Pete Townshend

The legendary lead guitarist and principal songwriter for the Who, one of the most influential rock-and-roll bands of all time, pens his own story.

A Memoir

Who I Am

In his debut novel, rock legend Pete Townshend explores the anxiety of modern life and madness in a story that stretches across two generations of a London family, their lovers, collaborators, and friends.

A Novel

The Age of Anxiety

Margaret Drabble

Melvyn Bragg

Simon Callow

Tony Robinson

Tracey Emin

Great writers, artists, musicians and thinkers in British life say what Europe means to them: an outpouring of love and sadness. With pieces from Frank Cottrell Boyce, Melvyn Bragg, Margaret Drabble, Alan Hollinghurst, Will Hutton, Holly Johnson, Penelope Lively, Jonathan Meades, Deborah Moggach, Alan Moore, Jackie Morris, Cathy Rentzenbrink, Chris Riddle, Tony Robinson, Pete Townshend, Kate Williams, Michael Wood and many more... As Britain pulls away from Europe great British writers come together to give voice to their innermost feelings. Contributing essays that contain some of their finest writings and perspectives very different to the ones given in news outlets. The creative community here has its say on Brexit. Novelists, artists, comedians, historians, biographers, nature writers, film writers, travel writers, people young and old and from an extraordinary range of backgrounds. Most are famous perhaps because they have won the Booker or other literary prizes, written bestsellers, changed the face of popular culture or sold millions of records. Others are not yet household names but write with depth of insight and feeling. There is some extraordinary writing in this book. Some of these pieces are expressions of love of particular places in Europe. Some are true stories, some nostalgic, many hopeful. There are hilarious pieces. There are cries of pain and regret. Some pieces are quietly devastating. All are passionate. They show how Europe has helped us to expand our emotional, intellectual and artistic bandwidth, and hopefully will continue to do just that. Contributors include: Mary Beard, Jeffrey Boakye, Melvyn Bragg, Simon Callow, B. Catling, Shami Chakrabarti, Chris Cleave, Frank Cottrell Boyce, William Dalrymple, Lindsey Davis, Margaret Drabble, Tracey Emin, Michel Faber, Sebastian Faulks, Neil Gaiman, Evelyn Glennie, Alan Hollinghurst, Will Hutton, Holly Johnson, Ruth Jones, A.L. Kennedy, Hermione Lee, Prue Leith, Roger Lewis, Penelope Lively, Richard Mabey, Jonathan Meades, Andrew Miller, Deborah Moggach, Alan Moore, Paul Morley, Jackie Morris, Charles Nicholl, Irenosen Okojie, Onjali Q. Raúf, Chris Riddell, Tony Robinson, J.K. Rowling, Rhik Samadder, Isy Suttie, Sandi Toksvig, Pete Townshend, Kate Williams and Michael Wood.

An Outpouring of Love and Sadness from Our Writers, Thinkers and Artists

A Love Letter to Europe

Provides a history of Tommy from rock opera to its staging as a Broadway musical.

The Musical

The Who's Tommy

Townshend explores life's razor-edged pathways in this bold, impressionistic work of autobiographical fiction, with intriguing experimental writing packed with vivid imagery (Library Journal) that strikingly mirrors the musical compositions Tommy and Quadrophenia. As he recalls his childhood, the decadent indulgences of success, and a new discovery of life itself, Townshend re-creates in fiction a powerful personal odyssey from the inside out.

Horse's Neck

Roger Daltrey

Ben Marshall

Featuring personal, never-before-published photographs, fan memorabilia and anecdotes, captions from Pete, newly discovered gems from The Who archive, an introduction by legendary Who manager Bill Curbishley and further contributions from friends, colleagues and family, this landmark illustrated book celebrates 50 years of anthemic, era-defining music and an extraordinary career.

The Official History

The Who

Jeff Young

'Lifehouse' is Pete Townshend's extraordinary playscript, originally begun as a sequel to Tommy in 1971. Widely believed to be abandoned, the play remained close to Townshend's heart and he has been working on it ever since. Now at last complete, the script portrays one man's desperate search for his daughter, who has gone missing and is presumed dead. Drawn through the industrial wastes of Britain back to the city from which he once hoped to escape, Ray is magnetised by the voice of a pirate DJ, calling the like-minded and lost to the Lifehouse - a massive, subversive music event. This visionary and apocalyptic play addresses the spiritual consequences of our move away from physical human congregation to digital networking, and examines the increased power that music may have.

Lifehouse

2012s mest kritikerroste rock’n roll-biografi. Nådeløse og ærlige memoarer fra den ledende låtskriver og gitaristen i The Who. «... den mest selvutleverende, kompromissløse, usminkede, ærlige og samtidig smertefulle, litterære og dypt menneskelige rock'n'roll-biografien til nå.» Svein Andersen, Aftenposten « ... en av de beste rockebiografiene jeg noensinne har lest!» Einar Engelstad, Bergens Tidende

Pete Townshend

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