Pete Townshend popped in to Stephen Colbert’s show this week to, amongst other things, reminisce about the first time The Who came to the States.
That was in 1967, the height of the hippy era. “The hippy thing didn’t fit in very well for us,” Townshend told the host. “Cream – Eric Clapton’s band – was on the same bill. We were doing four to five shows a day, and I was smashing a guitar at every show. I was just making sure I left my mark.”
The guitarist claims he actually repaired them between every show. “I had to glue them together between shows. I did. I had to use this special glue called Cascamite – it’s a powdered glue and I managed to string them back together. I got very good at putting guitars together.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukBwvh3-h2Y
The Who wound up what they claim will definitely be their final US tour last month. Townshend told Colbert he didn’t like touring but “I really enjoyed this last tour. It was great.
"I decided that I was going to make Roger (Daltrey) happy, which isn’t easy. Not because he’s a nasty guy but because he sings and his whole body and life goes into it. And I thought ‘I must forget about myself and just do this for me’. It might be the last thing we ever do together.”
“And it worked. He did have two days off when he got sick. But I loved it because I got him laughing and got him smiling and we were hugging each other and telling each other that we love each other, which is not something that has happened up until now. So it was a great tour for me.”
