Pete Townshend Reveals He Doesn’t Know What’s Next With The Who

The Who’s co-founder and guitarist Pete Townshend has admitted that he doesn’t know what’s next for his legendary band.

Over the summer, The Who had a run of performances with Townshend and bandmate Roger Daltrey backed by a full orchestra. The brief tour wrapped up in the UK in August. Asked about what’s next for the band, the guitarist told Record Collector magazine:

“I think it’s time for Roger and I to go to lunch and have a chat about what happens next.
“Because [the final summer tour stop] shouldn’t feel like the end of anything, but it feels like the end of an era.”

Townshend wasn’t sure what direction the band would take next. He explained:

“It’s a question of, really, what is feasible, what would be lucrative, what would be fun?
“So, I wrote to Roger and said, ‘Come on, let’s have a chat and see what’s there.’”

The rocker has previously expressed his disdain for touring but recently confessed he enjoyed their latest trek. He said:

“I’ve never really enjoyed touring at all, but this last couple of bashes – the U.K. tour, the shows in Europe and the American tour (in 2022) – I admit I started to get a real feeling of fulfillment.
“I feel very lucky to still be doing this at my age, to still be able to perform.”

Townshend On a New Rock Opera

Although Townshend has no answers yet for The Who’s plans, he keeps himself busy with his solo projects. Currently, he is working on a new rock opera based on his 2019 novel The Age of Anxiety.

Talking to the Record Collector, Townshend described the project as “my really big magnum-opus piece,” noting that he hoped to have it finished “this year.”

Townshend has also revisited the concept album Lifehouse which he abandoned in 1970, and now has been re-imagined as a graphic novel.