Editing Pete Townshend (section)

=== 1972–present: solo career ===
In addition to his work with the Who, Townshend has been sporadically active as a solo recording artist. Between 1969 and 1971 Townshend, along with other devotees to [[Meher Baba]], recorded a trio of albums devoted to his teachings: ''[[Happy Birthday (1970 album)|Happy Birthday]]'', ''[[I Am (Pete Townshend album)|I Am]]'', and ''[[With Love (1976 album)|With Love]]''. In response to bootlegging of these, he compiled his personal highlights (and "Evolution", a collaboration with [[Ronnie Lane]]), and released his first major-label solo title, 1972's ''[[Who Came First]]''. It was a moderate success and featured demos of Who songs as well as a showcase of his acoustic guitar talents. He collaborated with [[the Faces]]' bassist and fellow Meher Baba devotee [[Ronnie Lane]] on a duet album (1977's ''[[Rough Mix]]''). In 1979 Townshend produced and performed guitar on the novelty single "Peppermint Lump" by Angie on [[Stiff Records]], featuring 11-year-old Angela Porter on lead vocals.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/pete-townshend-peppermint-lump.226955/ |title= Steve Hoffman Music Forums: Pete Townshend – Peppermint Lump |access-date= 8 May 2018}}</ref>

Townshend made several solo appearances during the 1970s, two of which were captured on record: [[Eric Clapton]]'s Rainbow Concert<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/eric-clapton-rainbow-concert/|title=When Eric Clapton Staged His Rainbow Concert Comeback|first=Eduardo|last=Rivadavia|website=Ultimate Classic Rock|date=13 January 2016 |access-date=12 May 2019}}</ref> in January 1973 (which Townshend organized to revive Clapton's career after the latter's heroin addiction),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bestclassicbands.com/eric-clapton-rainbow-concert-review-1-17-18/|title=Eric Clapton's Lifesaving 'Rainbow Concert' Revisited|last=Kopp |first=Bill |date=12 August 2015|website=Best Classic Bands |access-date=4 April 2025}}</ref> and the [[Paul McCartney]]-sponsored Concerts for the People of Kampuchea in December 1979. The commercially available video of the Kampuchea concert shows the two rock icons duelling and clowning<ref>{{cite web|url=http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/john-lennons-coolness-to-pete-townshend.653256/|title=John Lennon's Coolness to Pete Townshend|website=Steve Hoffman Music Forums|access-date=12 May 2019}}</ref> through [[Rockestra]] mega-band versions of "Lucille", "Let It Be", and "Rockestra Theme"; Townshend closes the proceedings with a characteristic split-legged leap.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2017/12/watch-paul-mccartney-lead-all-star-band-with-pete.html|title=Watch Paul McCartney Lead an All-Star Band with Pete Townshend, Robert Plant (on Bass!) and John Bonham|newspaper=Paste Magazine|date=28 December 2017|access-date=12 May 2019}}</ref>

Townshend's solo breakthrough, following the death of Who drummer [[Keith Moon]], was the 1980 release ''[[Empty Glass]]'', which included the top-10 single "[[Let My Love Open the Door]]", and lesser singles "[[A Little Is Enough]]" and "[[Rough Boys]]". This release was followed in 1982 by ''[[All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes]]'', which included the popular radio track "[[Slit Skirts]]". While not a huge commercial success, music critic Timothy Duggan listed it as "Townshend's most honest and introspective work since Quadrophenia." Through the rest of the 1980s and early 1990s Townshend would again experiment with the [[rock opera]] and related formats, releasing several story-based albums including ''[[White City: A Novel]]'' (1985), ''[[The Iron Man: A Musical]]'' (1989), and ''[[Psychoderelict]]'' (1993). Townshend also got the chance to play with his hero [[Hank Marvin]] for [[Paul McCartney]]'s "[[Rockestra]]" sessions, along with other rock musicians such as [[David Gilmour]], [[John Bonham]], and [[Ronnie Lane]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-04-28 |title=Pete Townshend |url=https://www.geni.com/people/Pete-Townshend/6000000040346272468 |access-date=2024-06-14 |website=geni_family_tree |language=en-US}}</ref>
[[File:Pete Townshend - Phyllis Keating.jpg|thumb|upright|Townshend in concert, 2008]]
Townshend recorded several concert albums, including one featuring a [[supergroup (music)|supergroup]] he assembled called [[Deep End (band)|Deep End]], with David Gilmour on guitar, who performed just three concerts and a television show session for ''[[The Tube (television program)|The Tube]]'', to raise money for his Double-O charity, supporting drug addicts.<ref>{{Cite book| publisher = Omnibus| isbn = 0-7119-4109-2| last1 = Miles| first1 = Barry| last2 = Mabbett| first2 = Andy| title = Pink Floyd – The Visual Documentary| location = London| date = 1994}}</ref> In 1993, he and [[Des McAnuff]] wrote and directed the Broadway adaptation of the Who album ''[[Tommy (rock opera)|Tommy]]'', as well as a less successful [[The Iron Man: The Musical by Pete Townshend|stage musical]] based on his solo album ''The Iron Man'', based upon the book by [[Ted Hughes]]. McAnuff and Townshend later co-produced the animated film ''[[The Iron Giant]]'', also based on the Hughes story.

A production described as a Townshend rock opera and titled ''[[The Boy Who Heard Music]]'' debuted as part of [[Vassar College]]'s Powerhouse Summer Theater program in July 2007.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Who - Album by Album by Song |url=https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/the-who-album-by-album-by-song.944089/ |access-date=2024-06-14 |website=Steve Hoffman Music Forums |language=en-US}}</ref>

On 2 September 2017 at [[Tanglewood]] in [[Lenox, Massachusetts]], Townshend embarked with fellow singer and musician [[Billy Idol]], tenor [[Alfie Boe]], and an orchestra on a short (5-date) "Classic Quadrophenia" US tour that ended on 16 September 2017 in Los Angeles, California.<ref name="ultimateclassicrock.com Pete Townshend Classic Quadrophenia">{{cite web |url=http://ultimateclassicrock.com/pete-townshends-classic-quadrophenia-tour/ |title=Pete Townshend's Classic Quadrophenia With Billy Idol Announces U.S. Tour Dates (by Michael Gallucci) |date= 6 June 2017 |website=Ultimateclassicrock.com |access-date= 8 October 2017}}</ref><ref name="rollingstone.com Pete Townshend Classic Quadrophenia">{{cite magazine |url= https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/pete-townshend-plots-short-classic-quadrophenia-tour-w486025 |title= Pete Townshend Plots Short 'Classic Quadrophenia' Tour – Townshend will revisit the Who's famous double album with an orchestra to reach "classical and pop music lovers alike" (by Elias Leight) |date= 6 June 2017 |magazine= Rolling Stone |access-date= 8 October 2017 |archive-date= 8 October 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171008231440/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/pete-townshend-plots-short-classic-quadrophenia-tour-w486025 |url-status= dead }}</ref>