Pete Townshend confirms The Who’s farewell tour was a “genuine” goodbye
Pete Townshend has reflected on The Who’s recent tour, which he has confirmed is a “genuine” farewell.
Ahead of the launch of Quadrophenia: A Rock Ballet on Broadway in New York this week, Townshend appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to reflect on his career, including The Who’s final summer shows in North America.
After Colbert highlighted the fact that he previously attended farewell tours by The Who during the 1980s, Townshend initially explained the reasoning behind those runs of shows, “Let me correct you, in ’82, I left The Who. It was my farewell. In ’89, I pleaded with The Who to come back because I was broke, and we did a 25th anniversary tour.”
He then clarified that this time, The Who really are saying goodbye, before joking, “This time, the farewell tour is genuine, we are going to end it after we’ve done as many shows as Elton John.”
Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour consisted of more than 300 shows and took five years to conclude after beginning in 2018. Admittedly, it was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which pushed it into 2023.
Townshend humorously added, “He did 330, we’ve done 22, so we just have another 308 to do.”
On a serious note, Townshend also said that while he doesn’t enjoy touring, this run of dates was different, sharing, “I really enjoyed this last tour, it was great. I decided I was going to try and make Roger happy, which isn’t easy. Not because he’s a nasty guy or anything, but because he sings, and he sings the way he sings, his whole body and life goes into it.”
He earnestly continued, “I thought, I must forget about myself, and just do this for him, it could be the last thing we ever do together. And it worked.”
Townshend then said that he “loved” the tour, recalling, “I got him laughing, I got him smiling, we were hugging and telling each other that we loved each other, which is not something that has happened until now, so it was a great tour for me.”
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