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Did Pete Townshend destroyed real bursts in the 60´?

stephan_l

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Jul 8, 2007
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Did he?

On the known video footage it is hard for me to see if the guitars he smashes are real gibsons/bursts.

Stephan
 
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MikeSlub

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I don't think he ever destroyed a Burst. Teles, Strats, Gibson SGs, and LP Deluxes, yes. :hank
 

lpnv59

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No burst smashing. I don't think he ever owned a burst. He had a Junior Leslie West gave to him, which I don't think he smashed. He did smash up the old Gretsch 6120 Joe Walsh gave to him. He didn't destroy it. He did feel bad enough to have it repaired. Both these guitars were given to him around the time of recording Who's Next. The 6120 was the favored guitar on most of that album.
 

Mahalo

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No burst smashing. I don't think he ever owned a burst. He had a Junior Leslie West gave to him, which I don't think he smashed. He did smash up the old Gretsch 6120 Joe Walsh gave to him. He didn't destroy it. He did feel bad enough to have it repaired. Both these guitars were given to him around the time of recording Who's Next. The 6120 was the favored guitar on most of that album.

I thought I read somewheres that he accidentally stepped on the Joe Walsh 6120 when it was on the floor of his home, rather than trashing it onstage.
 

intelligentpony

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I heard a story years ago that he smashed a Burst when they recorded Live at Leeds. I never followed up on it.
 

Biggles58

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Pete used a SG Jr for Live at Leeds and for shows in the '69-'70 time frame didn't he? He then went the Les Paul Deluxe for most of the 70s. If he ever used a Sunburst on stage I'd be very surprised. However he did own at least one which is now owned by Noel Gallagher. At least that's what I read.
 

refin

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I read an interview with Entwistle years ago in GP where he said Pete threw a Lester up in the air that a roadie handed him (I think it was an encore) and looke in horror as it came down----he had just paid about $2000 for it.
Who knows what THAT might have been?
 

kharrison

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Pete used a SG Jr for Live at Leeds and for shows in the '69-'70 time frame didn't he? He then went the Les Paul Deluxe for most of the 70s. If he ever used a Sunburst on stage I'd be very surprised. However he did own at least one which is now owned by Noel Gallagher. At least that's what I read.

They were SG Specials from around 68 to 71 then gradually went to the Deluxe.
 

Plankspanker

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Rickenbackers were also favored fodder as the neck joint gave easily, I heard he destroyed a red Gibson V at an Atlanta concert.
 

59gibson

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I read an interview with Entwistle years ago in GP where he said Pete threw a Lester up in the air that a roadie handed him (I think it was an encore) and looke in horror as it came down----he had just paid about $2000 for it.
Who knows what THAT might have been?

I also remember that article and think that issue of GP featured the Entwistle collection. I remember the story about the roadie handing him a LP that he just paid big money (at that time) for and I thought it was a burst. However I could be wrong. I believe the instument suffered a broken headstock.:hmm
 

fjminor

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No burst smashing. I don't think he ever owned a burst. He had a Junior Leslie West gave to him, which I don't think he smashed. He did smash up the old Gretsch 6120 Joe Walsh gave to him. He didn't destroy it. He did feel bad enough to have it repaired. Both these guitars were given to him around the time of recording Who's Next. The 6120 was the favored guitar on most of that album.

To this day it is hard for me to believe that the Gretsch 6120 produced some of my favorite rock guitar sounds from that album.....:2cool :dude:
 

johnnyjellybean

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He use to come to Montreal and buy every used Fender Strat and Tele he could find at Jack's Music on Craig st. ( a local music/pawn shop) and they awould paint them all red. These were all 50s and 60s Fenders and every one got smashed.
 

skip62

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The pictures I've seen were tele's. I read somewhere he'd glue them back together and smash them again. Also the cabs that he shoved the guitar through were missing a speaker and that's were he shoved them. All hearsay on my part though.
 

Jeff West

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There are onstage photos from SF, CA in '67 with a sunburst dot neck 335 which looks like it might have only moments to live.
 

J.D.

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I always thought Townshend was so incredibly lame smashing all those perfectly good guitars. That, and the whole pedophile thing...
 

Marti

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In the "I hope I die before I get old" book by Dave Marsh it says that the roadies would glue the guitars back together and hand them to him at the end of the show during the destruction. But in the Woodstock movie it looks like that sg special bites the dust!
 

sonic romp

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I always thought Townshend was so incredibly lame smashing all those perfectly good guitars. That, and the whole pedophile thing...

Paraphrased, that's pretty funny.

"Hey, Pete, you're so incredibly lame for being a pedophile."
 
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