Pete Townshend Says The Who “Invented Heavy Metal”

In a new interview with the Toronto Sun, guitarist Pete Townshend asserts that The Who “invented heavy metal” music.

Explaining why The Who’s “new album doesn’t sound that much like The Who in terms of that classic ferocious rock sound,” Townshend said:

“It doesn’t sound like The Who from those early heavy metal years. We sort of invented heavy metal with [The Who’s first live album] ‘Live at Leeds‘ [1970]. We were copied by so many bands, principally by Led Zeppelin, you know heavy drums, heavy bass, heavy lead guitar and some of those bands, like Jimi Hendrix for example, did it far better than we did. Cream, with Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker, they came along in ‘67, same year as Jimi Hendrix, and they kind of stole our mantle in a sense. So people who want to hear that old heavy metal sound, there are plenty of bands that can provide it. So it’s not really what we can actually do today. Even if we wanted to, it was never high on my list of wishes.”

Despite getting into The Guinness Book of World Records in 1976 for playing the world’s loudest concert, it seems unlikely that many metal fans would agree with Townshend’s assertion. Still, you can listen to Live at Leeds below and decide for yourself.

The Who’s new, metal-free album, Who, was released earlier this month. The band has tour dates throughout the U.S. and U.K. in 2020. Get their full itinerary and purchase tickets here.