In recent weeks, The Who’s Pete Townshend made comments that appeared to contradict each other with regard to the future of his band, perhaps confusing fans. Now, in a new interview with Mojo magazine, Townshend has made a positive declaration about the group’s status: “The Who are not done yet.”
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The statement comes after Townshend teased in a March 2024 interview with The New York Times, “It feels to me like there’s one thing The Who can do, and that’s a final tour where we play every territory in the world and then crawl off to die.”
[Buy Tickets for The Who’s Tommy Musical]
He added, “I don’t get much of a buzz from performing with The Who. If I’m really honest, I’ve been touring for the money.”
Then, during an April 2024 appearance on the Sound Up! podcast, he said with regard to his comments to The New York Times, “I’m not doing a farewell tour. I think I was being sarcastic about it.”
Speaking with Mojo, Townshend wasn’t specific about The Who’s future plans, but he noted, “[My relationship with [frontman Roger Daltrey] is better than it’s even been.”
He added, “I wish it were more intimate, but that’s not possible because we are so different. But we value and respect each other more.”
About Townshend’s Working Relationship with Daltrey
Townshend then discussed his working relationship with Daltrey, and while pointing out that they now are the only official members of the group.
“The Who are a brand and a friendship, but it’s not a band,” he maintained. “It’s not a hard-working, complicated, growing and evolving f—ing jazz group. We’re not challenging each other to work musical miracles, but we’re playing music we know so well. So never say never.”
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Townshend added, “I don’t want to do what I did before and say we’re never going to work again.” The 78-year-old rock legend was referring to the period during the 1980s, after The Who had released the It’s Hard album, when he’d labeled the trek in support of the record a farewell tour, then focused on solo projects. The Who, of course, eventually reunited.
Townshend’s and Daltrey’s 2024 Plans
The Who’s most recent shows took place on March 18 and 20 at the Royal Albert Hall in London as part of the 2024 Teenage Cancer Trust benefit concert series. After that, Townshend focused on the Broadway revival of The Who’s Tommy musical, which officially opened on March 28.
Daltrey, meanwhile, will be launching a solo tour soon. The trek kicks off with June 10 show in Glenside, Pennsylvania, and runs through a June 29 gig in at the Ravinia Festival near Chicago.
Tickets for The Who’s Tommy musical and Daltrey’s concerts are available now via various outlets, including StubHub.
Two Townshend Solo Albums Reissued on Vinyl
In other Townshend news, two of his solo albums, All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes (1982) and White City: A Novel (1985), were reissued as limited-edition half-speed mastered vinyl LPs on Friday, May 17. Both albums peaked at No. 26 on the Billboard 200.
All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes had no hit singles, although it featured such gems as “The Sea Refuses No River,” “Face Dances, Pt. 2,” “Somebody Saved Me,” and “Slit Skirts.”
White City: A Novel included “Face the Face,” a Top-30 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, and “Give Blood,” which featured Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour on guitar.
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