Formed in 1964, The Who proved their star power with iconic songs like “Pinball Wizard”, “Happy Jack”, “I Can’t Explain”, and “My Generation.” Besides gaining fame, the band found themselves going through some growing pain throughout the decades. But not letting that stop them, the band, which consisted of Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey, released 12 studio albums, with their last, Who, hitting shelves in 2019. While it has been years since an album or tour, Townshend recently cleared the air on his past comments about one more tour for the hit band.
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The initial statement about a farewell tour came from Townshend when he spoke with the New York Times. He said, “It feels to me like there’s a final tour where we play every territory in the world and then crawl off to die. I don’t get much of a buzz from performing with The Who. If I’m really honest, I’ve been touring for the money. My idea of an ordinary lifestyle is pretty elevated.”
With fans excited at the idea of another tour, Townshend cleared the air when he appeared on the Sound Up! Podcast. When asked about the possibility of another tour, he insisted, “I’m not doing a farewell tour. I think I was being sarcastic about it.”
Both Pete Townshend And Roger Daltrey Are Feeling Their Age
Explaining how the decades have made him feel, Townshend continued, “When I was 34, I wrote the song ‘Slit Skirts,’ and I think the line is ‘I’m 34 years old and I’m still wandering in a haze. I felt old at 34.”
As for Daltrey, he recently discussed turning 80 and how it felt like he was “on the way out.” Not looking to tour or get back to the stage, he pointed to his time as a curator for the Teenage Cancer Trust. “We haven’t done anything for seven months and this winter’s been brutal. I’ve been in hibernation. For the whole of January, I lost my voice completely. I live like a monk and if I went on tour for a week I’d be fit as a butcher’s dog again, but tonight, for the first time in my career, I think, ‘Blimey, this is hard.’”
(Photo by Rick Kern/Getty Images for The Who)
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