It seems like only yesterday (even though it was actually March 25) when news broke that Pete Townshend was talking up the possibility that the Who might yet still have one more tour in them...a farewell tour, if you will.
“It feels to me like there’s a final tour where we play every territory in the world and then crawl off to die," the guitarist and singer-songwriter told The New York Times, at which point Who fans promptly divided up into factions: the ones who are never going to turn down a chance to see the band live, the ones who believe the Who died with John Entwistle, the ones who haven't trusted Townshend since he assured the world at large in 1982 that the band had played their last show, and -- as ever -- the ones who believe that the Who ended at the precise moment of Keith Moon's demise and dismiss anything and everything done under the band's name ever since.
This being the case, it's really only that first group who'll be upset by this news, but...it turns out that whatever Townshend claimed to be feeling when it was talking to the NY Times, he apparently doesn't feel that way now...and possibly never did.
'I'm not doing a farewell tour,' Townshend clarified on a recent podcast appearance.
In an interview with Mark Goodman and Alan Light for the Sound Up! podcast, Townshend was asked about his final-tour remarks, and he declared outright, "I'm not doing a farewell tour," after which he added, "I think I was being sarcastic about it."
During the course of the conversation, Townshend said, "When I was 34, I wrote the song ‘Slit Skirts,’ and I think the line is, ‘I’m 34 years old and I’m still wandering in a haze.' I felt old at 34.”
This, inevitably, led to him being asked about the lyrical albatross that is the "My Generation" lyric, "Hope I die before I get old."
“That’s a twist, in a sense," explained Townshend. "'Slit Skirts’ was an honest confession of how I didn’t like what I’d become. When I wrote [‘My Generation’], I was celebrating the fact that I was young — I was 18 and surrounded by old people. Now, everybody seems younger. But in those days, everybody seemed older and they all seemed to be messed up, either miserable or poor or working too hard or complaining about something. The song was about, ‘I’m never gonna be like you if I’m old,’ and I don’t think I am like them. I’m happy and I’m struggling still, and I think I’m operating for the greater good — touch wood!”
By coincidence (or perhaps not), the album featuring the aforementioned "Slit Skirts," 1982's All The Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes, is on the cusp of being reissued, along with Townshend's follow-up solo LP, 1985's White City (A Novel).
The limited-edition black vinyl versions have been mastered by long-time Who engineer Jon Astley. They were cut for vinyl by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios with a half-speed mastering technique that produces a superior vinyl cut, and they've been packaged in original sleeves with obi strips and certificates of authenticity.
The albums are set for release on May 17.
Never miss a story — sign up for the Q newsletter for the latest music news on all your favorite artists, all in one place.
Powered by RedCircle
