Pete Townshend sat down with NME for a new interview and discussed the uncertain future of The Who. During the conversation, he was asked about his views on the recent Albert Hall Who shows. Townshend revealed that he didn’t enjoy them much:
“Not much. We did rehearse for it and I’m not gonna blame Roger for f*cking up the rehearsal but the rehearsals were somewhat f*cked up. We had rehearsal time, but we didn’t rehearse, we just talked. So when it came to the show, I realized there were quite a few chords that I’d forgotten.”
He also revealed that the Albert Hall shows are not the final The Who shows, but the band would end if he or his bandmate Roger Daltrey died:
“No. I’m pretty sure there will [be more]. I can’t really see the point of making a big deal of [last Who shows], apart from the fact that it might help sell a few tickets. When we started the last US tour the year before last, some of the seats were not filled. An easy way to fill seats is to say ‘We’re not coming back’ or ‘This could be the last set of shows’. What I would prefer was that the band adjusted itself to the audience that wants to see it, rather than just saying ‘We need to fill arenas in order to go home with enough money to make the whole thing worthwhile’. The story of the end of The Who is gonna be when either Roger or I drop dead or can’t function anymore on the stage.”
Is The Who Retiring Anytime Soon?
Townshend and Daltrey share different views in terms of retirement.
While Daltrey might be up for touring ‘until he can’t anymore,’ Townshend doesn’t feel the same way. In a 2022 interview with Rolling Stone, Townshend talked about the band’s future and mentioned he’s looking forward to retiring eventually. He said:
“I don’t want to be like one of these guys that dies on tour. Roger is of the opinion that he wants to sing until he drops. That’s not my philosophy of life. There are other things that I want to do, still want to do, and will do, I hope. I hope I’ll live long enough to do them.”
The dance version of the band’s 1973 album ‘Quadrophenia’ is being developed and is scheduled to tour the UK in the summer of 2025. The ballet is Townshend’s first attempt in this genre after working in opera and literature before. You can see the dates and more information here.