Townshend speaks about new "Who" album and tour..

[Jack68]

13 May 2006
Progress Report

Back to Diary Dates
Yeah, we have some progress. I've been working almost constantly in my home studio writing music, or at Oceanic Studios helping Myles Clarke, Billy Nicholls and Bob Pridden complete tracks for the Who album planned for release in September. The condensed Mini Opera is now with Polydor for release in June, and we are batting sleeve ideas around. We were hoping to do some kind of video - Sam Mendes was mentioned to direct - but as exciting as that prospect is, I'm not sure we have time now. My daughter Minta is helping out by tracking down video directors and interfacing between The Who's management, Polydor and Roger and me.

We start rehearsals in a week from now, by which time Roger must complete six vocals on tracks I've prepared. He called me yesterday very positive about three new songs I just sent him. He has been working very hard on a number of charity projects he committed to before we arranged the tour - it has meant we have had to grab at time to record wherever we can.

There is only one familiar name one might notice is missing here - Universal Records. We do not yet have a U.S. deal settled, and that is not for lack of love or drive on either side. It just hasn't happened yet. I am keen that the Mini-Opera (Wire & Glass) is released in the U.S and Canada at the same time as the rest of the world, but as things stand, it doesn't look likely.

Plans for the tour structure look good. Creatively speaking we have more ideas than in recent years, this being our first proper World Tour ever, we have the resources to be a little more ambitious than in the recent past. However, time is against us, certainly it seems to be against me. When I started preparing tracks in December of 2005 I was picking up work I'd had to drop at roughly the same time a year before in late 2004 when Zak went off to tour with Oasis. Even so I felt I had plenty of time. But it sluices away.

Even so, today I am certain of one thing: the Who have a new record in the can - almost finished, and it will be a good one.
Bring it on!

[Hardrock69]

The 1/2 Who....

If they come near me I will go, as it will probably be the only chance I have to see any of the original members live....

[Terry]

As Lenny often says to Carl, "Meh."

Not really interested in seeing Pete and Roger live as the Who. BAd enough they plodded on without Moonie, but without Entwistle I'm even less forgiving.

Although the last time I saw them do anything live (the 2001 deal right after 9/11), they came across well enough. Starkey is probably the best drummer they've had since Keith died, and that list includes Simon Philips who is no slouch.

[Diamondjimi]

I'm there !

[FORD]

Originally posted by Terry
As Lenny often says to Carl, "Meh."

Not really interested in seeing Pete and Roger live as the Who. BAd enough they plodded on without Moonie, but without Entwistle I'm even less forgiving.

I'm less forgiving than that just about the way they handled it. When Moon died, they took some time off, probably gave serious consideration to disbanding and then eventually emerged a year or so later with Kenney Jones, who was no Keith Moon, but certainly a well known and rezspected drummer from his days in the Faces.

But the Ox dies and they're back on the road three fucking days later with some studio hack in his place. That was entirely fucking disrespectful in my opinion. And for a band whose sound depended so much on the killer rhythm section that they had, to tour without both of them is pointless.

Hey, if Daltrey & Townshend want to make operas and even go on the road with them, fine. But don't bill it as "The Who", because it ain't and it never will be.

[MAX]

Originally posted by FORD
Hey, if Daltrey & Townshend want to make operas and even go on the road with them, fine. But don't bill it as "The Who", because it ain't and it never will be.

I'm in complete agreement with both your analogy and your opinion regarding this one. I fucking love The Who. Back in '89 as my highschool graduation present, my dad bought tix for a few of my friends and myself to the 25th Aniversary tour, in Boulder, CO. It was seriously one of the best concerts I've ever seen.

Even though I love those guys, they pretty much started the entire "Final Tour" crap to only keep going on and on and on and on...

It was also cool cos they toured with Simon Phillips as opposed to Kenny Jones. The reason being and at the time was that they were "celebrating" The Who and Phillips' style was much more "Moonesque" so Jones was excluded.

Anyway, when The Ox passed, I mean that's it and just like you said, that seriously was (unlike Van Hagar) TRULY the "Other Half" of what made The Who so spectacular, i.e. That fucking rhythm section.

I don't know why Pete and Roger continue to use that name? Why don't they be a wee bit classier and go ala the Page and Plant route? Playing all the classics whilst still giving the name the respect of what it once was and what it stands for, by leaving it the fuck alone!!! They should tour and record as Daltrey and Townshend. I mean The Who ended in 1982 IMO. I'd like to say that they did in when Moon died but as you said, they pulled a good move with the way they played on with Jones, actually changed their style of music to adapt with Jones, along with the times, their ages and had one solid album from it at least (1981's "Face Dances") IMO. Also, their supposed "last" album "It's Hard (1982)" (Insert Pete Townshend Kiddie Porn Joke here) at least yielded a "final" hit with "Eminence Front."

