re a Who tribute band.”
With that said, Townshend has said before he’s not fond of performing, explaining, “I don’t hate it,” he said earlier this year, “but it doesn’t fill my soul in the way that you see some performers — just their soul is filled through being on the stage. That’s not me.”
He admits to AARP that the feelings are somewhat more complicated.
“It can be lonely. I’ve thought, Well, this is my job, I’m happy to have the work, but I prefer to be doing something else.
“Then, I think, Well, I’m 80 years old. Why shouldn’t I revel in it? Why shouldn’t I celebrate?”
Townshend has spent more than 60 of those years in the Who, having formed the group when he was all of 18 or 19, after attending art college. Fame in England followed almost immediately for the group with the release of their second single, the hit “I Can’t Explain.”
Townshend would go on to become one of rock’s most singular guitarists, both with his rhythm guitar work — both with electric and acoustic guitars — and his onstage antics, including destroying guitars, making creative use of feedback and windmilling his strumming arm.
Despite the fact that he seems made for fame, Townshend says it was never a goal.
“A rock star is something I didn’t really want to happen,” he says. “[‘I Can’t Explain’] was bigger and better than the art stuff that I was a student for. So I ended up as a rock star — and I think I’m not really good at it,” he added with a laugh.
The group’s final jaunt comes amid some controversy with their drum chair. Their long-time drummer Zak Starkey was fired on April 16, 2025, then rehired, only to be let go again on May 18, 2025, stating it was time for a change after many years of his work.
Starkey has since explained that his fallout with the band began when Daltrey lost his place during the Who’s performance of “The Song Is Over” last March at the Royal Albert Hall, due to the drummer’s bass drum being too loud in Daltrey’s mix. Starkey told The Telegraph in a June interview, “What happened was I got it right and Roger got it wrong,” and blamed the error on a lack of rehearsal and proper planning.
Daltrey fired back, accusing the drummer of something akin to “character assassination.”
Townshend seems to be taking it all in stride. “It looked like Roger made a mistake, but something technical went wrong,” he says. “[Zak’s] handling of it, was, I suppose, light-hearted, but you know Roger.”
Indeed, Townshend and the singer have their own issues even after all these years together.
“We don’t communicate very well,” he says. “He and I are very different and we have different needs as performers,” stemming largely these days from Daltrey’s near deafness. “He got upset because he felt I had sometimes given the impression of having left the building. Roger complained about the fact that he is deaf. He’s a singer, and he has to be 100 percent fit in order to do his job.”
As for the future, Townshend expects he’ll do more solo work, including the release of an album built around his 2019 debut novel, The Age of Anxiety. He adds that he’ll do solo shows and that he and Daltrey might even do shows for charity or special projects.
“Together we represent all aspects of the Who legacy. You know, I’m the songwriter and creator, but Roger’s been the driving force, meaning keeping The Who band and his brand on track. Even with his solo work, we’ll continue to work together, even if we rarely socialize.”
