Did Pete Townshend destroyed real bursts in the 60´?

[Hiwatt]

I saw the Who in Tucson AZ back in the 70's/80's (I think it was the "Who's Next" tour, whenever that was), and Pete used a beautiful burst for most of the show. When it came to the first encore, he switched to an SG, and of course that's the one he bashed to death at the end. Problem was they were induced by the crowd to come back for a second encore, and he came out with the nice LP (not a Deluxe) again, at the end he lightly tossed it in the air, and accidentally dropped it when it came down. The headstock broke, and he looked at it in disgust for a second, then proceded to break it to pieces.
I later talked to a friend that worked the show, and he said that Pete never meant to break the LP, it was a nice vintage one, and he was so pissed that he had dropped it that he went nuts and continued to smash it to hell. He usually at that point only broke the SG's, for one reason they were plentiful at the time and easier to break. I don't know if this story ever made it into a book about Pete or the Who, but you could tell he was not happy at all about breaking the LP.

Al

The Who's Next tour was in 1971.He used SG specials all through 1971 apart from at the very end of '71 where he first started using the Deluxes for a few numbers along with the SG's!

 

[Skipped]

The Who's Next tour was in 1971.He used SG specials all through 1971 apart from at the very end of '71 where he first started using the Deluxes for a few numbers along with the SG's!

I always assumed that he stopped using the SG special because Gibson stopped making them! I tried a brand new '71 SG Professional side by side with one of the last SG specials, and.....I totally understand why Pete had to find another "cheap" guitar that was useable. (The last SG specials were £220 retail in the UK so at trade price I guess that breaking them was just about do-able....)

The batwing SG special was a great guitar - very under-rated. 17 year old Gary Moore, touring the UK with the original Skid Row, and using that exact model, had one of the greatest live guitar sounds I have ever heard. It is a shame that so many were broken by Pete Townshend, with many of the surviving specials then getting more rough treatment soon afterwards when Punk arrived on the scene....!

 

[tooold]

OK, have to say it. Townsend has got to be the most overrated guitar "hero" of all time. The guy has always been a hack, IMO.

And yes, the smashing of guitars at the end of shows is a cheesy gimmick, and Townsend is a wanker for doing it.

/rant over

Happy this thread has been revived, if for no other reason than to remind me of this strong contender for dumbest post ever on the LPF.

 

[DANELECTRO]

There was an article in the May 82 Guitar Player about John Entwistle's guitar collection. In the interview John was asked about the irony of him collecting guitars while Pete smashes them. He replied that "Pete didn't smash any wonderful collector's items, except maybe one Les Paul that he had gotten. Someone handed it to him at the end of an act, and he didn't even look at the guitar. He threw it up in the air and gasped as he saw it coming down. He'd just paid about $2000 for it , and it just smashed to smithereens on the stage. That was the only sad occasion I can remember when he smashed a guitar".

He didn't state what year this occurred nor that it was a 'burst, but $2K for any Les Paul in the 60's or early 70's most certainly would have been a 'burst.

 

[zombiwoof]

The Who's Next tour was in 1971.He used SG specials all through 1971 apart from at the very end of '71 where he first started using the Deluxes for a few numbers along with the SG's!

I know a Deluxe from a Standard LP and the one he broke at the end was not one of those numbered modded Deluxes he used back then (with the added pickup). He possibly did use one of those during the first part of the show, I believe the one he broke at the end might have been a recent acquisition that he just wanted to try out. It was obviously a nice vintage LP with full-sized humbuckers. If you had seen his face when he dropped it you'd know that it was a special guitar to him. I don't think he had planned on doing a second encore, in fact it took some time to get them to come back out to play it, and they only did it because the audience just wouldn't stop clapping and screaming for them (they even tried turning on the lights in the auditorium but people wouldn't leave). He really gently tossed it in the air, you could tell he was trying to be careful with it, but it slipped out of his hands. I know what I saw, and I know the guy that told me about the guitar, he worked many shows around the AZ area.

Al

 

[VonPrikler]

Never "got" the Who.
Ever.
I wish he had smashed all those guitars before he had begun playing each time, before he ever got the chance to play a single note.

 

[Aloha_Mark]

Pete was once called a guitar chording genius for his riffing on My Generation. This was the 1960's, and the writers at Crawdaddy and other rock mags were full of hyperbole. Many of their claims have not, or will not, stand the test of time. But, it was an enjoyable and exciting time to live.

 

[Cliff Gress]

Creem was the best rock rag ever.

 

[Big Al]

Creem was the best rock rag ever.

Boy Howdy!!

 

[M4sonicLP]

Just for fun...

