The Simon Townshend Interview
Conducted November 11th, 2000
By Dave Van Staveren

Q:
How did it come about when you were you asked to play guitar on the 1996 show at Hyde Park? Was it something you expected or did it take you by surprise?

A:
Zak Starkey and I played with Roger Daltrey on his 1994 U.S tour and a big part of the show was a 'Quad' segment. It was a natural progression for me to stay involved when The Who decided to do their own version of the piece.

Q:
You had played with Roger Daltrey on the DST tour in 1994 and at the Who Convention in 1995, how was it playing with your brother and the other members?

A:
It was a great honor for me to work with The Who on 'Quad' and with Daltrey on his 'sings Townshend' tour but for me, as an artiste / writer / performer I cannot fully commit myself to playing Pete's music - I love to listen and watch The Who as an outsider and do my own music for me and my own self satisfaction.

Q:
Were you totally familiar with the songs to the point of not having to practice as much as let's say maybe someone who had never played the parts to the album?

A:
I knew every Who song inside out - I heard them all growing up so the job of playing them was naturally very easy.

Q:
Which songs did you enjoy playing most? Was there any that you found challenging?

A:
I enjoyed playing 'Won't Get Fooled Again' most of all, but that was actually the least challenging. The most challenging.... Hmmmm?? Very hard to say, with Daltrey it was his opening orchestrated piece, 'Overture' or the picking banjo style guitar of 'I'm One'. With 'The Who' it was the solo parts in 5:15 - I loved singing Dirty Jobs, that was my favourite part of the show.... I am a singer at heart.

Q:
What kind of guitars were you using on the 1996 & 1997 tours?

A:
Brian Moore Custom with stereo outputs, Acoustic and electric.

Q:
The 1996 Quadrophenia shows were very different to the 1997 shows. The latter performances seemed tighter and Pete was playing more electric as opposed to the acoustic in 1996. How did this effect your playing? Did you have to scale your playing back some when he pulled the electric out?

A:
Nothing was ever that rehearsed, I just used to wait and see what happened... some nights Pete would choose to play more electric so I would just play a more support rhythm part - It was a mood thing and kept me on my toes to an extent.

Q:
How was it performing with Gary Glitter, Billy Idol on the 96' tour and later PJ Proby in 97? What were the reasons for the switch from Gary and Billy on the 1997 tour?

A:
It was ok performing with all these guys though none of them were my ideal choices - Billy Idol rocked and I got on well with him off stage as well as on. I cannot say why there were personnel changes - more than likely down to money as usual.

Q:
Do you feel that Pete was happy that Quadrophenia was finally brought into better light during the two tours as opposed to the difficulty in performing the 1973 shows? Is he now content that people have seen the shows as they were meant to be?

A:
I don't know for sure - I know that I am never happy with my work, most artistes ever are. He seemed to enjoy himself for a while there but after 60 shows things stagnated a little and it became less about 'Quad' and more about The Who 'live', if you know what I mean.

Q:
There wasn't a great deal of publicity surrounding the 1996 and 1997 shows. Do you think this was because this was Quadrophenia and not a greatest hits tour like we have seen these past few months?

Probably, yes.

Q:
And finally what do you think of the web site? Is there anything that you think should be added and or improved upon?

A:
All looks fine to me - possibly include more song lyrics as that is what it's all about to me.