The Who have always been one of rock’s most aggressive acts. That has usually come out in their performances when Pete Townshend smashes his guitar and Keith Moon topples over his drum kit.
That sort of violence has always been part of the act. Townshend’s freewheeling attitude toward his guitars persisted over the years because he claims that, unlike other guitarists, he never had a relationship with the guitar. Lead singer Daltrey says he never liked Townshend’s guitar smashing very much, and says he only destroyed one guitar in his life, then quickly came to regret it.
But one thing he doesn’t regret is the time he and Pete came to blows — and the singer landed a punch that put the guitarist out of commission.
“I had one fight with Pete where I knocked him out, which I’ve always felt bad about because it was so unnecessary,” Daltrey tells Classic Rock in a new interview. “But I had no choice, because unfortunately I was the one being held back and he was hitting me with a guitar at the time.”
Not surprisingly, Townshend’s guitar of choice at the time was a Gibson SG, the very model of electric guitar that he came to prize among all others in the early 1970s, thanks to both its sound and its compliant nature when driven like an axe into the stage floor.
But Daltrey was understandably upset to find himself on the receiving end of Townshend’s unapologetic guitar-smashing tendencies.
“And if you break a Gibson SG over someone’s shoulder it’ll fucking hurt,” he says with a laugh.
As for the fight that knocked Pete out cold?
“It was only one punch,” Daltrey admits. “And unfortunately it hit him when he was off balance, coming forward after throwing a punch at me, which I dodged. It was his own fault, because he told the roadies to let me go,” he explains laughing.
“But I’ve always felt bad about it, I don’t know why. He did go out cold, and the next thing I know I’m sitting in the fucking ambulance holding his hand.”
As the Who’s only remaining members, Townshend and Daltrey have tried to keep the battles to a minimum over the years. Townshend says they still rarely see eye to eye.
He did go out cold, and the next thing I know I’m sitting in the fucking ambulance holding his hand.”
— Roger Daltrey
“We don’t communicate very well,” Townshend says. “He and I are very different and we have different needs as performers,” stemming largely these days from Daltrey’s near deafness.
The two men finished the Who’s final U.S. tour, titled The Song Is Over, on October 1 at Palm Desert, California. And while hitting the road at their respective ages is difficult, Daltrey says they owe it to the fans. He notes how the band carried on even after John Entwistle’s drug-induced death in Las Vegas at the launch of the group’s 2002 U.S. tour. He says canceling the tour was only briefly a consideration.
“But we considered everything,” he says. “We considered how many people we would be letting down.”
Even now, Daltrey says, quitting at their age without a tour would have been understandable. But both he and Townshend feel “it’s too easy at our age.
“We’ve always been a band that reflects what’s happening in our generation, and we’re unfortunately the next in line for the hole in the ground — fact of life.
“We owe it to our fans, our original fans that are our age now, to show them how to live. And you don’t fucking give up because one of your mates died, mate. You carry on. If you don’t feel you’ve got anything to offer, then by all means stop, but at the moment I feel we’ve still got a lot to offer.
"Pete’s writing new stuff now, I can still sing as good as I ever could, Pete’s one of the genius guitarists and songwriters of the last century, why not go on? It might not be the same, but it doesn’t make it irrelevant.”
While the Who's final tour is over, Townshend hasn't closed the door completely on future performances. Guesting on BBC Radio 4's My Cultural Life program this past May, Townshend was asked the inevitable: Is this really the end?
“It’s certainly the end of touring in America,” he replied. “I asked Roger if it’s the end of touring Europe, and he said, ‘We’ll have to wait and see.’”
