Pete Townshend says feminine followers of bands are ‘fickle’ and ‘transfer from one group to the opposite’ as he discusses the ‘hedonistic’ early days of The Who
Pete Townshend has claimed female fans of bands are ‘fickle’ and ‘move from one band to the other’ as he discussed the death of Liam Payne.
The musician, 79, one of the co-founders of The Who, found quick success with the band and recalled that by the time he was 22, they were already ‘really big’.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Pete and his wife Rachel Fuller were asked about the recent death of One Direction star Liam Payne who died at the age of 31 after falling off a third-floor balcony of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina on October 16.
Speaking of the great wealth and hedonism that can accompany fame in a pop or rock group, Rachel said: ‘I think that’s [the effect of] wealth as well, and privilege and notoriety. You see it with footballers.’
Pete disagreed however, saying he thought The Who’s hedonistic ways were driven by the fact they were young, became famous quickly and they appealed mostly to boys.
Pete Townshend has claimed female fans of bands are ‘fickle’ and ‘move from one band to the other’ as he discussed the death of Liam Payne
Pete and his wife Rachel Fuller were asked about the recent death of One Direction star Liam Payne who died at the age of 31 after falling off a third-floor balcony on October 16
He went on: ‘The thing about One Direction was that they were a huge hit suddenly, and their audience was 90 per cent girls. And girls are very flippant. They’re fickle. They move from one band to another quite quickly, and one artist to another.’
It’s the reason why, Pete says, he told his bandmates at the start of their careers: ‘We’re not going to be like The Beatles or The Rolling Stones or The Kinks. We’re not going to work for screaming girls. We’re going to work for the boys.’
An autopsy previously confirmed Liam had suffered internal and external bleeding and multiple traumatic injuries sustained as a result of the fall.
The singer’s solo career came off the back of global stardom that began with ITV talent show, The X Factor.
He was eventually put in a boyband with four other solo hopefuls at the boot camp stage of the competition – the group which later became One Direction.
In 2012, the band won their first Brit Award for best British single for their debut track What Makes You Beautiful, before picking up the Brit global success award a year later.
The members would eventually go their separate ways before Liam launched his solo career.
A young woman staying in the same hotel said she was told by the former One Direction singer just minutes before he died: ‘I used to be in a boy band – that’s why I’m so f**ked up‘.
Pete thought The Who’s hedonistic ways were driven by the fact they were young, became famous quickly and they appealed mostly to boys (L-R Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, John Entwistle and Keith Moon in 1965)
Pete said: ‘One Direction were a huge hit suddenly, and their audience was 90 per cent girls. And girls are very flippant. They’re fickle’ (One Direction pictured in 2010)
An autopsy previously confirmed Liam had suffered internal and external bleeding and multiple traumatic injuries sustained as a result of the fall
Rebecca’s surprise 30-minute long encounter with Liam took place in the foyer of the hotel, where she was staying for a wedding.
Liam had been due to check out on Wednesday morning, but still had not done so by late afternoon, she claimed.
Following the star’s death, Payne’s family said they were ‘heartbroken’, adding: ‘Liam will forever live in our hearts and we’ll remember him for his kind, funny and brave soul.’
A joint statement from his One Direction bandmates said they were ‘completely devastated’ and will miss the singer ‘terribly’, adding the ‘memories we shared with him will be treasured forever’.