Blow Up (Yardbirds scene)
Directed By Michelangelo Antonioni, 1966

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zeza1xeWKM

 

[zombiwoof]

There was an article in the May 82 Guitar Player about John Entwistle's guitar collection. In the interview John was asked about the irony of him collecting guitars while Pete smashes them. He replied that "Pete didn't smash any wonderful collector's items, except maybe one Les Paul that he had gotten. Someone handed it to him at the end of an act, and he didn't even look at the guitar. He threw it up in the air and gasped as he saw it coming down. He'd just paid about $2000 for it , and it just smashed to smithereens on the stage. That was the only sad occasion I can remember when he smashed a guitar".

He didn't state what year this occurred nor that it was a 'burst, but $2K for any Les Paul in the 60's or early 70's most certainly would have been a 'burst.

I would bet that this is the one I described being broken at the Tucson show. The description exactly matches what I saw and was told. So I guess I got to see the only expensive vintage LP that was smashed by PT!.

Al

 

[Cliff Gress]

Boy Howdy!!

 

[JJ Blair]

OK, I have to jump in here.

In the interest of full disclosure, I have played with the Who, and PT is a friend of mine. I know, met or have worked with many rock stars, some as legendary as Pete, and some who just thought they were. I can tell you that only three people were not disappointments: Zappa, Smokey Robinson and Pete; and Pete stands above them all to me, as an example of an extraordinary human being. He is a remarkable person, who is extremely kind, generous and caring. I would not have pursued being his friend, if I didn't think he were the real deal. My friendship with him has had a profound impact on my life, in terms of helping me become a better person.

Knowing what I know about him, I believe his story as he tells it in the book, 100%. The reason he is on a registry list, is because he made a bad decision to accept a warning, to make the thing go away. He regrets that now. He should have fought the charges. If you knew the amount of work he has done to help the exploited, you would understand what he was doing. It was not "research for a book." It was research for an article, to expose the fact that major banks and credit card companies were doing business with child pornographers.

The only thing that incriminated him was his own admission that he did pay for access to a site, which was done to prove what these businesses were doing. Nothing incriminating was found on any of his computers. He is not a pedophile, nor has he ever been found in possession of child porn.

In terms of his smashing guitars, I'll tell you my own personal story: I was doing my weekly jam a few years ago, and was going through some bad depression. One of the power tubes in my amp kept coming loose, and I got frustrated. I was playing my late '80s Strat Plus I'd had since I was a teenager. I started banging the side of the amp with it, and the neck came loose. I realized the guitar was unplayable at that point, and I said "fuck it," and smashed the guitar in the middle of a song.

I didn't even realize that I was wearing my "This guitar has second to live" T-Shirt, which was rather ironic.

I sent a picture of the smashed axe to Pete, with the caption "your influence," and you know what he did? He admonished me for breaking my instrument, and losing my temper. He explained to me that he no longer thinks this is an appropriate way to vent frustration.

That's right. Pete Townshend gave me shit for breaking my Strat.

Now in terms of why he started doing it, it started out as an accident, but the crowd reaction was so great, that it became a gimmick. However, that gimmick fit the style of the Who's music, and the content of the music. There has never been a band with the raw power of vintage Who. And the stage presence of Pete, Roger and Keith made for a rock spectacle that matched the sheer awesomeness of the music they were making.

Anybody who "doesn't get" the Who, buy the Deluxe Version of "Live at Leeds." With the exception of background vocals that were not recorded, due to a tape machine failure, and were overdubbed in a single pass in Pete's studio, that album is 100% live. No fixes. It is easily the greatest live record of all time. If you listen to that and still "don't get it," then you don't get rock and roll. Period.

Pete can be sloppy at times. He can hit some wrong notes here and there, but do we take points away from Page for that? Pete is a guitar genius. Find the video on youtube of him playing "Eminence Front" live, if you don't believe me. He is an unbelievable player. His tone is sick as fuck, too. He's also one of the best songwriters rock has ever been graced with. And if you don't agree after giving it a real listen, I can't help it that your taste is in your ass.

As for Bursts, he's never owned one. The closest to a Burst he's ever had was a '56 Custom. So no, he didn't break any. He broke mainly Rickies, Fenders SG Specials and Norlins. And you know what? That's fucking rock and roll.

 

[JJ Blair]

Oh, he did break the following Clown Bursts, though, which were restored.

 

[Banker]

The reason he is on a registry list, is because he made a bad decision to accept a warning, to make the thing go away.

No, the reason he is/was on the Sex Offender's Register is because he paid to join a child pornography website. No more, no less. He accepted a police caution, so PT now has a criminal record for the same.

He was incriminated by his actions, not his "admission". He was arrested because the site was being monitored by law enforcement, not because he walked into a police station with a mea culpa.

For clarity sake, it was PT doing business with child pornographers, not "the banks". To say otherwise is akin to blaming car makers for drink driving.

Pedophiles commonly "help the exploited", look no further than the church.

 

[JJ Blair]

Banker, you have your facts wrong. Had he not told the police he had done that, they actually would have had no evidence of him doing it.

