Rock and Roll Garage

The guitarist, songwriter and singer Pete Townshend was part of the 60s British Rock movement that revolutionized music. Alongside The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, The Who helped to change the course of Rock and Roll forever, inspiring countless bands all over the world. In the 1970s they were still active and highly relevant, but new groups were also emerging and would carry the torch in the years that followed. One of them was Queen and Pete Townshend has already shared his opinion on the band. What is Pete Townshend's opinion on Queen Although Pete Townshend recognizes the impact Queen had in music, he is not a big fan of the band as he said that he never appreciated what "Queen was about" when talking about Live Aid festival. "The Who invented Stadium Rock. We gave it away. Our timing was terrible. When we did Live Aid, we could barely fuckin’ play. Queen were in the middle of a tour, walked out there, took the whole thing, and turned it into an advert for themselves. I never really appreciated what Queen was about, to be honest. I liked ABBA, but I didn’t really connect it with the lighthearted pop diversity of Queen’s catalog. I’m a huge fan of Bruce, of course, and a big fan of U2, and very happy to see the way that they took the stadium mantle." "But with songs like 'Won’t Get Fooled Again' and 'Baba O’Riley,' I fuckin’ nailed it. There’s no question. And I gave that instrument away. But it would be wrong to say that I regret it, because I don’t. I have to look back and say, 'Well, what is, is.' But where it really bit for us all was financially, because that moment was one where instead of playing places like the Fillmore and the occasional arena, the big acts were playing consistently huge venues," Pete Townshend told Rolling Stone in 2025. That wasn't the first time that Townshend had the chance to see Queen playing. As he told in his autobiography "Who I Am" (2012), he went to their show a few years before, in 1980, with his first wife Karen Astley. The musician said they were the "maddest group" he ever had seen live by then. Pete Townshend said: "Karen and I went to see Queen at Wembley. I thought they were about the maddest group I’d ever seen. They were bigger than The Who in the UK by this time. John Lennon had been shot dead in New York the day before, and it was all anyone could talk about. I had only met him once or twice, but I felt for Yoko, Sean and Julian," Pete Townshend said. He also mentioned Queen’s participation in Live Aid in his biography, saying that they and George Michael delivered the best performances of the festival. At the end, as he battled to find a place to stand on the stage, it was I who moved to lift Bob Geldof up to join us for the finale, and it was Paul McCartney who moved to my side to help. That was a good moment for me. As for our performance, The Who were out of practice and should probably have left it to Queen and George Michael, who stole the show," Pete Townshend said. Pete Townshend and Freddie Mercury studied at the same art college A big part of the famous British Rock and Roll musicians studied at art colleges in England, including Pete Townshend and Freddie Mercury. They both attended the Ealing College of Art, although in different eras (Ronnie Wood was also a student there). Townshend left a year before Mercury enrolled in 1966. Mercury graduated in 1969 with a degree in Graphic Art and Design, later using his skills to create Queen’s logo, known as the “Queen crest.” It combines the zodiac signs of the four members: the lions for John Deacon and Roger Taylor (Leo), a crab for Brian May (Cancer), and two fairies for Freddie (Virgo). "I went to Ealing Art School a year after Pete Townshend left. Music was a sideline to everything we did. The school was a breeding ground for musicians, I listened to Hendrix, really. I got my diploma and then I thought I'd chance it as a freelance artist. I tried, I did it for a couple of months. But I'd done it for so long I thought, 'My God, I've done enough.'" He continued: "The interest wasn't there. And the music thing just grew and grew. Finally I said, 'Right, I'm taking the plunge, it's music.' I'm one of those people believes in doing those things which interest you. Music is so interesting, dear," Freddie Mercury told Melody Maker in 1974. In 1992, five months after Freddie Mercury's death, Queen organized a charity tribute show. Although Pete wasn't part of it, The Who's vocalist Roger Daltrey represented the band to honor Mercury's legacy. That night he joined Queen and Tony Iommi on stage to perform "I Want it All". Another interesting connection between Freddie and Townshend is that in 2006 The Who won the first annual "Freddie Mercury Lifetime Achievement in Live Music Award" at the Vodaphone Live Awards. Brian May said Pete Townshend was Queen's biggest inspiration https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CSSnrY3Ezs&list=RD4CSSnrY3Ezs&start_radio=1&pp=ygUUcm9nZXIgZGFsdHJleSBpIHdhbnSgBwE%3D The Who was one of the bands that inspired Roger Taylor and Brian May the most when they were still aspiring musicians. They used to go see together Townshend's band playing and they would "get that feeling of reckless danger, anger, passion. And that’s what we seek. Pete Townshend, in full flight, is a dangerous experience," Brian May told Cuepoint in 2014. As May said on his website in 2024, Pete is “at the top” of the list of Queen’s biggest inspirations. “We (Queen) wanted to take people off into the stratosphere. It’s always been that way with us. We were inspired by our heroes to do that, and I put The Who way up top of that list. Pete Townshend is the master of mood change, a master of the suspended chord." "I owe so much to him… That was the whole kind of principle of the early electric guitar. So that you could amlify it on the stage and it wouldn’t feed back. So I’d seen feedback. I’d seen Pete Townshend – again, wow! Pete Townshend’s a god of guitar and always will be! I’d seen him stand there and let the guitar explode into life on its own," Brian May said.

Pete Townshend’s opinion on Queen

Dave Mustaine says Megadeth’s farewell might last 3 to 5 years

Graham Nash announces first 2026 tour dates