The show Pete Townshend will regret for the rest of his life: ‘I was really pretty fucked up from that’
In the hours after The Who’s disastrous 1979 concert at the Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati, Ohio, where 11 people lost their lives in a fan stampede through the venue’s entryways, singer Roger Daltrey remained resolute, telling reporters he had “a clear conscience as far as the band was concerned” but a feeling of “total helplessness” over the tragedy itself.
His stance is understandable to some extent, in that the aftermath led to an immediate search for someone to blame, be it the venue, the concert organisers, or the band members, and the potential of being accused of somehow causing the death of anyone, much less 11 people, is going to put anyone on the defensive. Unfortunately, when a person is on the defensive, they often struggle to express their perspective eloquently or to make wise, in-the-moment decisions, and those chickens come to roost.
“I guess it sounds kind of trite to say that life has to go on,” Daltrey said at the time, “I just hope to hell we can learn something so it doesn’t all go to waste”.
When asked about The Who’s decision to continue their tour, he waxed eloquent instead on the ethos of rock and roll, adding, “I actually feel like getting on a plane and to just keep going [home]. But I feel that would be letting rock ‘n’ roll down. Rock ‘n’ roll has a good record; the highlight of most kids’ lives. I’m going to play for those 11 kids tonight.”
And that’s exactly what happened, for as the police continued their investigation into the nightmare that had played out in Cincinnati, The Who took the stage in Buffalo, New York, and continued their US tour as planned. It was a polarising choice, and while some fans did applaud the spirit of the sentiment, the old performer’s code of ethics that the ‘show must go on’, others found it cold and heartless.
At the time, Daltrey’s view was generally shared by his bandmates, but with the benefit of 40 years of hindsight on his side, though, guitarist Pete Townshend discussed that moment with greater clarity in a 2021 interview with Mojo.
“For us, it came close on the heels of the death of Keith Moon,” Townshend said, “So it was a double blow. I was definitely still really pretty fucked up from that… We left the next day; we went to Buffalo. And I remember going on the stage, and Roger saying, and I should really make it clear I was perfectly behind what Roger said at the time, ‘Let’s play this gig for rock’n’roll and the kids of Cincinnati!’ It was just entirely inappropriate. I mean, just wrong. You know, we shouldn’t have gone on, we shouldn’t have performed.”
If anything good came of the experience, it might have been the wisdom that Townshend was able to pass along to a fellow musician when a similar crowd surge tragedy took the lives of nine fans at a Pearl Jam concert in Roskilde, Denmark, in 2000.
“When Roskilde happened,” Townshend said, “I just sent Eddie [Vedder] a two-word message: ‘Don’t leave’. And they did stay [to meet with the survivors]. And I think it was very important that they did”.
