In the late 1980s, Steve “Boltz” Bolton of Atomic Rooster fame had his life turned upside down when Pete Townshend personally recruited him to play lead electric guitar on The Who's 1989 tour.
The British guitarist had already worked with David Bowie and John Otway, and featured in the Bob Dylan film, Hearts of Fire, by the time he was approached by the famed guitar-smasher.
As Bolton recalls, Townshend had been impressed by his talents when the Who, Atomic Rooster, and Mott the Hoople shared a stage in 1971.
Prior to the 1989 tour, complications with tinnitus meant Townshend decided to pivot to playing acoustic guitar, with Bolton set to handle electric guitar duties. It was a setup that shielded the guitarist's ears from any more damage, but also one that resulted in some slight confusion.
Recounting their relationship with Guitar Player, Bolton says Townshend had told him, “I recognize myself in you,” and he even edged out Joe Walsh for the gig.
To protect Townshend's ears, Bolton experimented with a tiny five-watt amplifier, but soon reverted to what he knew best: a 100-watt Mesa/Boogie one-by-12 combo. That irked Townshend.
“We were in this huge rehearsal room in West London, which had now become small in space due to all of the gear,” Bolton says. “Pete brings along a bunch of minions with him, and one of them says to all of us, ‘Pete would like the band to run over The Overture from Tommy.’”
Townshend was positioned in a protective booth, which Bolton likens to a garden shed. “It had two speakers on the wall and a picture of the Queen. He's in there with a Takamine acoustic,” he explains.
However, when it came to playing the acoustic riff of Pinball Wizard – which Bolton had played on electric guitar during previous rehearsals in Townshend's absence – Bolton believed the returning guitar hero would assume that particular role himself. He was wrong.
“There's nothing, because I'm not playing, and he’s not playing,” Bolton says. “I look diagonally across the room, and Pete's glaring at me. He shouts, ‘Stop!’ And everyone stops.
“He then smashes the Takamine to smithereens, kicks over the front of the shed, and walks right over to me. He’s right in my face and says, ‘What the fuck are you doing?’
“I pulled him by his lapels and said, ‘Listen, I thought, because you were here and you've got your guitar, you would be doing that bit. That's why I didn’t play.’
“And do you know what he said to me? ‘It’s my fucking band. I can do whatever I like!’
“Pete is a very complex character,” Bolton says, musing over his one-time bandmate all these years later. “But that's what makes him who he is.”
Earlier this year, Townsend said he has five years left in the music industry, having opened up on health issues that made preparing for the Who’s final tour a challenge.
