Pete Townshend (Photo © Elliott Landy. Used with permission)
The Who have revealed a brief 2023 tour of Europe and the U.K.
Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey will be joined by a full live band comprised of guitarist/backup singer Simon Townshend, keyboardist Loren Gold, second keyboardist Emily Marshall, bassist Jon Button, drummer Zak Starkey and backing vocals by Billy Nicholls, along with a full orchestra led by conductor Keith Levenson, lead violinist Katie Jacoby and lead cellist Audrey Snyder.
In the U.K. announcement, Daltrey said, “Just because it is The Who with an orchestra, in no way does it compromise the way Pete and I deliver our music. It is full throttle Who with horns and bells on.” A souvenir from their 2019 concert at London’s Wembley Stadium is being released on March 31.
In their early years, The Who were known for frequently smashing – and breaking – their instruments at their concerts. Wait for it…
Related: Our 2016 review of The Who
Back in the day, the very talented David Skinner tickled the funny bone of the music business with his regular cartoons in the fondly remembered music trade magazine Record World. He has colorized one of his older drawings for Best Classic Bands in commemoration of this vital aspect of The Who’s legacy: smashing good shows.
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The Who have a number of dates on their concert calendar. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster and here.
Related: Listings for 100s of classic rock tours
Skinner’s first job after college was at an East Tennessee weekly, where he worked as a reporter and editorial cartoonist and also contributed a weekly comic strip called “Tales of Space Helen.” In 1977, his love for art, design and music landed him in New York, where he became the cartoonist and, later on, Art Director, for Record World magazine. While at Record World, he did cartoons for such notables as Elton John, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, Led Zeppelin, and Billy Joel. He spent his last few years in New York art directing Doubleday’s Literary Guild Magazine. At Doubleday, he created marketing treatments for books by writers such as James Michener, Peter Maas, Stephen King, and celebrities such as Candice Bergen, Dinah Shore and Dr. Ruth Westheimer.
In 1984, Skinner moved to Atlanta and co-founded a design and advertising agency called Indelible Inc. In the early 90’s, Skinner became involved in various musical projects, including Johnny Cash’s Return to the Promised Land, for which he designed the logo and co-wrote the title track with Cash and Hugh Waddell. He also wrote and recorded the Civil War concept album, John Hunt Morgan: A Southern Legend, which was considered for Gettysburg College’s famed Lincoln Prize, an award given annually to a literary work focusing on the American Civil War.
In 2005, Skinner formed a marketing, design, illustration and advertising agency called Bridgital.Some of his more recent works include a 20-foot bas-relief sculpture over the entrance to the University of West Georgia’s new football stadium, jingles that have aired weekly on the Grand Ole Opry and a watercolor hanging on the office wall of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
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3 Comments so far
Jump into a conversationTownshend has to be the most overrated guitar player who’s ever lived…
No way. He’s one of the most original, innovative, and unique guitar players. He invented the power chord, was among the first to use feedback, and his flamenco-style acoustic playing is second to none. Can he solo and shred like Eddie Van Halen? No, but Eddie Van Halen can’t play like Townshend either.
While I like some of The Who’s stuff, they always seemed like a band that needed a lead guitar player. Townsend penchant for smashing perfectly good guitars seemed like frustration at his lack of talent.