NEW YORK--Pete Townshend, guitarist with the legendary British rock band The Who, is probably the leading “poster child” for the ill effects of overamplified music. For more than a decade, he has talked about the severe hearing loss he has suffered because of his failure to use ear protection during the glory years of his band in the 1960s and 70s. He has warned young musicians not to follow his bad example.
However, Rolling Stone reports, Townshend wants the world to know that he’s not too deaf to keep on rocking. On a recent blog post, he denied claims that his deafness is what kept him off the current Tommy tour, named for the title character of Pinball Wizard, perhaps The Who’s most famous album.
The truth, he blogged, is that the Tommy tour is “entirely Roger’s adventure,” referring to Roger Daltrey, founder and lead singer of The Who. What’s more, says Townshend, he is actively involved in re-mastering Quadrophenia, another classic Who album.