Then came the "Who's Last" tour. I seem to remember both it and The Doobie Brothers being the first highly publicized "final" tours by said bands, no? I thought hey were cool playing Live Aid with Phil Collins (Phil 'tis actually an epic drummer even despite his cheese tendencies) and the '89 Reunion Tour was also respectable but after that and especially with Entwistle's death, they became far worse than a parody of themselves IMO. At this point it's just embarrassing to watch the old coots or even want to take anything they do the least bit seriously. They're not as disgusting as say what KI$$ has done to wipe the ass of their band's once great legacy but it's fucking up there.

[Jack68]

I agree with a lot all your points.I am a diehard who fan and of course it isnt the who by any means.As for playing shows right after John died that also made me disgusted.I still went and it was a great show.I thought they were going to call it who2 kinda of jab at u2 which i thought would of had alot of possibilities.Im more excited about a new album and if it came down to it they should call it townshend/Daltrey whatever.If Entwistle didnt check out in 2002 and zak is stii the drummer i thought they could get away with calling it the who.It is what it is for me,new music and a chance to go see them @ m.s.g and other places this fall.The fact is they still put on a great show.If Eddie and dave were doing something like this and getting along and called it VH.What would you think?Would you be happy they were still playing and"keeping the music alive" shit?You are all right and the 89 tour the who on ice tour with 15 musicians was incredible.i think there would be little or no criticisms if they did call it who2 or something after John died.As for after keith dying i guess that was alittle before more time.I think the band was at apoint anyway where theywere rethinking Keiths role in the group anyway.Keiths playing deteriorated and it showed listen to kilburn 77 and who are you drumming is good but not great.Who are you is the only real great. drumming song on that album imo.Shit what was my point....

[FORD]

Originally posted by MAX
I thought hey were cool playing Live Aid with Phil Collins (Phil 'tis actually an epic drummer even despite his cheese tendencies) and the '89 Reunion Tour was also respectable but after that and especially with Entwistle's death, they became far worse than a parody of themselves IMO.

That was Zeppelin that played with Phil Collins at Live Aid. Actually, they had two drummers, the other one being Tony Thompson from the Power Station. And of those two, Thompson actually knew the songs better. Kenney Jones played with The Who again that time, which turned out to be his last.

As for the '89 tour, I was supposed to go, but at the last minute I had to work or something. Girlfriend went without me (the fucking bitch) and she got to witness Pete's unfortunate "whammy bar hand piercing" incident first hand. And she didn't even get any pictures.

[Jack68]

?

[Jack68]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by FORD
[B] That was Zeppelin that played with Phil Collins at Live Aid. Actually, they had two drummers, the other one being Tony Thompson from the Power Station. And of those two, Thompson actually knew the songs better. Kenney Jones played with The Who again that time, which turned out to be his last.

Actually Jones last stand with the who came in 1988 at the British music industry awards.Wasnt Zep supposed to reform for a tour with tho,pmson on drums?

[Terry]

Originally posted by FORD
I'm less forgiving than that just about the way they handled it. When Moon died, they took some time off, probably gave serious consideration to disbanding and then eventually emerged a year or so later with Kenney Jones, who was no Keith Moon, but certainly a well known and rezspected drummer from his days in the Faces.

But the Ox dies and they're back on the road three fucking days later with some studio hack in his place. That was entirely fucking disrespectful in my opinion. And for a band whose sound depended so much on the killer rhythm section that they had, to tour without both of them is pointless.

Hey, if Daltrey & Townshend want to make operas and even go on the road with them, fine. But don't bill it as "The Who", because it ain't and it never will be.

Actually, they announced Kenny Jones as Moon's replacement very quickly; took no longer than a few weeks, tops. I remember Townshend was criticized for the speed of the announcement, coupled with statements to the press that he was looking at Moon's passing as a positive thing because the band weren't functioning well in 1977 and 1978...

But it did take them about a year before they hit the road with Jones, and you're spot on in terms of what they did with Entwistle's passing: the fucker wasn't even in the ground by the time the Who had replaced him.

[MAX]

Originally posted by FORD
That was Zeppelin that played with Phil Collins at Live Aid.

Yup, I stand corrected. Damn, my mind's going somewhere and not the direction I'd hoped. For some reason I was thinking that Jason Bonham had played with Zep at Live Aid? Then I remembered that happened in '88 when Zep reformed and played a set for Atlantic Record's 50'th Aniversary or something like that. At least I remembered Collins played with somebody at that show besides Genitals (Genesis) lmao.

As for the '89 tour, I was supposed to go, but at the last minute I had to work or something. Girlfriend went without me (the fucking bitch) and she got to witness Pete's unfortunate "whammy bar hand piercing" incident first hand. And she didn't even get any pictures.

