FORWARD INTO THE PAST

Here is a fact that seems almost impossible to believe: It has been over 20 years since Pete Townshend, angriest of the four angry young men in the Who, wrote, “Hope I die before I get old.” But it’s 1986, not 1965. Several generations of wild youth have mouthed and spat those fightin’ words, only to grow up, carry on at school, and then move: to responsible jobs and/or marriage. For God’s sake, Pete Townshend’s two daughters are verging perilously close to the age he was when he wrote “My Generation.”

So what’s a flinty, determined, unsparing rock ’n’ roller to do at 40, faced with the mocking call of his establishment busting years? He could, of course, have followed through on the implied death wish, but fortunately, having flirted with disaster as much as any superstar who lived to talk about it, Townshend opted for life along the relatively straight and narrow, enjoying the company of his wife, kids and friends. Equally, he could have pretended that the outside world didn’t exist, and wallowed away the second half of his years in isolated rock star splendor. However, far from that, Pete neglected neither his musical craft nor his awareness of reality, taking on additional pursuits as a respected book editor and an active participant in several charitable organizations.