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Did Pete Townshend destroyed real bursts in the 60´?

lpnv59

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You can call it what you want, think what you want. In his prime, he wrote some great songs that became anthems. ANd he played those songs like he meant every word. No one came close to out performing the Who. Hendrix would come close, but in the end, he himself admitted that for him it really was just a pose. For Pete it was not posturing, but performance art. I saw him smash an early 70's SG Special. It was a great dramatic moment that was a part of a great R&R show. A guitar is really just wood and wire, an inanimate object. And at that time, a fucking cheapo guitar. And those Norlin Deluxes that he used were shit IMO, and deserved to be smashed.

The pedofile thing.....I don't know enough to comment without looking like I'm chasing Frankenstein down with a torch. I don't think anyone else here does either. But whatever that story is, it doesn't erase the genius of a song like "My Generation" which is still as relevant today, as it was the day it was written 40 plus years ago.
 
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sidekick

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For some reason, (and I come from 'that' generation in the UK). I have my doubts that Pete Townshend was ever a pedophile. FWIW.... Not that type of guy, IMO.
As for the reason of 'Pictures of Lily', (not the Lily here) that is a completely different matter....

Some of my bandmates went to see The Who at The Royal Ballroom in Tottenham, North London UK just around the time of 'I Can See For Miles'. They did the usual smashing up of some gear at the close.... The only unwilling participant was John Entwistle, they told me. No Les Paul involved, as far as I am aware.
 

Marti

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For shear power no band has come close to THE WHO.
Entwhistle was the fastest bass player in rock,he and moon ( when Keith was in his prime) were an awesome rhythm section, throw in Rogers vocals and Pete's song writting and guitar work.
They epitomized the genre.
Who cares that he broke a few guitars . There were bands around that should've had they're shit broken:laugh2:
I don't think he smashed any burst tho:2zone
 

J.D.

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I never argued his songwriting and playing ability. Unquestionably the Who was a great band. I just never got into the whole guitar smashing thing as 'performance art' or whatever. Maybe I'm just not sophisticated enough to get it.

I'm not going to cast judgement on the whole pedophile thing, but nobody can argue it made national news. I never said he was a pedophile, but finding child porno on your personal computer IMO is QUITE LAME and certainly raises some very serious questions.
 

zorglub!

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I never said he was a pedophile, but finding child porno on your personal computer IMO is QUITE LAME and certainly raises some very serious questions.
I would say the problem is when it does not raise those serious questions to some people.
 

johnreardon

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Mar 15, 2006
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I was in a band that supported them, back in 66. Yes, they did all the guitar smashing stuff. From my memory, Pete's guitars were mainly Strats that night and the roadies were extremely careful to pick up all the pieces. They told me they salvaged what they could and remade the 'smashing' guitars for the next gig
 
B

bharat.k

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I used to work in London, and my boss was a good friend of Chris Eccleshall who used to glue guitars back together for Pete Townshend to play and smash again and again until it was just a lost cause. At one time I could have bought a '64 Ricky export model 360-12 that had been smashed to pieces but I just didn't want it. I think that even with the gluing back together thing, he still smashed a hell of a lot of nice guitars.
 

redcoats1976

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dont judge pete too harshly.my wife refers to the LPF,fender forum and all the mailorder guitar catalogs i recieve as "guitarist porn"...and of course i dont play as well as he does.
 

J.D.

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dont judge pete too harshly.my wife refers to the LPF,fender forum and all the mailorder guitar catalogs i recieve as "guitarist porn"...and of course i dont play as well as he does.

I don't understand your logic :hmm
 

fugazi

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OK, have to say it. Townsend has got to be the most overrated guitar "hero" of all time. The guy has always been a hack, IMO.

And yes, the smashing of guitars at the end of shows is a cheesy gimmick, and Townsend is a wanker for doing it.

/rant over
 

Ad_02Std

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I learned to play because of Townshend. Whatever the paedophile thing was about, people that know more about it than we do dropped the charges, so I don't see how any of us can comment. I didn't much care for the guitar smashing thing either, but I could see where he was coming from. Anyway, he's a songwriting genius and a guitar innovator and there can't be many people writing on this forum that aren't influenced by him, directly or indirectly.
 

Ad_02Std

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However he did own at least one which is now owned by Noel Gallagher. At least that's what I read.

I found the following quote in a Guitarist Icons - Les Paul tribute magazine:

"I was given this Les Paul by Johnny Marr. It used to belong to Pete Townshend. I wrote 'Slide Away' within minutes of getting it."
Noel Gallagher

Pretty sure he's talking about the guitar pictured inside the sleeve of (What's The Story) Morning Glory. Haven't looked at it for years, but I'm almost certain it's a Burst.
 

redb

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The Beano Burst......

I almost fell out of my chair laughing when I read that.

As for breaking sunbursts, well for one there went all that many made, so I doubt he had a bunch of extras lying around, and for two, a guitar with long neck tennon that registers up in the 9-11lb range seems like a poor choice for smashing.
 

johnreardon

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OK, have to say it. Townsend has got to be the most overrated guitar "hero" of all time. The guy has always been a hack, IMO.

And yes, the smashing of guitars at the end of shows is a cheesy gimmick, and Townsend is a wanker for doing it.

/rant over

As cheesy as Hendrix with his lighter?



Come on the chap was an entertainer. Whether you like him or not, many did.
 

huw

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Aug 24, 2004
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Whatever the paedophile thing was about, people that know more about it than we do dropped the charges...

+1

I think it's interesting to compare Pete's case to that of Chris Langham, a famous tv comic here in the UK, who has recently been tried and convicted on a similar issue.

Langham was, very publicly, taken through the courts, his career trashed, and found guilty. The tabloid press had a field day.

Townshend was investigated, told that he'd been an idiot, and not charged. The press (and rumour has it that our "gutter press" is the sleaziest in the world) dropped it.

To me that says there was no story.
 

sidekick

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OK, have to say it. Townsend has got to be the most overrated guitar "hero" of all time. The guy has always been a hack, IMO.

And yes, the smashing of guitars at the end of shows is a cheesy gimmick, and Townsend is a wanker for doing it.

/rant over
Don't think that Pete Townshend has ever really thought of himself a guitar 'hero'.... Remember reading a Jeff Beck interview where he was told: "Peter Townshend says he wishes he could play the guitar as good as you"... "Really", (JB replied) "I wish I could write a song as good as Pete Townshend".... It is probably more a media thing that has 'elevated' PT as a guitar 'hero', although to some, he probably is.

Saw The Who live at the Royal Albert Hall in London. It was a while before John Entwistle died. Pete Townshend mainly playing his Clapton Strat? The nearest he got to bashing a guitar is when he changed to another, (Strat) thumped the back of it and said something like: "See this.... a good old American guitar".... :)
 

moonpie

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May 24, 2003
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I read an interview with PT where he was asked about his legendary guitar player status. His response was there were plenty of guitar legends around, but he didn't consider himself one.

He summed it up by saying he was just an old fart trying to make a living playing guitar. :3zone
 
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