The Who’s Pete Townshend has explained in a number of recent interviews that he isn’t sure whether the group will tour again, although he is not opposed to hitting road again with his famous band. In a new interview with The Daily Beast, Townshend discussed the roadblocks in the way of another Who trek.
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The 79-year-old guitarist, singer, and songwriter explained that he and Who frontman Roger Daltrey still need to have a discussion and see if they can agree on how the band might move forward with a new live show.
“I don’t know what’s gonna happen with The Who,” he noted. “I’m hoping Roger and I can find some common ground and find some way to work again, possibly without an orchestra, because I think we’ve done that. But also, there’s this sense that we’re in the last tour period of our career. Are we just hoping to do what Bob Dylan does and just keep going?”
Townshend then spoke positively about Daltrey’s recent solo trek, which featured the singer playing a part-acoustic, part-electric set. The shows featured a mix of Who classics and deep cuts, songs from Daltrey’s solo career, and select covers, while Roger also took time to field questions submitted by fans.
“I’m encouraged by seeing what Roger’s doing in his solo tour,” Townshend said. “It seems to me that if we put a small band together and just decided to throw s— at the wall, it might be great.” But Roger and I don’t converse. We don’t talk. So, it might be difficult to land on something that we both share an interest in. But it’s there for the taking, I think.
Townshend on the Status of His Relationship with Daltrey
Having said that, Pete admitted that there currently is a lack of communication between him and Daltrey.
“Roger and I don’t converse. We don’t talk,” he revealed. “So, it might be difficult to land on something that we both share an interest in. But it’s there for the taking, I think.”
About Possibly Making Another Who Album
Meanwhile, Townshend has reported in other recent interviews that Daltrey isn’t interested making a new Who album. Regardless, The Daily Beast asked Pete if he thought might want to try “to corral [Roger] into the studio with a small group” for one more record that The Who would then promote with a tour, “like the old days.”
“I’m not gonna try to bully Roger to do anything,” Townshend replied. “I don’t want to have the job that I used to have around the time of [The Who’s 1973 album] Quadrophenia, which is bullying everybody in The Who to do exactly what I want to do.”
Pete maintained that that period of the band “was no fun,” recalling that “at the end of that, Roger knocked me out. I asked for it, but he knocked me out.”
More About a Possible New Who Tour
Reflecting again on the possibility of another Who tour, Townshend noted, “I’m hopeful. I’m certainly not saying that we won’t do anything, but Roger and I do have a bit of a river to cross. And once we cross that river, we’ll see what happens.”
Upcoming Multimedia Project Featuring Townshend, The Seeker
As recently reported, Townshend is among the contributors to a new multimedia project called The Seeker written and composed by his wife, Rachel Fuller. The multifaceted presentation is described as “a literary and musical reinvention” of Herman Hesse’s classic 1922 novel, Siddhartha.
The Seeker will be released on November 7 as an illustrated novel and companion album. The project was named after the classic 1971 Townshend-penned Who song. Pete contributed additional music and lyrics to the project, which also features Elton John and late actor Christopher Plummer.
In celebration of The Seeker’s release, a special concert featuring members of the project’s cast performing music from the album, will be held on November 6 at Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London. Tickets for the show will go on sale in September.
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