The Who’s Pete Townshend has put a dampener on any hopes for a farewell tour, saying that he was being “sarcastic” when he hinted at the idea.
It comes as both he and the band’s frontman Roger Daltrey have spoken about what the future holds for the iconic rock group in recent weeks, and hinted that their time as a band may be drawing to an end.
Initially, it seemed that the band were planning a farewell tour to end their touring days with a bang, with the guitarist stating last month that The Who have one “final” thing left to do before they call it quits. “It feels to me like there’s a final tour where we play every territory in the world and then crawl off to die,” he said. “I don’t get much of a buzz from performing with The Who. If I’m really honest, I’ve been touring for the money. My idea of an ordinary lifestyle is pretty elevated.”
However, according to a new interview on the Sound Up! Podcast, it seems that plans for one final run of gigs may no longer be on the cards.
When asked about the prospect by hosts Mark Goodman and Alan Light, Townshend replied: “I’m not doing a farewell tour. I think I was being sarcastic about it.”
He also elaborated on how he has “felt old” for the majority of his time with the band, going on to give one song from the 1982 album ‘All The Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes’ in particular as an example. “When I was 34, I wrote the song ‘Slit Skirts,’ and I think the line is ‘I’m 34 years old and I’m still wandering in a haze. I felt old at 34.”
As highlighted by Far Out, the year that song was shared was also the same year that The Who went on a farewell tour, before eventually reuniting seven years later.
The comments about the band coming to an end also follow on from comments made by Roger Daltrey last month, when he reflected on turning 80, saying that “he has to be realistic” and is “on the way out”.
He also opened up about his time as curator for the Teenage Cancer Trust charity shows over the past 20 years – which came to an end this year – and the feeling of nerves ahead of his recent shows.
“We haven’t done anything for seven months and this winter’s been brutal. I’ve been in hibernation. For the whole of January, I lost my voice completely,” he said of the latter. “I live like a monk and if I went on tour for a week I’d be fit as a butcher’s dog again, but tonight, for the first time in my career, I think, ‘Blimey, this is hard.’”
Similarly, in January, the singer gave an interview about the future of The Who, in which he said he was “happy” that “that part of my life is over”, before clarifying that ultimately any decision about calling it a day would have to be made alongside Pete Townshend.
The frontman recently announced a new “semi-acoustic” solo tour of North America, which will take place across nine dates in June. Any remaining tickets can be found here.
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