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This year marks The Who's 60th anniversary as a band, and Pete Townshend's ready to "crawl off and die," but he has a farewell plan in mind first.
In a recent interview with The New York Times, the publication pointed out that the band's only released two albums since 1983, and Townshend's last solo album was in 1993. When asked if he wants to release new music, The Who guitarist/songwriter gave a positive answer.
“I do and I think I will,” he said. “It feels to me like there’s a final tour where we play every territory in the world and then crawl off to die. I don’t get much of a buzz from performing with The Who. If I’m really honest, I’ve been touring for the money. My idea of an ordinary lifestyle is pretty elevated."
“I’ve been immensely creative and productive throughout that period, but I haven’t felt the need to put [new music] out. And if I can make it personal, I don’t care whether you like it or not. When [1985 solo album] White City came out and the sales were so slow, I thought ‘screw this.’ Nobody wanted me as I was – they wanted the old Pete," he admitted. “AC/DC made 50 albums, but all their albums were the same. It wasn’t the way The Who worked. We were an ideas band.”
“The Who isn’t [Roger] Daltrey and Townshend onstage at 80, pretending to be young. It’s the four of us in 1964, when we were 18 or 19," Townshend added. "If you want to see The Who myth, wait for the avatar show. It would be good!”
His bandmate Daltrey shares similar views about The Who releasing new music. Last year, the singer said it was pointless to put out another album. “What’s the point?” the frontman said with a laugh. “What’s the point of records? We released an album four years ago [2019’s WHO], and it did nothing. It’s a great album too, but there isn’t the interest out there for new music these days. People want to hear the old music. I don’t know why, but that’s the fact.”
Daltrey is heading out on a solo tour this year. Check out a full list of dates here.