The Who were not a harmonious group, the band becomes a walking, talking street gang, ready to defend each other at the drop of a hat. However, The Who were always more likely to find themselves battering each other than batting off any would-be offenders.
Keith Moon and Roger Daltrey often found themselves on the end of each other’s square fists, while Townshend still regularly complained about his frontman’s incessant want for companionship with him.
Townshend was never particularly in love with being a member of The Who. So there was a brief sun-shining refrain when, during an interview, he was asked to look more fondly back on his live show with The Who and pick out his favourite song to perform live with the band.
Though he may seem a little dismissive in the clip, Townshend confirms: “Often, I would think ‘I love playing this’ and that’s ‘Magic Bus’ and that’s because of the rhythm I play when I’m doing it.” Perhaps owing to the guitarist’s enjoyment of the track, it would become “the most requested song” at their live shows.
However, the enthusiasm for the track did not extend to John Entwistle, who countered with, “I really hate playing ‘Magic Bus’. It was sometimes like eight minutes of A. There’s certain recordings where I actually sound like I fall asleep.”
Inspired by Ken Kesey, the beat writer who inspired a generation with his tales of an LSD-soaked bus trip across the US. Released in 1968 but written by Townshend in 1965, it is a potential follow-up to ‘My Generation’ The timing of the song’s composition shows just how ahead of the game Townshend was when it came to songwriting.
