Why Pete Townshend felt smashing his guitars was a “meaningless” act
The Who’s head honcho, Pete Townshend, quickly garnered a reputation in the 1960s for his hell-raising antics, most notably his decision to smash guitars whenever given the opportunity. Although Townshend didn’t do it every show, it became a party trick, which the crowd demanded and made him one of the most dangerous musicians on the planet.
However, while initially a spontaneous act of rock ‘n’ roll showmanship, it soon became rehearsed, making it much less impactful. Therefore, when The Who rocked up to San Francisco in 1968 for a show at the famous Filmore Theatre, Townshend decided it would be more rebellious if he restrained from pulling out the move everybody was foaming at the mouth to witness.
After the show, he explained to Rolling Stone: “I’ve obviously broken a lot of guitars, and I’ve brought eight or nine of that particular guitar I was using tonight and I could very easily have broken it and have plenty more for the future. But I just suddenly decided before I went on, that if there was anywhere in the world I should be able to walk off the stage without breaking a guitar if I didn’t want to, it would be the Fillmore.”
As he knew before heading on stage that he would refrain from smashing his guitar, Townshend admitted he was reluctant to play ‘My Generation’ because the song arrives with an expectation from fans that he wasn’t willing to fulfil.
He honestly admitted: “I think that’s why ‘My Generation’ was such a down number at the end. I didn’t really want to play it, you know, at all. I didn’t even want people to expect it to happen, because I just wasn’t going to do it.”
At that moment in time, The Who were world-renowned for their wild live shows, and there was no band quite like them. A large reason for their reputation was Townshend’s guitar-smashing antics, and while he could have kept doing this for an eternity, he valued his integrity more than playing up for the crowds.
Explaining his decision, he said: “Sometimes it gets a drag to do it. I can explain it, I can justify it, and I can enhance it, and I can do a lot of things, dramatize it and literalise it. Basically, it’s a gesture which happens on the spur of the moment. I think, with guitar smashing, just like performance itself, it’s a performance, it’s an act, it’s an instant, and it really is meaningless.”
While Townshend occasionally still smashed up guitars after making these statements, he never did it for the sake of doing so; therefore, it remained a special moment of spontaneity, which remained an impactful statement.
