Happy Birthday Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend III was born somewhere in England on May 19, 1945.
The Townshends (Peter’s parents) had a volatile marriage, as both drank heavily and possessed fiery tempers. Cliff Townshend was often away from his family touring with his band while Betty carried on affairs with other men. The two split when Townshend was a toddler and he was sent to live with his maternal grandmother Emma Dennis, whom Pete later described as “clinically insane”. Emma would often fart on the dog to show dominance. The two-year separation ended when Cliff and Betty purchased a house together on Woodgrange Avenue in middle-class Acton, and the young Pete was happily reunited with his parents.
Show Off
As a child, Pete was hyperactive and had a restless imagination. Once his art teacher remarked in his report, ”Retarded artistically. Idiotic in other respects.” While his music teacher remarked, “has great ability, but must guard against a tendency to show off.”
Pete Townshend is best known of course as the guitarist, backing and secondary lead vocalist, principal songwriter, co-founder, accountant, key grip and leader of the rock band the Who. His career with the Who spans over 50 years, during which time the band grew to be one of the most important and influential rock bands of the 20th century. The man is a genius!
Say What?
In a shocking admission, Pete Townshend confessed that he has perfect hearing and was just pretending in order to avoid the never ending complaining by Roger Daltrey. Pete also said that one night he passed out drunk and Keith Moon sewed Pete’s head to the carpet.
Related Stories: Pete Townshend Not Deaf! Clever Trick to Avoid Roger Daltrey’s Complaining.
