Pete Townshend has declared The Who will ‘definitely’ be back for more next year even if they’re getting ‘a bit creaky’.
Last year, The Who toured the UK with a huge orchestral backing but this greatest hits moment was by no means a farewell.
The group,consisting of Pete, Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle and Keith Moon, originally rose to fame in the 60s with a string of hits, including My Generation and Substitute.
Pete promised the Pinball Wizard icons would ‘do something next year’ after meeting with vocalist Roger for lunch.
‘We love each other,’ Pete shared. ‘We’re both getting a bit creaky, but we will definitely do something next year.’
The legendary guitarist, 79, is also keen to make new music but Roger, 80, isn’t so convinced.
‘The album side of it… Roger’s not keen. But I would love to do another album and I may try to bully him on that,’ Pete continued to The Standard.
‘The last big tours that we’ve done have been with a full orchestra, which was glorious, but we’re now eager to make a noise and make a mess and make mistakes.’
Pete, famed for his power chord guitar technique, previously told NME the band would keep going until he or Roger ‘drop dead or can’t function anymore’.
The Who have been consistently touring every few years since their formation in 1964, hinting in 2014 that their 50th-anniversary tour would be the last.
However, they have since embarked on four more tours, the most recent of which was 2023’s orchestral moment.
Roger seems to be a little less determined to keep churning out tours, having told The Times in March that he was ‘on his way out’ and needed to be ‘realistic’.
That came after he declared he was ‘happy’ that ‘that part of my life [with The Who] is over’.
Pete and Roger are the only surviving members of the original lineup, who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.
Drummer Keith Moon died on September 7, 1978, aged 32 from a drug prescribed to combat alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
In 2002, tragedy struck again when John Entwistle died from a heart attack in a casino in Vegas, one day before the Who were due to begin their tour.
After two cancelled shows, the band decided to continue their tour around the US and Canada with Pino Palladino on bass guitar.
The Who are widely considered one of the most influential bands of the 20th century, inspiring Pink Floyd and The Beatles.