skip to main |
skip to sidebar
THIS CULTURAL LIFE - 123. PETE TOWNSHEND (320kbs-m4a/98mb/42mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 22nd May 2025
Pete Townshend is the songwriter, guitarist and co-founder of The Who. The band first stormed the pop charts sixty years ago, with teenage anthems including I Can't Explain, Substitute and My Generation. Broader songwriting ambitions led him to create the rock opera Tommy in 1969, and the concept album Quadrophenia four years later. Both projects were adapted as films, and Quadrophenia has now been staged as a ballet by Sadlers Wells. Throughout the seventies, The Who were regarded as the biggest and loudest live act in the world. They played at Woodstock, at Live Aid, Live 8 and the 2012 Olympic closing ceremony. Despite the deaths of drummer Keith Moon and bassist John Entwhistle, Townshend and singer Roger Daltrey continue to perform as The Who.
Pete Townshend talks to John Wilson about the influence of his parents, who were both musicians. His father, the saxophonist Cliff Townshend, played in the popular dance band The Squadronaires, but it was his mother Betty, a singer, who was most supportive of Pete's early musical talent. Seeing Bill Haley and The Comets at Edgware Road Odeon in 1956 was another formative moment that introduced the teenage Townshend to the possibilities of a rock 'n' roll performance.
Pete also reveals how his art school tutor Roy Ascot, who was head of the Ground Course at Ealing Art School, shaped his his approach to his band that was to become The Who. He also recounts how reading Labyrinths, a book of short stories by Jorge Luis Borges on the first US Who tour in 1967 opened his imagination and helped him expand his musical storytelling.
Producer: Edwina Pitman
GUITAR GREATS - 6. PETE TOWNSHEND (320kbs-m4a/136mb/59mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 24th August 2020
Alexis Korner continues his series on influential guitarists with a profile of the Who's Pete Townshend. First broadcast in 1983.
The Who - Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere
The Who - My Generation
The Who - I Can See For Miles
The Who - Pinball Wizard
The Who - My Generation (Live)
The Who - Won't Get Fooled Again
Pete Townshend - Sheraton Gibson
The Who - 5:15
Pete Townshend & Ronnie Lane - My Baby Gives It Away
The Who - Guitar And Pen
WHO'S WHO - PETE TOWNSHEND (320kbs-m4a/135mb/59mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 1st August 2018
Following on from Roger Daltrey's recent appearance on The First Time, there's a chance to hear a programme from the BBC archive in which Pete Townshend, the Who's guitarist and songwriter considers his career and fellow band members.
The Who - The Ox [Universal Distribution]
The Who - The Seeker [Universal]
The Who - Dancing In The Street [Polydor]
The Who - The Kids Are Alright [MCA]
The High Numbers - I'm The Face [Polydor]
The Who - I Can't Explain [Universal]
The Who - Love Reign O'er Me [Polydor]
The Who - So Sad About Us [Hiwatt]
The Who - Amazing Journey [Polydor]
The Who - I Can See For Miles [Polydor]
The Who - Baba O'Riley [Polydor]
The Who - See Me, Feel Me/Listening To You
Pete Townshend - Time Is Passing [Track]
The Who - Join Together [Polydor]
The Who - Amazing Journey [Polydor]
THE FIRST TIME WITH... SERIES 4 - 15. PETE TOWNSHEND (320kbs-m4a/134mb/59mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 24th December 2017
Pete Townshend, the Who's legendary guitarist and songwriter shares the musical milestones of his life with Matt Everitt.
Pete talks about meeting Roger Daltrey for the first time, his love of early swing, how Stevie Wonder was considered for the role of Tommy, and wild years of drugs and destruction while touring with the Who.
First broadcast in 2012.
The Who - My Generation
Glenn Miller - A String Of Pearls
Bill Haley - Rock Around The Clock
The Shadows - Man Of Mystery
The Who - I Can't Explain
Henry Purcell - Chaconne
The Who - Pinball Wizard
The Who - Young Man Blues (Live At Leeds)
Herman's Hermits - Mrs. Brown, You've Got A Lovely Daughter
The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Foxy Lady
The Who - The Seeker
The Who - The Real Me
The Who - Baba O'Reilly
The Who - Won't Get Fooled Again
Eddie Cochran - Three Steps To Heaven
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 5th October 2016
To complement the BBC's My Generation 70s season, a chance to travel with Marc Riley back to 1973; the year that President Nixon ordered a ceasefire in Vietnam, the Stock Exchange admitted women for the first time, and Princess Anne married Lieutenant Mark Phillips.
It was also the year that Radio 1 broadcast an interview with Pete Townshend in a series called The Story of Pop. Presented by Alan Freeman, the show featured a big mix of musicians talking about the history of popular music. The Who were just about to release Quadrophenia, Marc revisits Townshend's take on the industry, Woodstock, the Kinks and the mods.
First broadcast in 2009.
The Who - The Real Me [Polydor]
The Who - Summertime Blues [Polydor]
The Who - I Don't Mind [Universal Distribution]
The Who - I Can't Explain [Polydor]
The Who - 5.15 [Polydor]
The Who - I Can't Explain [Polydor]