Saturday, April 16th, 1966

John is interviewed in the Melody Maker. The article is called "At last! Entwistle's silence is broken" There is also a brief article about The Who's current tour with The Spencer Davis Group. In addition, Substitute is #4 in the Pop 50

 

Transcription:

At last! Entwistle's silence is broken

To most, John Entwistle is a dark solid-looking gentleman who stands firm and quiet to the right of two swirling blurs known as Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey. He always seems quite unmoved by the thundering of Keith Moon’s drums in his left ear and the general on-stage commotion when the Who are in action.

John Entwistle is certainly the silent one of the Who. It’s not a dubbing he likes: “After all I do more looning about the night clubs than any of the others,” said John, “I know I never talk on interviews and that, but I find that I chat for hours to clubby people—or fans, I usually bend their ears off!”

Does John resent the other members of the Who speaking up on behalf of him all the time? “On most of our interviews I don’t say anything simply because Pete does all the nattering.

“Invariably we are asked ‘What is pop art?’ or ‘Why do you smash guitars?’ and I’m just not interested—I leave all that to Pete. The only other questions are usually like ‘What is your next record?’, or something. How are WE supposed to say anything? Pete writes and makes the demo discs of our new records so obviously he answers that one.

“I’m more concerned with our sound on stage and in what I’m playing. I think they call me the silent one because on the surface it seems I am. I don’t move about much on stage because I think the group would fly off if they didn’t have one solid person to keep it all together.

“Basically the Who are individualists and soloists so without a backbone the sound would be four people each doing solos.”

Many people have said that the Who have done just about everything with feedback and sounds, and that there is nothing left to do. Where does John think the group is going? “We’re definitely going forward all the time. Now we use more vocal harmonies and things as in The Everly Brothers’ ‘Man With Money’, and the Dion numbers we do.”

“The groups conflict over choosing material and musical policy has almost died down now,” said John over his lemon tea. “We agree on our stage numbers almost immediately. In fact our minds are working in such harmony we often all come up with the same suggestions for a new number to learn.”

The Who’s internal friction is a much publicised fact—what part does John play in this? “I like to feel that I get on with all of the group—they are easy guys to get on with. I must say that a lot of this ‘hate each other’ bit is very played up. I get on with each of them separately—but the other three are inclined to clash.”

“I understand Pete—what he’s about to do. No one understands him really well. A moody person. One day you’ll say something and he’ll jump down your throat and the next he’s extremely amiable. He’s quick tempered and believes in saying what he thinks whoever he’s with! I respect him for his imagination in composing and, sometimes, playing. Every now and again he’ll play something that’ll knock me out.

“Sometimes, if a show’s not going well, Pete will try to carry it off by a sudden urgent display of thundering and arm swinging—and other times he just won’t care a damn how it goes. He gets very angry with his equipment. A lot of that guitar bashing is because he isn’t happy with the sound he’s getting at the time.

“Keith probably knows more about me than anyone. Sometimes he acts very young—very slapstick—but sometimes he’s the opposite—adult and serious. Keith loves looning about and taking the mick. He’s just a Wembley yobo,” laughed John.

“Moony must be the loudest drummer in England. He’s a great show drummer for the Who, and very driving. Technically he’s stumped—but he swings in his own way. Rather than get a good, quick flash phrase in sometimes, he’ll just hit the drum that will sound loudest at the time.

“Roger Daltrey is an easy person to understand—but often he’s misleading and he’s not thinking what you think he is. Roger worries quite a bit.

“If the whole group is in a good mood then that always cheers Roger up as well. On stage he’s ungainly and always drops things or trips over. A very impulsive person,” said John.

“If you give him three days to do something he’ll keep changing his mind until the very last minute—so that although he’s had three days to think it over—it always ends up as last-minute impulse again.

“There’s one thing that worries me about Roger,” smiled John, “he has a fascinating way of looking into cameras, so that he always looks as if he’s miles away and going into the future!”