Pete Townshend has made a curious admission in a recent edition of special magazine, with the famed guitarist saying he wished he had never joined The Who, the band without which he might not enjoy his mansions in Oxfordshire and Surrey, along with a place on the Sunday Times Rich List.
Speaking in an interview published in the one-off magazine The Who: The Ultimate Music Guide, published by the makers of Uncut (via NME), Townshend said he thought he’d have been better off sticking as a solo performer, and that his health might be in better shape had he not joined a band.
He said, “What would I have done differently? I would never have joined a band. Even though I am quite a good gang member and a good trooper on the road, I am bad at creative collaboration.”
He continued, “I would have made a much more effective solo performer and producer working the way Brian Eno has worked. I would be less physically damaged today.
“My ears, right wrist and shoulder would work more efficiently. In all other respects I am in extremely good shape.”
In other Who news, Townshend joined Roger Daltrey on stage at the Teenage Cancer Trust concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London on Friday (March 24). Townshend appeared for The Acid Queen and then Baba O’Riley. Daltrey performed the entirety of Tommy backed by a five-piece band, and paid emotional tribute to deceased bass player John Entwhistle, who died in 2002.
Rather amusingly, Daltrey also said at the end of his show, “Back in the 70s we used to love doing harmonies. The Beach Boys, we shit on them.”
