Just Be Patient! The Who Will Be Here
Free Press Teen Writer
"The Who" didn't make it to Detroit on their recent trip to the states, but I did manage to talk to their guitarist, Pete Townshend, on the phone last week.
The group was in New York to do Murray the K's big Easter show; they had to hurry back to England last Monday.
Their work permits did not allow them to perform in Detroit this trip, but they'll be on a U.S. tour from July 7-Sept. 4 with the Hermits and hopefully, they'll make Detroit then.
The group—Roger Daltrey, lead singer; John Entwistle, bass; Keith Moon, drums—has been to New York once before, but this was the first time they performed there.
"We're doing well here," Pete said in his very British accent. "It's important for us to perform in public. You really can't tell what we do by our records."
'Coming to States Turned Us On'
Pete discovered that "coming to the States turned the band on" and that "it was great to get reactions from the kids."
He also put in: "We've had a great time in New York. We've built up a following slowly but surely here . . . Every time we play we get more fans."
Pete, as you may know, is noted for getting so carried away on stage that he smashes his guitars. So far, he claims to have broken about 25 guitars, but says that he's put some together out of the smashed-up bits.
"A lot of groups forget the boys in the audience," he said, in explaining the destruction. "We have as many boys as fans as girls. The boys like an aggressive thing like smashing the equipment. We're not just a good-looking, long-haired group. The boys also can get their teeth into our music."
Pete doesn't worry too much about the damages. He explained that because he writes all their singles and gets more royalties from that, he earns more than the others in the group. The cost of the guitars just means he has to keep on earning more.
"The aim of our music is to move and impress people," Pete explained. "I don't try to write in any particular vein. In England, it's easy to write a song for what it's worth and not worry about a follow-up song."
"The Who" have been together about 2½ years. A friend came up with the name. "The group needed that kind of name in the beginning before we had our own sound," Pete said.
"The name attracted attention and people came to see what the group was. Then when they saw the group they liked us for the music. The name also looks good on a theatre marquee because it's short."
Originally, "The Who" was playing blues and Motown things until they found their own style, which utilizes feedback.
At present, Pete finds the American pop scene "exciting to me . . . so much is going on. It's bigger than the British scene. There are more people and more fun."
New 'Mothers' On the Scene
There are some new Mothers
Destroyer of 25 guitars, Pete Townshend, left, with the rest of England's Who. From left, next to Pete, are John Entwistle, Keith Moon and Roger Daltrey. Over the phone, Pete said: "We had a great time."
