Tag: The Who

Hope I die before… oh. Fuck.

Pete Townshend in flight

Happy 80th birthday to the artist occasionally known as Bijou Drains! What a shame Pete had to spoil his big day by announcing that Zak Starkey had been fired again from The Who’s drum seat, just a month after they sacked him then rehired him a few days later… there was something really odd about that situation, but I never bothered writing about it cos once they rehired Zak that seemed to be the end of it. Clearly there’s been more “communication issues” than Pete was letting on. Zak is evidently and understandably kind of pissed; having been their drummer for nearly 30 years—much longer than the band had been around before their initial split in 1983—and then being let go so close to the end of their apparent last tour, he’s entitled to be. Still, happy birthday to Pete in spite of all that; 80 is a respectable age for anyone to achieve, but especially in his line of business. And in a way it’s kind of reassuring to know The Who is still as dysfunctional as it was 60 years ago…

The hypnotised never lie

This has just filled me with joy. I don’t usually watch reaction videos of this sort, but here’s Elizabeth dealing with one of my favourite songs by The Who in that terrific performance from The Kids Are Alright, so how could I not watch it? Cos this was definitely way out of Elizabeth’s experience, she clearly didn’t have much idea what she was in for, and her reactions to the song and the stage antics—Daltrey’s mic-swinging, Moon losing a cymbal, Townshend windmilling, Entwistle just standing there and letting his fingers do all the work—are delightful. Also, her description of Keith’s drumming as being like swordfighting struck me as extremely apt.