Veteran rocker Pete Townshend claims his band The Who “invented stadium rock” however says they gave it away to different artists corresponding to Queen, U2 and Bruce Springsteen to reap the wealthy rewards.
And Townsend, 79, believes they blew their likelihood of worldwide dominance by not being able to carry out after they took to the Wembley stage in 1985 for a prime-time early night slot at Live Aid.
Townsend stated: “I handed the stadium stage to Queen and U2, and of course to Bruce Springsteen. That wasn’t a bad thing. But we should have been a part of that post-punk legacy act resurgences that those acts enjoyed.”
The Chiswick-born guitarist continued to precise his disappointment with the efficiency they delivered on the greatest live performance of all time – 40 years in the past this July – when the band carried out a four-song set comprising My Generation, Pinball Wizard, Love, Reign O’er Me and Won’t Get Fooled Again.
At the time the hitmakers have been on considered one of their many hiatuses and the efficiency was deemed by critics to be “shambolic”.
Townsend agrees, including: “The Who invented stadium rock. We gave it away. Our timing was terrible. When we did Live Aid, we could barely f—ing play.
“Queen were in the middle of a tour, walked out there, took the whole thing, and turned it into an advert for themselves.’
“I never really appreciated what Queen was about, to be honest. I liked ABBA, but I didn’t really connect it with the light-hearted pop diversity of Queen’s catalogue. I’m a huge fan of Bruce, of course, and a big fan of U2, and very happy to see the way that they took the stadium mantle.”
Townshend added: “But with songs like ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’ and ‘Baba O’Riley,’ I f—ing nailed it. There’s no question. And I gave that instrument away.
“But it would be wrong to say that I regret it, because I don’t. I have to look back and say, ‘Well, what is, is.’ But where it really bit for us all was financially, because that moment was one where instead of playing places like the Fillmore and the occasional arena, the big acts were playing consistently huge venues.”
The musician was talking to Rolling Stone journal to advertise the discharge of his eight-CD solo boxset ‘The Studio Albums’ launched later this week.
The Who will headline Teenage Cancer Trust on the Royal Albert Hall tonight (twenty seventh March) and so they play a second present on the iconic London venue on Sunday (thirtieth March).
https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/music/2033475/rocker-pete-townshend-claims-who