The Who’s Pete Townshend says ‘hotel-room-wrecking’ was ‘art’ and a ‘statement against materialism’

The legendary hotel room wreckages left behind by The Who on tour was a “statement against materialism” according to guitarist Pete Townshend.

The veteran performer says it was drummer Keith Moon who “set the precedent” for the band’s behaviour in hotels. Townshend would also confirm he used to turn off televisions by throwing ashtrays at them. While it may be ridiculous behaviour to trash hotel rooms for the sake of it, Townshend believes there is a deeper meaning to their destruction than first thought. In an interview with Playboy magazine’s David Sheff, the performer confirmed he “quite seriously” believed his hotel room antics were a matter of art above all. While he would also confirm he disagreed with the destruction caused by fellow bandmates Moon and Roger Daltrey, Townshend says he too played a part in the hotel room messes.

He said: “I didn’t like them very much, I have to say. It’s not just me being a bad sport. I kind of went along with it, but I didn’t like it. And I don’t think Roger did, either, and maybe not even John [Entwistle].

“Keith set the precedent, and once it was set, I fell into it, too. Like, I used to turn off the TV set with a glass ashtray. It was in the days before remote control, and I never bothered to get out of bed. I’d just hurl an astray and smash the television, which did the job.

“Occasionally at a party I would turn over a table or something, but Keith was an artist when it came to that. He was a hotel-room-wrecking artist. It wasn’t about violence or hedonism. It was art. Quite seriously. It was part of the statement against materialism, against neatness, against order, values, role models, against all that shit.

“He’d come into a freshly made-up room and look at it intently and study it. Then he’d rearrange it. Afterwards, he would always go to warn the maid. ‘Alice, slight problem in room 1308.’ he’d say. We used to have to pay for it. We got some enormous bills.”

While Townshend would go along with the hotel room deviancy, it seems the veteran guitarist was wanting to branch out on his own. Earlier in the interview he suggested being in The Who had held him back, and that the band wasn’t quite a democracy under Daltrey.

Though Townshend would get back together with The Who several times over his career, he believes the band did not aid him as well as it could have. Asked if looking back at his time in The Who was a reminiscent, “good old days” feeling, Townshend says he felt “fettered” by frontman Daltrey.

He said: “Under the so-called democracy of The Who I felt very fettered by Roger, but at the same time it was wonderful to share the weight of a concert with him. I was somewhat held back by John Entwistle’s tendency to play too loud, but equally I miss his backstage wit and the fact that we have been friends since we were 11 years old. So it’s mixed.”