Do you even know the facts behind this? Apparently not. He had a partner on the article who knew of the incident ahead of time. There was single charge that was immediately cancelled once access was granted, to prove the point that anybody with a credit card could access the site. This is actually a matter of public record.

Nobody has ever accused him of pedophilia, by the way, so I don't know why that word is thrown out there. And in terms of why he started charities for the exploited, it was in reaction to somebody he befriended through his own recovery from drug addiction, who had been exploited and sexually abused as a child, who wound up killing themselves. The effect of the suicide of this person that Pete cared about greatly, and tried so hard to help, caused him to put time and effort into preventing these situations in the future. It's not a Jimmy Saville charity type situation.

I'm glad that you have such strong feelings about pedophiles, but you simply don't know what the fuck you're talking about. Sounds like your mind is closed to any facts, so I'm not going to try to convince you further. I'm just correcting the record.

All I'll say is that if anybody hates pedophiles with good reason, it's me. Pete's not a pedophile.

 

[Rev.WillieVK]

Hey - look here! Pete playing a sunburst Les Paul! :biggrin:

 

[zombiwoof]

Hey - look here! Pete playing a sunburst Les Paul! :biggrin:

That's one of the numbered LP Deluxes that he used for a while, some were modded with a third pickup (I believe it was a full-size humbucker between the two minis). Some were probably tuned differently, which explains the numbering. Whatever the reason, he could just call out for "number 3", as he was using something like six or so of them. Gibson did a limited run of PT modded Deluxe clones at one point some years ago.

Al

 

[jcfpjg]

OK, I have to jump in here.

In the interest of full disclosure, I have played with the Who, and PT is a friend of mine. I know, met or have worked with many rock stars, some as legendary as Pete, and some who just thought they were. I can tell you that only three people were not disappointments: Zappa, Smokey Robinson and Pete; and Pete stands above them all to me, as an example of an extraordinary human being. He is a remarkable person, who is extremely kind, generous and caring. I would not have pursued being his friend, if I didn't think he were the real deal. My friendship with him has had a profound impact on my life, in terms of helping me become a better person.

Knowing what I know about him, I believe his story as he tells it in the book, 100%. The reason he is on a registry list, is because he made a bad decision to accept a warning, to make the thing go away. He regrets that now. He should have fought the charges. If you knew the amount of work he has done to help the exploited, you would understand what he was doing. It was not "research for a book." It was research for an article, to expose the fact that major banks and credit card companies were doing business with child pornographers.

The only thing that incriminated him was his own admission that he did pay for access to a site, which was done to prove what these businesses were doing. Nothing incriminating was found on any of his computers. He is not a pedophile, nor has he ever been found in possession of child porn.

In terms of his smashing guitars, I'll tell you my own personal story: I was doing my weekly jam a few years ago, and was going through some bad depression. One of the power tubes in my amp kept coming loose, and I got frustrated. I was playing my late '80s Strat Plus I'd had since I was a teenager. I started banging the side of the amp with it, and the neck came loose. I realized the guitar was unplayable at that point, and I said "fuck it," and smashed the guitar in the middle of a song.

I didn't even realize that I was wearing my "This guitar has second to live" T-Shirt, which was rather ironic.

I sent a picture of the smashed axe to Pete, with the caption "your influence," and you know what he did? He admonished me for breaking my instrument, and losing my temper. He explained to me that he no longer thinks this is an appropriate way to vent frustration.

That's right. Pete Townshend gave me shit for breaking my Strat.

Now in terms of why he started doing it, it started out as an accident, but the crowd reaction was so great, that it became a gimmick. However, that gimmick fit the style of the Who's music, and the content of the music. There has never been a band with the raw power of vintage Who. And the stage presence of Pete, Roger and Keith made for a rock spectacle that matched the sheer awesomeness of the music they were making.

Anybody who "doesn't get" the Who, buy the Deluxe Version of "Live at Leeds." With the exception of background vocals that were not recorded, due to a tape machine failure, and were overdubbed in a single pass in Pete's studio, that album is 100% live. No fixes. It is easily the greatest live record of all time. If you listen to that and still "don't get it," then you don't get rock and roll. Period.

Pete can be sloppy at times. He can hit some wrong notes here and there, but do we take points away from Page for that? Pete is a guitar genius. Find the video on youtube of him playing "Eminence Front" live, if you don't believe me. He is an unbelievable player. His tone is sick as fuck, too. He's also one of the best songwriters rock has ever been graced with. And if you don't agree after giving it a real listen, I can't help it that your taste is in your ass.

As for Bursts, he's never owned one. The closest to a Burst he's ever had was a '56 Custom. So no, he didn't break any. He broke mainly Rickies, Fenders SG Specials and Norlins. And you know what? That's fucking rock and roll.

Actually I would like to hear about Zappa.

 

[JJ Blair]

Here's everything you need to know about the Deluxes. This is a great site. Very well researched.

http://www.thewho.net/whotabs/gear/guitar/lpdeluxe.html