Pete Townshend: Last News

Pete Townshend has revealed that he has “suicidal” thoughts when he wakes up every morning.The rock legend and founding member of The Who has been open about his mental health struggles for a long time, and as he discussed in a new interview with The Sunday Times, his experience with what he describes as “chemical depression” is ongoing.“When I first wake up I’m suicidal, actually suicidal,” he said.He spoke about choosing to wake up between 2am and 5am each day to help with his mindset, explaining: “I’m still in the state that I was the day before.”He said he has “a couple of cups of tea” and “two digestive biscuits”, which he says is “apparently equal to 17 sugar lumps, and I feel happy”.Townshend sought help from a professional therapist as a younger man, but did not find it to be useful for him, but he does find value in keeping journals. “If I start my journals before I have my cup of tea, I’ll paint a very bleak picture of my life.

per Sky News.“Fortunately, I still have my voice,” he quipped, “because then I’ll have a full Tommy.”Tommy is the name of the main character from The Who’s 1969 album-turned-rock opera of the same name. He is not only deaf and blind but also mute.This wasn’t the first time Daltrey revealed he’s going “very, very deaf,” blaming his condition as the result of his more than 60-year career as a rock and roll singer.“Take your f–king earplugs with you to the gigs,” he told the crowd during another concert in Las Vegas in 2018, according to TMZ.Daltrey has also discussed aging and death in more recent interviews, including one with The Times in January 2024.“My dreams came true so, listen, I’m ready to go at any time,” he told the outlet at the time.

The Who performed ‘This Song Is Over’ live for the first time at the 2025 edition of the Teenage Cancer Trust gig series. Check out footage from the set below.The gig took place last night (March 30) at the Royal Albert Hall in London, as the last of the scheduled gigs planned for this year’s concert series.The event kicked off last week with a show from Sex Pistols and Frank Carter, and was followed up with a night of comedy starring Micky Flanagan, Romesh Ranganathan, Katherine Ryan, a set from James Arthur, a line-up curated by the founder of the East London label Erased Tapes and a show from The Corrs.Roger Daltrey and co.

The Who’s longtime frontman Roger Daltrey has shared details of his health battles with a live audience at London’s Royal Albert Hall.

The Who’s Roger Daltrey has told a live audience that he has been informed that he is “going blind”.The rock legends were playing the first of two shows at London’s Royal Albert Hall on Thursday (March 27) for the Teenage Cancer Trust when the frontman opened up about his condition.“The problem with this job is that you go deaf,” he said from the stage. “And now I’ve been told that I am going blind.”Referencing the band’s 1969 rock opera title character, he added: “Thank God I’ve still got my voice.

The Who performed the first of their two shows at the 2025 edition of the Teenage Cancer Trust concert series, and broke out their first performance of ‘Love Ain’t For Keepin” in over two decades. Check out footage below.This year’s edition of the charity gigs kicked off earlier this week and saw the series return to the usual site of Royal Albert Hall.

Roger Daltrey has announced a huge outdoor show with Ocean Colour Scene and Cast this summer.They will perform at the first Heritage Live Festivals’ 2025 summer outdoor shows at Audley End House & Gardens in Essex on August 1.Tickets will go on pre-sale next Wednesday (February 5) at 9am GMT before tickets go on general sale on Friday (February 7) at 9am. Fans can sign up for pre-sale which closes at 7pm GMT next Tuesday (February 4) here and purchase general tickets here.The show comes as an extension to his already announced tour dates for the UK this year.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music It may be surprising to learn that Idles, one of the most innovative rock bands to arise in years and an unlikely Grammy perennial, seem to have little background in rock music — at least frontman Joe Talbot. “My influences come from hip-hop, soul music, blues, garage, grime and jungle,” the 40-year-old Brit says, similar to many people from his generation.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music The only thing less likely than Thunderclap Newman, the strange band masterminded by Pete Townshend in 1969, having a No. 1 single is the notion that a 400-plus page history of them would be published 55 years later.

