The first moment Pete Townshend actually enjoyed being in a band: “It felt like something special”
The Who guitarist Pete Townshend never dreamed of becoming an iconic musical figure, but he somewhat accidentally fell into this occupation. The strong camaraderie that came as part of his brotherhood with Roger Daltrey, Keith Moon, and John Entwistle filled a void within Townshend’s soul, but he still had reservations about other areas of the job.
When Townshend first joined The Who, they were called The Detours, and he was a fresh-faced 16-year-old hopeful musician. He’d recently enrolled in art school, which was the path he wanted to follow, and he perceived himself as above rock ‘n’ roll artistically. At this stage, music was a hobby that Townshend wished to pursue on the side, and he never believed that he’d devote his entire adult life to the group.
Prior to joining The Who, Townshend was already best friends with bassist John Entwistle, and the two had played music together for several years since they began secondary school. He was somebody the guitarist felt protected by and could trust to be in his corner, whether on or off stage.
Similarly, singer Roger Daltrey was another layer of the protective ring that Townshend sought. In a conversation with Rolling Stone, he explained, “The gang that I joined, I needed to be in, was the gang that Roger Daltrey had, and I wanted to be in because he was tough, feared and a bit of a bully. He’s not that guy anymore, but he was at the time; he was really, really strong in the music scene in Acton, where we grew up. I just thought I’d be safe with him.”
Townshend then noted: “I was a weak little kid with a lot of childhood abuse issues and bullying issues. I just wanted to be protected by him and his group.”
In addition to being close friends, Townshend and Entwistle had already developed a telepathic musical connection from playing together at a young age, which gave them a chemistry that helped springboard The Who to international fame.
By the mid-1960s, The Who had already established themselves with their debut single, ‘My Generation’, after previously becoming one of the hottest bands in London. However, although their music was connecting with audiences, Townshend says, “It didn’t feel like art to me,” which presented a major issue for the art school graduate and further made him feel different from the rest of his bandmates.
Despite The Who’s continued rise to prominence, Townshend’s heart wasn’t fully in it, and he found himself eyeing the nearest exit. His dissatisfaction didn’t stem from tensions with his bandmates but from a lack of creative fulfilment. If this didn’t change, Townshend was prepared to walk away from the project, feeling that his artistic needs weren’t being met.
As the history books show, Townshend never quit The Who, which he puts down to one particular tour of the United States in 1969. The run of dates included a performance at the Boston Tea Party, a show that made him fall in love with the art of playing live, telling Rolling Stone. “We were allowed to stretch out, we were allowed to explore, and then find out, ‘Wow, when I do something amazingly audacious on the guitar, Keith, the drummer, and John, the bass player, they follow me’.”
The guitarist elaborated, “We had this real connection, and to me, it felt like something special, so I started to think of them not as a couple of yobbos as I had done prior to that, but as musicians.”
For Townshend, the opportunity to lean into spontaneity while playing allowed him to live in the moment at every show and treat it as a piece of performance art. The guitarist felt invigorated by the rich chemistry he shared with Entwistle and Moon, who all spoke to each other on a musical wavelength that most mere mortals can’t comprehend. After reaching this realisation, playing live was no longer a chore but a part of the job he adored and revelled in.
