Pete Townshend

On May 20, 1968, he married Karen Astley, with whom he had three children. The couple separated in 1994 and legally divorced in 2009.

In 1974, he organised a benefit show for the Camden Square Community Play Center. He has also donated for other charities, including charities for children and has been involved in many philanthropic activities.

He established the Meher Baba Oceanic in London, for Baba followers. The organisation had film editing and dubbing facilities along with economic stay. He also contributed to the Avatar Meher Baba Trust in India.

Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend was born on May 19, 1945 in Chiswick, London, England, into a family of musical talents. His father Cliff Townshend was a saxophonist and mother Betty Townshend was a singer.

As a child, he exhibited liking for music, especially American rock and roll, which he became drawn to in the mid 1950s. When he turned twelve, his grandmother gifted him his first guitar.

From 1961, he began to attend the Ealing Art College, London, England, where he studied to become a graphic artist. The following year, along with school friend, John Entwistle he co-founded the band, ‘The Confederates’.

He and John Entwistle later became a part of the English rock band, ‘The Detours’, which was later renamed, ‘The Who’ in 1964. He was the guitarist of the band.

From 1964, he wrote quite a few successful singles for the band. Some of the singles include, ‘I Can’t Explain’, ‘Pictures of Lily’, ‘Substitute’, and ‘My Generation’.

On December 3, 1965, the band’s debut album titled, ‘My Generation’ was released. As a part of ‘The Who’, he composed and wrote most of the songs. The album received critical appreciation.

In 1966, ‘The Who’ came out with their second album titled, ‘A Quick One’, which featured the massive hit song, ‘Happy Jack’. The following year the band released its third album, ‘The Who Sell Out’.

In 1969, ‘The Who’ released their next album, ‘Tommy’, which was for most part composed by him. He received much praise and earned critical acclaim for his work in the album.

In 1970, along with Ronnie Lane, he came out with the album titled, ‘Happy Birthday’. This album was a tribute and dedication to Meher Baba, his spiritual mentor.

The song, ‘My Generation’ by ‘The Who’ was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. It was featured on The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s ‘500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll’.

His solo album, ‘Empty Glass’, was ranked at number 57 on the ‘Rolling Stone’ magazine’s list of ‘100 Greatest Albums of the 1980s’. In a Gibson Guitar Corp poll, a musical instruments firm, it was rated at number 5 for, ‘the greatest albums released by an artist who was previously in a successful band’.