Bob The Builder – has revealed that there were once some talks about involving Bruce Springsteen in a rendition of the theme tune.The actor, who is also recognised for roles in Men Behaving Badly, Waterloo Road and Line Of Duty, recalled the success of the theme song for the children’s show during a new interview with The Guardian.In the piece, he looked back at the time the show’s creators decided to release the theme as an official single, and how they were taken aback by the impressive mark it left on the UK charts.“The TV show was going bonkers all around the world. By the time it came to the end of 2000, someone said: ‘Why don’t we re-record the theme tune as a single?’ We didn’t think anything would come of it, even though it was a lot of fun,” Morrissey recalled.“Then Chris Evans kept playing it on the Virgin breakfast show, which gave it a massive push.

Shel Talmy, the influential rock producer who cut such classics as The Kinks‘ “You Really Got Me” and “Waterloo Sunset” and The Who‘s “My Generation” and “I Can’t Explain,” died during the weekend at his Los Angeles home after a stroke. He was 87.

The Who‘s Pete Townshend thinks “somebody needs to occasionally slap” producer Rick Rubin over his polarising ideas about creativity.Rubin, who has previously worked with the likes of Adele, The Strokes and Red Hot Chili Peppers, published a best-selling book detailing his ideas about creativity called The Creative Act: A Way Of Being last year. Notably, he suggested that art is only ‘pure’ if made for the artist themself and not for an audience.In an appearance on Gary Kemp and Guy Pratt’s Rockonteurs podcast, a discussion about creativity led Townshend to criticise Rubin’s philosophy, or more specifically the idea of having any sort of doctrine around the process of making art.“You see a lot of stuff on YouTube and Instagram, people nagging you about the way that you have to be creative,” Townshend began. “Somebody needs to occasionally slap Rick Rubin, because, one minute he’s telling us that we need to do whatever we like, and then, on the other hand, he’s telling us that we mustn’t do this, and we mustn’t do that.”“The book of rules for me is… I’ve dabbled with all of those methods.

The Who‘s Roger Daltrey‘s has announced plans for a UK solo tour next year.The frontman will be hitting the road for a series of dates kicking off at the Brighton Dome on April 20.Further stops will call at London’s Palladium the following night (April 21) before moving on to Southend-On-Sea, Dundee, Glasgow, Edinburgh and finally wrapping up at Manchester Bridgewater Hall on May 4.Tickets for the shows go on sale this Friday (November 15) at 10am GMT and can be purchased here.Daltrey and his nine-piece band will perform a mix of acoustic and semi-acoustic performances of The Who classics, solo hits and deep cuts, followed by a Q&A session with fans. You can view the full list of dates below.April 202520 – Brighton Dome21 – London The Palladium23 – Southend-on-Sea The Cliffs Pavilion24 – University of Wolverhampton26 – Dundee Caird Hall28 – Glasgow SEC Armadillo30 – Edinburgh The Usher HallMay 20251 – Gateshead The Glasshouse – Sage 14 – Manchester Bridgewater HallHe said of the tour: “Here we go again! After touring the US with this band of phenomenal musicians, I can’t wait to get back on the road in the UK with these shows.“It’s a joy to be on stage performing – up close and personal for the audience, chatting with them and playing familiar songs in an unfamiliar way.”Elsewhere, The Who will “definitely” return in 2025, Pete Townshend recently confirmed.

The Who‘s Pete Townshend has admitted that he found Roger Daltrey‘s stance on Brexit “very problematic”.Following the referendum in 2016, Daltrey has always taken a very pro-Brexit view, going as far to say that it won’t affect British musicians in 2019.When asked whether he thought Brexit would be “bad for British rock music” at the time he said: “No. What’s it got to do with the rock business?” before an interviewer replied: “How are you going to tour in Europe?”“Oh dear.

Pete Townshend has shared his thoughts on the huge Oasis reunion – and he isn’t too impressed.The guitarist for The Who was asked what he thought about the Britpop band reforming for a huge comeback tour in 2025 during a recent interview with The Standard.“Well, I’m disappointed,” Townshend responded, before being pressed on whether he had failed to secure a ticket.“No, because I really like their solo albums,” he replied.Liam Gallagher has released three solo records with ‘As You Were’ (2017), ‘Why Me? Why Not.’ (2019) and ‘C’mon You Know’ (2022). Noel has made four records with his High Flying Birds, the latest being last year’s ‘Council Skies’.LG opened for The Who on tour in 2019.

