Wednesday, May 1st, 1968

THE WHO: SOME REVEALING ANSWERS FROM PETE TOWNSHEND

BY MIKIE ANDREW, 15, Lakeside H.S., Ft. Wayne, Ind.

I’d like to tell you all about interviewing Peter Townshend, lead guitarist of the “Who”. When I heard that they were to appear at “The Swingin’ Gate”, Ft. Wayne, I grabbed up my trusty ole presscard and trudged downtown to make arrangements with the “Gate’s” manager.

The night of the concert, I arrived about an hour early and decided to wait backstage. As I waited, I spoke with a policeman and we single-handedly fought off hordes of door-storming fans and group imposters. Finally, a Greyhound bus pulled up and what I thought was the entire “Who” group were shown up to their dressing room. I decided to wait a while so they could get settled before going up, and busied myself by bringing in a few pieces of their equipment. I was about ready to go up, when there was a knock at the door. I just figured it was another fan, but eventually answered it anyway. Imagine my shock when I discovered I had locked Peter out!

When I finally got to the dressing room, Roger was sitting in a corner, John and Keith were playing ping-pong, and Peter was sitting on a stereo.

We exchanged greetings and Peter grinned, apparently thinking of being locked out. I asked the first question then nearly fell over dead when my pen wouldn’t write. After a minute of frantic scribbling it complied and the interview went like this:

Q: What’s the best thing that could happen to you? A: To be able to concentrate on catching up on the holidays. That’s what we’re going to do after the show.

Q: Is there anything unusual about your recording sessions? A: We don’t concentrate as much as on live performances. We try to put out a good record at a session, but we don’t enjoy it as much.

Q: Some of your songs don’t have a commercial sound. Does it take longer to create a commercial sound for a single release? A: No, we just work with stuff until it’s commercial enough. “I Can See For Miles”, was recorded a year before it was released.

Q: Do you believe in flying saucers? A: Yes! Definitely! I’ve seen them.

Q: Are any of you doing anything in the literary world? A: No, but I write most of the songs.

Q: Have you made much use of studio bands? A: No. No studio bands, orchestras or backup groups.

Q: Can you recall the first music that really impressed you? A: Rhythm and Blues mainly.

Q: Are American young people more conservative than the British, or is it the other way around? A: I find the Americans to be more conservative.

Q: Do you believe in re-incarnation? A: Yes! It’s so much more than just dying and waking up as someone or something else. It’s an entire cycle and it may take thousands of years before a person perceives having this awareness; rapport joining every being. Everyone is composed of molecules and sooner or later their structures will join and become someone or something entirely different. I can look at you, at him, at myself and know that sometime, possibly thousands of years from now, we may all be one thing. It’s so much more complex than just dropping off and returning in another form.

Q: How did the end of your act come about? A: It really began as an accident, then, as the audience began to expect it, it became a part of the act. Sometimes it doesn’t go over too well, like when they think my guitar is a dummy. (Never is.) It all depends on how the audience takes it.

Pete Townshend, lead guitarist, in action.