Pete Townshend’s opinion on U2

One of the most important songwriters in Rock music, Pete Townshend has had the chance to witness the evolution of music firsthand since the 1960s and has always been interested in new bands.

Ireland, England’s neighboring country, has produced many incredible musicians who went on to become global stars. One of the most successful of those bands was U2, formed by Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr. Over the years, Pete Townshend has shared his opinion on many bands from that generation, including U2.

What is Pete Townshend’s opinion on U2

Pete Townshend has been a big fan of U2 since he first heard the band in the early 1980s, but throughout his career he hasn’t always had positive things to say about their albums. He thought “The Joshua Tree” (1987) was a masterpiece, but he didn’t like what they did on “Zooropa” (1993).

“I didn’t like the U2 album Zooropa, which surprised me because it got such spectacular reviews. I couldn’t work out what the fuss was about. (…) I’ve not really jacked into U2 since they became big and famous. I listened to The Joshua Tree once, and I thought it was an impressive record. But I didn’t want to go back to it. It seems to me that what they’re about now is impressing.”

He continued:

“Around the time of Joshua Tree, I thought, “This is a band who are going for the Biggest Band in Rock & Roll mantle – and let them have it. I’ve been there, it’s a crock of shit – and I feel it might be undermining their potential artistry. I mean, I don’t want to shoot them down just because they’re up there – quite the contrary. I am friendly with them all, so I suppose I want to like their music. But I find myself not sufficiently engaged by them as a band.”

“It’s difficult as an artist to criticize any other artist. What you’re supposed to do is rave or keep your mouth shut. I mean, I remember being torn to pieces by Lou Reed fans because I didn’t like New York – enough,” Pete Townshend told Rolling Stone magazine in 1993. In his autobiography “Who I Am”, Pete described Bono as someone “who was never afraid of waxing lyrical at such times” when recalling a conversation they had backstage at the Live Aid festival in the mid-1980s.

Pete Townshend said The Who invented Rock Stadium and gave it to bands like U2

Over the years, Pete Townshend has said that The Who were pioneers in many aspects of Rock and Roll, including showing how a band could successfully perform in football stadiums in front of tens of thousands of fans. He curiously included a liner note in the 8-CD box set collection he released in 2025 of his solo music outside The Who, called The Studio Albums, saying: “I handed the stadium stage to Queen and U2, and of course to Bruce Springsteen. That wasn’t a bad thing”.

When asked about that phrase by Rolling Stone, the musician explained: “(…) 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,” he said.

When Bono inducted The Who to the Rock Hall he said they were U2’s role models

When Bono and U2 inducted The Who into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005, the singer praised the band during his speech and said they were the role models U2 had always looked up to. “It’s written in Rock and Roll that ‘all you need is love’, but as a lot of you know out there, you also need a PA, a light rig, a good manager, a good agent, some good songs and all these things. But I think much more than that, you need a great nose (laughs).”

“It’s an essential equipment if you want to be in a great Rock and Roll band. In The Beatles we had Ringo. The Faces they had two, so they gave Ronnie Wood to the Rolling Stones, who didn’t have any. I didn’t know until tonight that Ray Davies (The Kinks) had such a great one. Even Art Garfunkel, man! That’s amazing, it’s the nose. Some people have them and they chop them off, we call those people Pop stars. The Who are Rock and Roll stars.”

He continued:

“So what is Rock and Roll, God how would I know, I’m from Dublin, Ireland but I’m here. It can and should be fun, ridiculous, inspirational, over the top, pompous, angry, telling of its time or even sometimes taking itself too seriously. The music, I suppose, the Rock and Roll that affected U2 the most, was the Rock and Roll that suggested something more, that everything is possible. A sense of freedom, a sense of independence from crude commercialism and conformity that now threatens the free spirit of Rock and Roll.”

“Poor or stinking rich, great artists seem to transcend these limitations. The Who definitely did, they just laughed at it, it seemed to mock it. I mean, ‘The Who Sell Out’, that was a joke, right? Anyway, to enjoy even revel in contradictions is necessary for any Rock and Roll fan and that’s what we are. I’m a Rock and Roll fan, I’m a fan of The Who.”

“More than any other group that ever was, The Who were our role models. I love them and I hate them for that. They took on more than any other group and succeeded at a lot of it. Pete Townshend’s faith and doubt gave me great courage and he’s always been available. We in U2 are proud and have been humbled to be part of a tradition that holds them high,” Bono said (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage).

Pete Townshend helped Adam Clayton recover from addiction

Pete has always been quite sincere about his opinions of other artists and bands, and although he didn’t like some of the things U2 did, he has remained a fan of the band and a good friend of its members. He has had the opportunity to see the Irish group perform live multiple times and to support them in their personal lives as well.

The band’s bassist, Adam Clayton, revealed during his speech upon receiving the Stevie Ray Vaughan Award for his work with the MusiCares MAP Fund that Townshend was one of the people who helped him recover from addiction.

“Eric Clapton was there on the end of the phone, he didn’t sugarcoat it. He told me that I needed to change my life and that I wouldn’t regret it. He gave me the name of a treatment center and the power to make the call to them. Whilst I was going through that five week program Pete Townshend visited me and again, put steel on my back. These two talents were enough to get me started and convinced me my life wasn’t over. But that I was at the start of a long journey to learn to love myself,” Adam Clayton said in 2017 (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage).