As a famous and wealthy rock star, Pete Townshend has many reasons to be happy and content with his life, but The Who’s founding lead guitarist and principal songwriter admits in a new interview with U.K.’s The Times that he struggles mightily with “chemical depression.”
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“When I first wake up [in the morning,] I’m suicidal, actually suicidal,” he revealed to the newspaper. The 79-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer noted that it usually will take him about a half hour to snap out of his dark mood.
Townshend explained that he long ago discovered that journaling during the day helps ease his depression. He also noted that a nice snack to start the day is helpful in elevating his spirits.
“I have a couple of cups of tea, two digestive biscuits—apparently equal to 17 sugar lumps—and I feel happy,” Townshend shared. “If I start my journals before I have my cup of tea, I’ll paint a very bleak picture of my life. Despite the fact that I have everything that I want and everything that I need … And I have had a really extraordinary life.”
Townshend Is Not a Fan of Psychotherapy
Pete noted that he saw a psychiatrist for three years about 40 years ago, and was unhappy with the experience.
“After the third year, I realized that the woman counselling me had only said about three words. I was just listening to myself,” he maintained. “So now I just write journals. Every morning I rebuild myself in a sense with tea and coffee, and a few vitamin pills.”
Townshend also told The Times that he’s wary of people on social media who recommend ways to treat mental-health problems.
“I think because of social media in particular, the way that we carelessly share not only our anxieties but also perhaps our solutions [is an issue],” he said. “We’re a bit careless about that because what works for me won’t necessarily work for you.”
About Townshend’s Recent Collaboration with His Wife
As previously reported, Townshend collaborated with his wife, musician and composer Rachel Fuller, on a multimedia project called The Seeker that was based on Hermann Hesse’s 1922 novel Siddhartha. The project comprises a concept album and an illustrated book, while a concert showcasing the music from the record was held at a London theater on November 6.
Townshend contributed some music to the album, and also sang on it. The Seeker also features vocals from Elton John, Emeli Sandé, and other singers, plus music by the London Orchestra and Choir. Late actor Christopher Plummer recorded the narration featured on the album. Pete also took part in The Seeker concert.
Fuller told The Times that she recently met with British promoter and producer Harvey Goldsmith about staging more performances of The Seeker.
“[W]e are looking at the practical realities of doing the concert performance of The Seeker with cast, orchestra and choir as a longer run in the autumn of next year,” she revealed.
Noted Townshend, “[M]usicals are doing very well in London and around the U.K. So it’s an exciting time to have something like The Seeker to exploit, to develop.”
Townshend’s 2025 Plans with the Who
Meanwhile, Townshend confirmed in a recent interview with U.K. newspaper The Telegraph that he and bandmate Roger Daltrey are planning to play shows with The Who in 2025.
“We’re both a little bit ambivalent, but I’m pretty sure that we will [tour],” Pete reported. “We have accepted an offer from Live Nation to do something in America.”
No new Who shows have been announced yet. Daltrey, though, has lined up a U.K. tour with his solo band in the spring of 2025.
Pete Townshend, the Who guitarist, has said that despite struggling with crippling “chemical depression”, he would much rather write in a journal than pay for a therapist https://t.co/HoGJriOUoP
— The Times and The Sunday Times (@thetimes) November 17, 2024
(Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)
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