In a new installment of Audible’s Words + Music audio series titled Pete Townshend: Somebody Saved Me, The Who‘s Pete Townshend treats listeners to a candid look at his life and music during the period spanning roughly from the 1978 death of Keith Moon to John Entwistle‘s passing in 2002.
The free two-hour presentation, which debuted today at Audible.com, also features new versions of noteworthy Townshend solo songs and Who tunes that Pete recorded especially for the episode.
Townshend tells ABC Audio that he initially turned down what he admits was a lucrative offer to do the Words + Music installment, but after he was informed that the teenage cancer charities he helps support were in need of funds, he changed his mind.
“I’m so glad [I did], because I had such a blast,” Pete says. “You know, it was a tricky period [to revisit], but I loved doing it.”
A main focus of the episode was the early 1980s, a prolific period for Townshend when he released the solo albums Empty Glass and All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes, and The Who issued the Face Dances and It’s Hard albums.
The songs Townshend rerecorded for the Words + Music episode all came from those albums, and Pete tells ABC Audio that creating the new versions “was the fun bit for me,” because he loves working in his home studio.
One of the many anecdotes Pete shares in the presentation is how he came up with idea for his solo hit “Let My Love Open the Door” in the middle of a dinner party at his home, and then proceeded to keep his family and guests awake as he worked all night on the tune.
“I knew I had a hit,” Townshend says in justification.
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