The Who will “definitely” return in 2025, according to Pete Townshend – see what else the guitarist had to say below.Townshend spoke to The Standard recently, where he revealed that The Who will “do something next year”. Though he never explicitly shared what the band’s plans entail, his comments suggest that the band could be hitting the road sometime in 2025.He revealed that he had “met with Roger [Daltrey] for lunch a couple of weeks ago,” and that they’re in “good form”.

The Who – find out all the details below.Today (October 3), the Royal Mail announced that 12 special stamps are being issued in honour of The Who’s formation six decades ago. Of these 12 stamps, eight will feature some of the band’s most iconic album covers, while the remaining four stamps are of promotional photos or live performance images.The eight albums featured on the stamps are 1965’s ‘My Generation’, 1969’s ‘Tommy’, 1971’s ‘Who’s Next’, 1973’s ‘Quadrophenia’, 1978’s ‘Who Are You’, 1981’s ‘Face Dances’, 2006’s ‘Endless Wire’ and finally, 2019’s ‘WHO’.Of the four remaining stamps, two will be images of the band performing live, taken at the Marquee Club in London in 1967 and at the Kings Hall, Belle Vue in Manchester in 1973.The stamps and a range of collectible products are available to pre-order from today (October 3) at www.royalmail.com/thewho and by telephone on 03457 641641.

The Who‘s Pete Townshend has revealed that he admires Taylor Swift.The guitarist and co-founder of The Who was discussing the art of songwriting with the What It Takes podcast earlier this summer.“I’m a song dreamer in a sense,” he told the podcast. “So I love the great songwriters of my father’s era, Gershwin and so on. And also the great songwriters of today, past The Beatles and all the rest of them to Taylor Swift.”Townshend went on to praise Swift, saying: “I love what she does, too.

The Jam singer and bassist Bruce Foxton has revealed that he has been forced to leave his band, From The Jam, due to sad health reasons - and will not return until he has recovered. Breaking the unfortunate news to his loyal fanbase, the star, 68, said: "To all my lifelong wonderful fans, as a lot of you know my health has not been good for the past few years and the latest news is that I have had to go into hospital for an immediate procedure." "It is with much regret and sadness that I will not be able to perform again with From the Jam until I have made a full recovery.The band has done everything to help me for the past couple of years and have even suggested several times that I take time off to look after my health and recuperate." "That time has now come so I wish the band (my dear friends) continued success until I return and with God's will I will see you all in the not too distant future on the 'Setting Sons' 45th anniversary tour.

The Who‘s Pete Townshend revealed that he was “very sexually attracted” to The Rolling Stones‘ frontman Mick Jagger.Townshend – the guitarist and co-founder of the iconic band alongside Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle and Keith Moon – has previously identified as pansexual, an orientation defined by attraction to people regardless of sex or gender identity.Now, the musician has spoken candidly about his past to Record Collector magazine (per Daily Mail), sharing that he had what he would consider “a couple of homosexual affairs”, saying: “I tried them out, and I very much enjoyed them.”He continued: “I’ve made a couple of really close friends that I’m still friendly with today. But it wasn’t what worked for me, sexually speaking – and didn’t fit into my life, somehow.”The guitarist also reflected on one sexual attraction he experienced with the ‘Miss You’ singer saying: “I was very sexually attracted to [Jagger].

Pete Townshend has been discussing the likelihood of The Who making another album – and he seems the more enthusiastic between him and Roger Daltrey.With Townshend now 79 and Daltrey having turned 80 this year, the pair are coming to the end of their illustrious careers. The pair are the only surviving members of The Who’s classic lineup, and the only two currently in the band.Speaking to The Daily Beast, Townshend said: “I don’t know what’s gonna happen with The Who. I’m hoping Roger [Daltrey] 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.