“The Who” legend Pete Townshend 70: God the streets Hauer – Tagesspiegel

08:23 clock Christian Schröder

The Kid Is Alright: Congratulations to Pete Townshend, the rock guitarist and mastermind of The Who, 70th on his birthday.

The first opera in rock history applies “Tommy”. Is debatable. The Who released their album in 1969 out, a year earlier was “SF Sorrow “published by the Pretty Things, the life story of an unlucky bird from the birth to death. But one is “Tommy” with security: the first panel, whose hero is addicted to the games on pinball machines. It’s probably even the only drive that is dedicated to one such hero. “Ever since I was a young boy / I’ve Played the silver ball / From Soho down to Brighton / I Must Have Played Them All”, Roger Daltrey sings triumphantly “Pinball Wizard”, which tells the story of Tommy’s ascent to world champion pinball games .

“This is a masterpiece”

“Tommy” the life story of an unlucky bird follows. But it is enough, unlike “S.F. Sorrow, “from birth to world fame. Tommy is – as the working title was – “Deaf, Dumb and Blind Boy”, a deaf, dumb and blind boy. “His stupidity should be a symbol of our own limitations,” says Pete Townshend, who wrote almost all the songs. At the end breaks the mirror image of everyone, he can see, hear, think and become – inspired by Townshend’s study of the Indian guru Meher Baba – the messiah of a new hypersensitivity. For pinball freak Townshend only because the rock journalist Nik Cohn was such made him. The tape threatened during the recording assume the money they desperately needed journalistic support. Cohn was jubilant when he heard raw footage, “This is a masterpiece.” Townshend, however, was convinced that “Pinball Wizard” is “the clumsiest piece of music” that he had ever written, “It sounds like a music hall song”

The guitarist is a God of streets Hauer.. He had already proved with Who-hits like “I Can not Explain,” “The Kids Are Alright” and “My Generation”. The songs from the Who were challenges to the adult world, put forward with anger and Rückkopplungsgelärme documents Nichteinverstandenseins with the post-war world. No band was around 1965 louder than The Who, at the end of their performances disassembled Pete Townshend and drummer Keith Moon ritually their instruments and the equipment on stage. In “My GG-generation” stammers and stutters singer Roger Daltrey, as he would not want to come with the “Maximum R & amp; B “of this Sturm und Drang number, then it spit out the core message in the right place”. I hope I that before I get old “Townshend, a spilleriger type Wischmobhaaren, invented a special stop technology,” Windmill “called at which he lets circling his arms like windmill wheels to the guitar.

Loud serenity

The Who played at Woodstock and published by “Tommy” with “Quadrophenia” a second, also filmed rock opera, which deals with adolescence battles between Mods and Teds. Townshend also made sure that his band after the end of the Mod era again succeeded an artistic new beginning. On albums like “Who’s Next” (1971) or “Who By Numbers” (1975) has given the turmoil of the early years of a still vociferous serenity. For the first time synthesizer came with songs like “Baba O’Riley” is used.

The noise of the Who, the guitarist has said is an expression of his psyche. And: “I have always considered the Who installation”. Therefore, the destruction orgies. At some point, he thought, would end his music career and he would create sculptures. Instead, he made more and more with the music, even after he got out in 1982 at the Who. His 1985 solo album, released “White City” about teenagers in a rotten London housing estate is his time being last masterpiece. This Tuesday is Pete Townshend, who still occasionally The Who resurrects with Roger Daltrey, his 70th birthday. The Kid Is Alright.