We are going to end it after we’ve done as many shows as Elton John. He did 330. We’ve done 22, so we just have another 308 to do, and then we’ll be gone for good.” (Some may remember Elton John’s enduring Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour, which wound up lasting five years.)
Although the pair have experienced a famously fraught relationship, “it worked,” Townshend said.
“I loved it because I got him laughing and got him smiling, and we were hugging each other and telling each other we loved each other, and that’s not something that has happened up until now,” he explained.
“I’m 80, I don’t like being away from my family, my studios, my dogs and my friends. I’m not looking to spend the next five years of my life waiting to fucking drop dead on the stage.”
Townshend accepted that the tour’s end “could give Roger and I permission never to call each other again,” hut he added: “I hope that doesn’t happen.”
Asked if he meant that the longtime colleagues were about to find out if they were really friends, he responded: “That’s what I’m saying.”
Then he joked: “If we stop, the Who brand will continue. We’ll be avatars in a hologram show where guitars get smashed, and people dress in Union Jack jackets and pretend to be rock gods.
“It will all be managed by Giles Martin, because he’s bored with fucking around with the Beatles. And it will be bigger than Jersey Boys!”
His Post-Farewell Tour Plans May Include “One-Man Shows”
However, Townshed also revealed that he has a whopping “140 tracks ready to go,” outside of the album. He added, “I want to continue to be creative. I’ve got songs in all kinds of development.”
In terms of what this might mean for his performance schedule, Townshend announced that he “plans to experiment with some one-man shows.”
In a recent AARP.com interview, Townshend discussed whether The Who truly will be retiring from the road after the tour.
Both of the band’s surviving original members, 81-year-old singer Roger Daltrey and 80-year-old guitarist/songwriter Pete Townshend, have insisted that this really will be the group’s final tour, despite having mounted previous supposed farewell outings.
In a recent AARP.com interview, Townshend discussed whether The Who truly will be retiring from the road after the tour. He also touched on his often-contentious relationship with Daltrey, his future musical plans, his health, and other topics.
Regarding The Who’s retirement from touring, Townshend declared, “We reserve the right to pop up again, but I think one thing is very clear: that at our age, we will not.”
Pete has said in many previous interviews that he doesn’t enjoy touring or playing live, but he expressed mixed feelings about the current trek to AARP.
