The Who’s Pete Townshend feels he doesn’t need to work as hard as Taylor Swift.
“Why does being a rock star have to be so f*cking hard,” the guitarist wondered in a new interview with Record Collector. “Why does Taylor Swift have to work so f*cking hard? Why does Bob Dylan have to be on the road 365 days a year? Why do The Rolling Stones have to go out when they’re all in their f*cking 80s?”
Townshend added, “What is it that drives them to do this? I’m just not in that gang. I don’t hate being onstage – I’m quite good at it – but obviously, I don’t get it from where Taylor Swift gets it.”
The rocker previously shared his wish to tour with the Who, saying, “It feels to me like there’s one thing the Who can do, and that’s a final tour where we play every territory in the world and then crawl off to die.”
He continued, “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.”
“I think it’s time for Roger and I to go to lunch and have a chat about what happens next,” Pete also told Record Collector in December 2023. “Because Sandringham shouldn’t feel like the end of anything, but it feels like the end of an era.”
Roger Daltrey also shared his thoughts on touring with the Who. “I won’t do it with someone who is halfhearted about it,” he said earlier this year. “The music is too important to me. The reason The Who was so powerful is because we meant it. We took your face off when we played; we didn’t swan about on stage.”
“I’d be up for it if the reason Pete’s doing it isn’t just to make money,” the singer added. “I’ll do it to make good music and to show people what we were before we leave the stage forever. You can’t just half turn up for a tour.”
Townshend’s new box set, ‘Pete Townshend Live: In Concert 1985-2001’ came out on July 26. The 14-CD set includes recordings from nine of his solo concerts between 1985 and 2001. It also has a 28-page booklet with rare photos, notes by Matt Kent, and a new interview with Townshend.