Pete Townshend is the lead guitarist and principal songwriter for the Who. A visionary artist best known for his conceptual works, he composed both Tommy and Quadrophenia, as well as the bulk of the Who's other classic material. An electrifying stage presence, Townshend's legendary leaps, violent wind-mill strumming, and guitar and amp smashing encapsulate the glorious anarchy of a Who live performance.
The child of a musical family, Townshend grew up in Shepherd's Bush, where he joined Roger Daltrey and John Entwistle in the skiffle and jazz cover band, the Detours. A promising teenage art student, he attended the Ealing Art School, where he was exposed to Gustav Metzger's notions of auto-destructive art. As the British music scene increasingly demanded that bands perform original material, Townshend emerged as a songwriter of extraordinary skill and insight, mining both his own soul and the sentiments of his Shepherd's Bush audience for universal statements about the quest for identity. His first composition for the band, the remarkable "I Can't Explain," was released in January 1965. The follow-up releases of "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" and the anarchic "My Generation" quickly installed Townshend as both a commercial hit-maker and the spokesman for his generation.
Not content to restrict himself to three-minute pop songs, Townshend began experimenting with longer modes of musical
storytelling, composing "A Quick One (While He's Away)" in 1966 and "Rael" the following year. Townshend's exploration of
musical narrative culminated in 1969 with the critically lauded double concept album, Tommy.
Although Townshend's next conceptual project, the prescient Lifehouse, initially proved unworkable, the sessions resulted in the magnificent Who's Next, regarded universally as one of popular music's greatest moments, featuring not only brilliant songwriting but innovative use of the newly available Moog synthesizer. In 1972 Townshend released his first commercial solo album Who Came First, emphasizing the more introspective and personally spiritual side of his work. Refreshed, Townshend then composed Quadrophenia for the Who, an album hailed as a masterpiece of sonic experimentation, dissatisfied youth, and spiritual triumph.
An Oscar nomination followed in 1975 for the film score to Ken Russell's adaptation of Tommy. 1977 brought Townshend's second
solo effort, Rough Mix, a collaboration with the late Ronnie Lane. In 1978 Townshend composed the songs for the Who's triumphant
Who Are You. The critical and commercially successful solo album, Empty Glass, featuring the hit single "Let My Love Open The
Door" followed in 1980, with the equally strong All The Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes, featuring "Slit Skirts," coming two
years later. In 1985 Townshend returned to conceptual work with White City - A Novel, which included the Top 30 single
"Face the Face." The same year, he published a book of short stories, Horse's Neck. In 1989, Townshend released The Iron
Man, based on poet Ted Hughes' children's story. In 1993, Townshend delivered Psychoderelict, an insightful conceptual piece
that Townshend continued to perform live for the rest of the decade.
In 1993 Townshend was awarded a Tony for the massively successful Broadway stage adaptation of Tommy. That same year, Townshend mounted a live theatrical version of The Iron Man at London's Young Vic Theatre. In 2000, culminating decades of work, Townshend released the 6 CD box set, The Lifehouse Chronicles, an archive of all the music associated with the project as well as the radio play. In 2001 Townsend was awarded a 'Lifetime Achievement Award' at the Ivor Novello Awards in London. In addition to continuing to perform both as a solo artist and with the Who, Townshend continues to compose new music and work on various literary projects. Four decades removed from his professional debut, Townshend has transcended his own generation to become a storyteller and voice for all generations.