Happy 75th Birthday Pete Townshend: Performing The Who Classics Acoustic In 1979

The Who guitarist Pete Townshend was born 75 years ago today in the Chiswick district of west London. Townshend formed The Who with vocalist Roger Daltrey, drummer Keith Moon and bassist John Entwistle in 1964 and the band became one of the most influential live and recording acts in rock history. While Moon died in 1978 and Entwistle passed away in 2002, Townshend and Daltrey continue to record and perform under The Who banner through the present with their latest album, Who, released this past December.

Pete Townshend is creative force behind The Who, especially when it comes to songwriting. Townshend composed the vast majority of songs released by the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame act including nearly all of their most beloved hits. It was also Pete who came up with the concepts for two of the earliest rock operas, Tommy in 1969 and 1973’s Quadropenia.

Additionally, Townshend’s instrumental talents are otherworldly as he counts synthesizer, banjo, harmonica, mandolin, violin and ukulele among the instruments he’s mastered. However, it’s Pete’s guitar playing that has gained him notoriety with both Rolling Stone and Gibson placing Townshend as the tenth best guitarist of all-time.

Many The Who tunes feature aggressive electric guitar work from Townshend. Yet, Pete’s versatility comes through when he goes unplugged. Townshend showed off his skills on the acoustic during a June 30, 1979 performance at The Secret Policeman’s Ball, a charity concert held at London’s Her Majesty’s Theatre. The Secret Policeman’s Ball was held each night from June 27 – 30, 1979 to raise funds for Amnesty International and Pete played the same acoustic set of The Who classics at all four concerts. Pete’s performances are thought to be among his first unplugged appearances.

Pete Townshend opened his solo acoustic set with “Pinball Wizard” off Tommy. The guitarist then presented an unplugged rendition of “Drowned” from The Who’s other famed rock opera, Quadrophenia. Classical guitarist John Williams joined Townshend for the “Won’t Get Fooled Again” finale. Watch Pete Townshend’s June 30, 1979 acoustic performance below: