The Who has released quite a few stellar albums during its 60-year career, so you might think the band’s principal songwriter, Pete Townshend, might have a hard time choosing his favorite. During a recent interview with AARP.com, Townshend was posed that question, and he did have a definitive answer.
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The 80-year-old rock legend picked The Who’s 1973 rock opera Quadrophenia. The double-LP set was the band’s first album to be written and produced solely by Townshend, which Pete admitted was a factor in why he favors it so much.
“I had the most clear-cut control of it,” Townshend explained to AARP. “There were no solid songs by [late bassist] John Entwistle. I didn’t have to accommodate his wonderful, but eccentric, style of writing. I did all the demos. I didn’t have to deal with a record producer always looking at his watch. I was working with synthesizers then, and I’d become very skilled.”
Pete also noted that he appreciated how many fans related and embraced the album’s narrative, which focused on Jimmy, a disillusioned and alienated young man striving to find self-worth and contentment against the backdrop of London’s mod scene of the mid-1960s.
“Quadrophenia’s story has transformative power, the idea of young men looking ahead and at their situation,” Townshend maintained. “There are lots of questions about masculinity. It’s a heart-searching piece, especially to young kids having a bad day and looking for answers and actually not finding them.”
More About Quadrophenia
Quadrophenia was released in October 1973 in the U.S. and became The Who’s highest-charting album in the States, peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. The band’s Who Are You (1978) and WHO (2019) albums subsequently also reached No. 2 on the chart.
Although Quadrophenia yielded no major hit singles, it featured a bevy of classic Who tunes and fan favorites. Among them are “5:15,” “Love, Reign o’er Me,” “The Real Me,” “I’m One,” and I’ve Had Enough.”
In 1979, a critically acclaimed film adaptation of Quadrophenia was released. The Who also presented the album in its entirety during its 1996-1997 and 2012-2013 tours.
An orchestral version of Quadrophenia, titled Classic Quadrophenia, featuring musical contributions by Townshend and orchestrations by his wife, Rachel Fuller, was released in June 2015. Classic Quadrophenia also was presented as a live concert in 2015 and 2017.
Most recently, Quadrophenia was adapted into a ballet, also featuring an orchestral score by Fuller. Quadrophenia – A Mod Ballet was staged at a series of U.K. venues from May to July 2025.
Speaking with AARP about the ballet production, Townshend said, “[Rachel has] been so faithful to [the Quadrophenia album]. She spoke to the mood, the atmosphere and the harmonic structure. She’s made it absolutely wonderful. Hopefully, we’re gonna bring it to New York.”
About The Who’s Current Farewell Tour
As previously reported, The Who launched a new trek dubbed “The Song Is Over: The North American Farewell Tour” on Saturday, April 16, in Sunrise, Florida.
During that show, the band played five songs from Quadrophenia. The tour’s second gig, on August 19 in Newark, New Jersey, featured four tunes from the album. The Who’s next concert takes place tonight (Thursday, August 21) in Philadelphia.
The trek is mapped out through a September 28 performance in Las Vegas. Visit TheWho.com for a full list of dates.
(Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images)
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