“Neglected”: Pete Townshend thought ‘The Who Sell Out’ was a wasted opportunity
Even by the vast experimental standards of the late 1960s, with virtually every other group in London’s rock scene experimenting with LSD and endlessly complex jams, The Who Sell Out was an incredibly ambitious undertaking from Pete Townshend and the gang, which is perhaps why it was never truly appreciated by mass audiences.
It isn’t as though The Who could be described as an obscure outfit at that time, either. From the release of their very first single, in fact, the band had been a stalwart of the pop charts, and were rapidly ascending to the upper echelon of the swinging Sixties rock pyramid. In only a few short years, Townshend had expertly demonstrated the diversity of his writing talents, going from Kinks-esque youth anthems like ‘My Generation’ to the postmodern pastiches that punctuate Sell Out.
Arguably, that 1967 album fell in line with the new landscape of concept albums being released at that time – the likes of The Village Green Preservation Society or Ogdens’ Nut Gone Flake, for instance. However, Sell Out boasted a particularly ambitious concept in trying to replicate or parody the kind of pirate radio broadcasts that first introduced the UK to rock and roll. Complete with fake radio jingles, product endorsements, and advertisements, the album certainly marked a departure from The Who’s previous output.
As with virtually any album operating years ahead of its time, success wasn’t immediate when it came to The Who Sell Out. For starters, namedropping real-life brands, including picturing Heinz Baked Beans and Odorono deodorant on the album sleeve, meant the album needed to be run by those brands before it could even be released.
“The record company had to wait until December to get clearances for the commercial brands mentioned on The Who Sell Out,” Townshend recalled in his memoir Who I Am. However, that wasn’t the only issue, according to the guitarist. “Despite its ambition,” he said, “Some poor material – songs that lacked teeth – was included in the half-cooked package.”
In that sense, Townshend seems to fall in line with mainstream rock opinion, severely underrating the quality of that innovative record. Even still, the guitarist managed to draw a comparison between the album and another underrated cult favourite: “Like The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour,” he claimed, “our album seemed potentially brilliant but ultimately inconclusive,” the guitarist declared.
Townshend’s disapproval of the album is undoubtedly rooted in its poor commercial performance, particularly when compared to the rest of The Who’s output. “When it was finally released. [The Who Sell Out] was The Who’s slowest-selling record in the UK so far,” he remembered.
Given its concept album structure, the record only managed to produce one hit single, too, in ‘I Can See For Miles’, which peaked at number ten – far lower than previous Who singles had climbed. In the wake of the album’s release and perceived failure, Townshend claimed that he and the band felt rather “neglected” by their fanbase, but you can hardly blame them.
If you look at the kind of material The Who had released prior to 1967, it was an entirely different world, and somebody who enjoyed the amphetamine-fueled youth rebellion of My Generation wasn’t necessarily going to tune in to a selection of spoof adverts – sod’s law.
