Pete Townshend teases rock opera project

Pete Townshend says he’s currently working on a “big” project as the band continue their 50th anniversary celebrations.

They’ll headline the final night at this year’s Glastonbury and play the British Summer Time festival on June 26. But outside of his commitments with The Who, the guitarist says he also has other projects in the pipeline.

He tells Rolling Stone: “I’m working on a big project at the moment which might be half rock opera, half art installation – I don’t know where it’s going to go. I’m going to start with a book. I don’t want to talk too much about that now.”

And while he says he’s currently enjoying going over old tracks from the band’s past, Townshend reports he’s also working on fresh material which could appear on a solo album – although he’s not sure he wants to release anything at the moment.

He continues: “I haven’t done a new solo piece for a really long time. If I did, I think I would want it to be something that really addressed everything that’s going on in the world at the moment.

“I’m old enough and wise enough and stupid enough and have done enough dangerous shit to say pretty much whatever I like. It won’t be popular, but nobody can hurt me now.”

Townshend will be presented with the Stevie Ray Vaughan Award from the MusicCares MAP Fund for his work supporting addiction recovery services on May 28. The Who’s Live At Shea Stadium 1982 will be released on June 29 via Eagle Rock Entertainment.

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent 35 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott keeps Louder’s buyer’s guides up to date, writes about the best deals for music fans, keeps on top of the latest tech releases and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 10 years, Scott has written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald newspapers, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.