In a 2023 interview with Far Out, Townshend revealed that Elton “appears on Facetime every other morning, often when I’m in bed”. Continuing, the guitarist praised Elton as “very smart” and compassionate. “He’s also a wonderful musicologist. He really keeps up with what’s new,” Townshend added. “See, when he attaches onto somebody, he’s sincere about it. I still find myself pretending to like people that I’m not sure that I like because they appear to be unbelievably cool.”
When the ‘Purple Rain’ singer passed away in 2016, aged 57, Townshend wrote a brief yet touching tribute: “Goodbye sweet Prince. Pure, certified genius at the highest level. Too soon.”
Prince and The Who’s Venn circles may not have superimposed, but they shared plenty of territory. Above all else, Townshend and Prince shared a passion for cinematic concepts, elaborate performance, progressive composition and catchy hooks. The latter left a little more glitter in his wake, but Townshend could discern a kindred spirit a mile away.
In a 1990 conversation with Guitarist magazine, Townshend opined that to make “quantum jumps” in the music industry, “intuitive players and composers” should have an “armoury” of diverse talent before they rely on intuition. “Look at somebody like Prince. He has that armoury,” Townshend suggested. “He can write an orchestral score, sit at a piano and read a part, knock out a fairly good version of the Moonlight Sonata or study Gershwin if he likes. Then you’ve got this impetuous, imp-like character grafting all this intuitive waif-like feel. You come up with that kind of magical quality.”
Indeed, Prince was a jack of all trades. Many other peers seem to concur with Townshend’s assertion of the Purple One’s “genius”. Not only was he a virtuosic guitarist and composer, but throughout his recording catalogue, he is credited with playing a mind-boggling 27 instruments.
