The Who’s Tommy album was brought to Broadway by Pete Townshend as he believed “rock and roll” had its place on stage.
The Who guitarist would adapt the album, which had already been turned into a film, as a chance to “give Andrew Lloyd Webber some competition.” Townshend would also share that there were “no heroes” on Broadway compared to rock and roll music. He would share his reasons for adapting the classic album to the stage, citing a desire to “claim” back the venues from Webber’s hit musicals. Speaking to David Sheff for an interview with Playboy Magazine, Townshend confirmed it was Tommy which proved most popular with passive audiences. The veteran guitarist suggested everyday listeners would confuse the name of the album with the name of the group, and as a result, it was the easiest album to adapt.
Townshend said: “I like the fact that when rock and roll comes to Broadway there are no heroes. No Keith Moon’s to go up in smoke. It’s a group effort, a true ensemble. And for me, it is a new place in which I can experiment. I have long felt that I have a place in musical theatre; I feel I have a function there, a duty.”
That duty was questioned by Sheff, with Townshend replying: “To give Andrew Lloyd Webber some competition. Rock and roll needed to be brought to Broadway, and in doing that I always felt that Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, with Jesus Christ Superstar, rode off with part of my inheritance. I wanted to claim it back. Now I’ve done so. And Tommy is my way in. I plan to become more involved in musical theatre.”
When it came to the audience, which was a much more mixed collection of people than an average show by The Who, Townshend suggested there was always an interest in Tommy, specifically from the “nonrock” crowd.
Townshend said: “But there always was a wide non-rock audience that was interested in Tommy, even at the beginning. They didn’t know anything about the Who and would confuse the two names – which was the name of the group and which was the name of the album.”
The veteran guitarist would also suggest frontman Roger Daltrey and long-time collaborator John Entwistle held him back during his tenure in The Who. 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.”
Townshend would garner a reputation for smashing guitars during his time with The Who, something he says is an “embarrassing” part of his performance. He said: “Well you have to remember I’m not angry all the time.
“Even now I occasionally get frustrated on the stage with guitars and want to smash them. I tend not to do it, but the opportunity’s always there. I smashed a guitar on the Psycho Derelict tour and it was great fun.”
