The Who

Talking 'bout my generation...

Likely the most influential band in RockMusic? history with the least amount of number one hits.

Three wild men (Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, Keith Moon (replaced by Kenney Jones and Zak Starkey)) and one quiet one (John Entwistle).

Pete was known for smashing his guitar at the end of a performance. This started at a club where the stage had a very low ceiling. Jumping around on stage, Pete accidentally knocked a hole in the ceiling and mucked up the head of his guitar. This ruined the song, and he flipped out, smashing the guitar to bits on stage.

At his next gig, kids started yelling at him to smash his guitar again. Thus started the 'destruction' that TheWho became known for. Pete would use his guitar to rip up his amps (while still hot) before smashing the guitar. Keith Moon, the drummer, would of course drum his cymbals off, then kick over or sometimes explode his drum kit. Pete would then either borrow guitars on credit, or carefully glue them back together with epoxy before smashing them again. Keith had a drum manufacturer who loved him, and they gave him free drum kits to destroy as a promo.

While many people were upset at the band destroying their instruments, Pete put it into perspective when he noted that all the instruments destroyed were manufactured and not works of art.

So that's an excuse?

His excuse was he felt like doing it.

It could also be argued that the destruction was art.

CategoryArtist, CategoryMusic