Words of wisdom

It was sometime in the summer of 1982 that I first heard a sound which had a profound effect on me. I was bowling to my older brother (as is the social role of the younger brother) when the next song came onto the tape on the tape recorder. The song was called My Generation and I was listening to it for the first time fully seventeen years after its UK release. It blew me away with its sheer energy and menacing lyrics. The juggernaut rhythm section of Entwistle and Moon constituted the most amazing sound which I had ever heard. This solid bass line being cheekily punctuated by the unpredictable interruptions of the most precocious drummer I had ever heard was led by the gravel voiced Roger Daltrey fairly dripping with testosterone. To cap it all though came the incomparable defiant lyric,"I hope I die before I get old". This was the catchphrase of youth everywhere in every society in every age.

Last week a musician who shaped the music of the sixties and far beyond turned 65. It received very little in the way of press coverage which surprised me. I am referring to Peter Dennis Blanford Townshend of The Who. The chief songwriter and group leader since 1964 can now board buses for free. Along the way, his foot soldiers Keith Moon and John Entwistle have lived by his famous lyric and left us fans wanting more and wishing they were still with us. Such was Townshend's penchant for excess over the years in between, the only surprise for those around him is that Moon and Entwistle have beaten him to it! So the man who wrote:

1. I hope I die before I get old,
2. No-one knows what its like to be the bad man,
3. An entire rock opera regarding a deaf, dumb and blind boy,
4. A rock opera based at least semi-autobiographically on a young mod called Jimmy,
5. Meet the new boss - same as the old boss,
6. Teenage wasteland,
7. Too much of anything is too much for me,
8. Who's Next - in my very humble opinion the very best studio album ever made, and,
9. I can see for miles

is now a pensioner - against all odds. So, Pete Townshend, my profound and most sincere thanks to you for all the great music which you have given us over so many years.