The Who’s Pete Townshend reveals he recently had a knee transplant
The Who guitarist Pete Townshend has revealed that he recently underwent a successful knee transplant following an injury suffered several years ago.
On March 27th, The Who will return to the stage for the first time in 12 months for a special stripped-back performance at London’s Royal Albert Hall in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust. Last year, they played two shows at the iconic venue for the same vital cause, which were their only concerts of 2024.
Looking ahead to the performance with Rolling Stone before beginning rehearsals, Townshend admitted that the band “don’t really know what we’re doing” for the charity show and expressed that he’s “hoping to keep it simple”.
Townshend then revealed he’s nervous about returning to the Royal Albert Hall, admitting, “I’ve got no idea what it’s going to be like. I’m actually nervous. And I think Roger’s nervous as well. We’re both in our eighties, beyond our eighties, in Roger’s case. I’m 80 in May.”
The iconic guitarist then opened up about his recent health issues but stressed it was unrelated to his age, noting, “And I’ve just had a knee transplant, which it was nothing to do with being young or virile. It was to do with having an accident years ago.”
While the injury wasn’t age-related, Townshend confessed that it has made recovery more difficult, stating, “That kind of stuff gets harder as you get older. It gets harder to recover from surgery, to recover from taking loads of codeine and all of that stuff, the brain fog that’s involved in it.”
Additionally, elsewhere in the interview, Townshend said he believes he has “10 years left as a creative” and wants to cram many different projects into that time. He revealed he has “just done a thing with my friend, Reg Meuross, a song cycle about Woody Guthrie called Fire and Dust.” Townshend has also made an album with the Bookshop Band and produced an album for The Wild Things.
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