Well, it was a epic show and they sounded great. The one thing that still sticks out was all of the publicity and shit about Townshend's "lack of hearing" at the time. It obviously ended up being a major publicity stunt or a crock of shit cos soon after that tour, Pete was back doing windmills on electric guitars. During that '89 tour, Pete just played an acoustic, they brought a session guitarist to play all of the solos and stuff live so as to not "damage" Pete's ears anymore than they already were. Well, suposedly? Pete also "supposedly" was near being "deaf" or so he said at the time. I'll tell you, that show was in a stadium and was also louder than fuck. You remember that shit?

[MAX]

Hey FORD,

I thought of another thing that irked me about LIVE AID. It was the fact that The Stones didn't perform together, yet weren't they all there?

You'll have to help me out on this one cos I'm also getting the U.S. and the London shows confused and who played where? :confused:

A cupla questions. Ok, Jagger performed with Tina Turner while Spleef and Ronnie Wood played with Dylan right? Weren't Wyman and Charlie also playing with someone?

Secondly, Phil Collins played at BOTH shows didn't he? I seem to remember some big deal about him taking the Concorde accross the Atlantic in order to do so. Is any of that ringing a bell?

[FORD]

Originally posted by MAX
Hey FORD,

I thought of another thing that irked me about LIVE AID. It was the fact that The Stones didn't perform together, yet weren't they all there?

You'll have to help me out on this one cos I'm also getting the U.S. and the London shows confused and who played where? :confused:

A cupla questions. Ok, Jagger performed with Tina Turner while Spleef and Ronnie Wood played with Dylan right? Weren't Wyman and Charlie also playing with someone?

Secondly, Phil Collins played at BOTH shows didn't he? I seem to remember some big deal about him taking the Concorde accross the Atlantic in order to do so. Is any of that ringing a bell?

Yeah, Phil Collins played at both shows. He played with Sting and I think maybe Clapton before hopping on the Concorde and going to Philly.

As far as the Stones go, according to Bill Wyman in his book Stone Alone, the band took a vote and unanimously agreed NOT to perform at all, since they hadn't played live in 3 years, and the tensions within the band were pretty bad at that point. Mick ended up being invited anyway, because the original plan was for him and David Bowie to perform "Dancin In The Streets" as a "live" duet via satellite with Mick in Philly and Bowie in London.

The logistics of that scenario proved to be more difficult then they thought. So Mick and Bowie shot the video instead and premiered that on the big screens.

Yet Mick showed up at the concert anyway, borrowed Hall & Oates band and the rest is history. I imagine Keith & Woody showed up out of spite and played with Dylan. Bill & Charlie weren't anywhere near the show as far as I know, but it was the beginning of a very dark time for the Stones. In the same show that had seemingly had everybody else on the planet reuniting, the Stones were very conspicuous in their semi-absence.

[MAX]

Originally posted by FORD
Yeah, Phil Collins played at both shows. He played with Sting and I think maybe Clapton before hopping on the Concorde and going to Philly.

Thanks. I knew my memory wasn't as bad as I thought regarding the show. lol.

As far as the Stones go, according to Bill Wyman in his book Stone Alone, the band took a vote and unanimously agreed NOT to perform at all, since they hadn't played live in 3 years, and the tensions within the band were pretty bad at that point. Mick ended up being invited anyway, because the original plan was for him and David Bowie to perform "Dancin In The Streets" as a "live" duet via satellite with Mick in Philly and Bowie in London.

The logistics of that scenario proved to be more difficult then they thought. So Mick and Bowie shot the video instead and premiered that on the big screens.

Yet Mick showed up at the concert anyway, borrowed Hall & Oates band and the rest is history. I imagine Keith & Woody showed up out of spite and played with Dylan. Bill & Charlie weren't anywhere near the show as far as I know, but it was the beginning of a very dark time for the Stones. In the same show that had seemingly had everybody else on the planet reuniting, the Stones were very conspicuous in their semi-absence.

I'm a HUGE Stones fan and have always been one. I completely remember the "dark period" during the mid-80's as well. I just couldn't quite put my finger on what went down. I remember "Dirty Work" and them not touring behind it plus the video for "One Hit (To The Body)" and reading that Mick and Keith wanted to literally kill each other during the shooting of it.

Also, I remember when Keith honestly said and I shit you not that "Terrence Trent D'Arby" would be a better frontman for The Stones than Mick. That was during his "Talk is Cheap" interviews and such.

This will also show you how out of the loop musically I was during this period. I honestly didn't and couldn't understand why Van Halen didn't take part cos I was unaware of Dave's departure until about September or October when I received my "Musician" magazine in the mail with Hagar on the front. Meedless to say, I was both beyond livid and sickened.

In '85 I was just starting highschool and especially during that summer, waaaay too involved with playing football and it consumed the majority of my time. I do remember watching several Live Aid performances though and Zeppelin was a personal highlight.