“I find it impossible to see the two careers as two separate careers. When you’re holding a pen, you can only write one letter at a time” ~ Pete Townshend 2024
Newly remastered by Jon Astley, the new set is the perfect accompaniment to last year’s Pete Townshend – Live In Concert 1985-2001 box. It features expanded deluxe packaging in a CD-sized box with new art by longtime Townshend collaborator Richard Evans, sleeve notes by band archivist Matt Kent, a new exclusive Pete Townshend foreword, and rare photos and memorabilia in a 28-page book.
And also of his solo music outside of The Who called Studio Albums, complete with in liner notes packed with anecdotes from his career, People reports.
Among the anecdotes, the 79-year-old rock legend spoke about the band creating "Stadium Rock." "I handed the stadium stage to Queen and U2, and of course to Bruce Springsteen. That wasn’t a bad thing," he wrote in the compilation's album booklet.
"But we should have been a part of that Post-Punk legacy act resurgences that those acts enjoyed?"
He broke down the particular quote for Rolling Stone, explaining why the band — which at the time included Townshend, Roger Daltry and John Entwistle — had terrible timing.
“Women were coming to the studio to shag Roger Daltrey. John Entwistle was ordering food from Harrods”: Pete Townshend claims he wrote Quadrophenia “to save The Who from losing touch” due to their success. As The Who drifted into rockstar excess, Townshend saw Quadrophenia as a way to reconnect with their audience.
"The Who invented Stadium Rock. We gave it away. Our timing was terrible. When we did Live Aid, we could barely f---in’ play. Queen were in the middle of a tour, walked out there, took the whole thing, and turned it into an advert for themselves," he recalled.
Townshend added that he is a "huge" fan of Bruce Springsteen and U2 and is "very happy to see the way that they took the stadium mantle.."
Meanwhile, he "never really appreciated what Queen was about." He also liked ABBA but didn't "connect it with the lighthearted pop diversity of Queen’s catalog."
Townshend also named two songs he thinks he executed perfectly with The Who.
"With songs like 'Won’t Get Fooled Again' and 'Baba O’Riley,' I f---in’ nailed it. There’s no question. And I gave that instrument away," he said of the 1971 songs from the album Who's Next.
Townshend added that it would be "wrong" to say that he regrets it — because he doesn't. "I have to look back and say, 'Well, what is, is.' But where it really bit for us all was financially, because that moment was one where instead of playing places like the Fillmore and the occasional arena, the big acts were playing consistently huge venues."
