Pete Townshend and John Lennon

I'm always curious about how the greats regard one another and if their paths ever crossed. For this post here are a few items on Pete Townshend and John Lennon.

There is more in this interview but below is one snippet of something Lennon had to say. For more click here:

"Listen to “Twist and Shout.” I couldn’t sing the damn thing I was just screaming. Listen to it. Wop-Bop-a-loo-bop-a-Wop-bam-boom. Don’t get the therapy confused with the music. Yoko’s whole thing was that scream. “Don’t Worry, Kyoko” was one of the f****’ best rock and roll records ever made. Listen to it, and play “Tutti Fruitti.” Listen to “Don’t Worry, Kyoko” on the other side of “Cold Turkey. I’m digressing from mine, but if somebody with a rock-oriented mind could possibly hear her stuff, you’ll see what she’s doing. It’s fantastic, you know. It’s as important as anything we ever did, and it is as important as anything the Stones or Townshend ever did. Listen to it, and you’ll hear what she is putting down. On “Cold Turkey” I’m getting towards it. I’m influenced by her music 1000 percent more than I ever was by anybody or anything. She makes music like you’ve never heard on earth."

Pete Townshend on John Lennon from an interview here:
"I had an incredible conversation once with Paul McCartney. The difference between the way Lennon and McCartney behave with the people that are around them is incredible. What Lennon does is he sits down, immediately acknowledges the fact that he’s John Lennon and that everything for the rest of the night is going to revolve around him. He completely relaxes and let’s everybody feel at ease and just speaks dribble little jokes, little rubbish like he’s got, In His Own Write and little things. Like he’ll start to dribble on and get stoned and do silly things and generally have a good time. Of course everybody gets into his thing and also has a generally good time."

"But Paul McCartney worries, he wants a genuine conversation, a genuine relationship, starting off from square one: We’ve got to get it straight that we both know where we’re both at before we begin. One of them is f******* Paul McCartney, a Beatle, the other one is me, a huge monumental Beatle fan who still gets a kick out of sitting and talking to Paul McCartney. And he’s starting to tell me that he digs me and that we’re on an even par so that we can begin the conversation which completely makes me even a bigger fan. That’s all it serves to do. The conversation comes to no purpose and all he serves to do is to confuse himself. He’s trying to say, 'Oh, you know, you know where you’re at. I know where I’m at, we’re both really just us and let’s talk.' So what do you say? I’m a fantastic fan of yours, man.”

If you are interested in more links on The Who and The Beatles click this for what purportedly is the last photo of John and Paul. There is also a picture on that page of Paul McCartney, John Lennon and Keith Moon.

Also, the picture is no longer available, but here is a link to an auction of a copy of Arthur Janov's The Primal Scream, as sent to Pete Townshend by John Lennon.