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Post new topic pete townsend .....who knew?
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Author Topic:  pete townsend .....who knew?
Bill Hatcher

 

From:
Atlanta Ga. USA
Post  Posted 30 Nov 2020 9:03 am    
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Dale Rottacker


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Walla Walla Washington, USA
Post  Posted 30 Nov 2020 9:14 am    
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Those guys have to keep that a little quiet or they'll lose their Cred Wink Very Happy Laughing
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Jeremy Reeves


From:
Springfield, IL, USA
Post  Posted 30 Nov 2020 9:14 am    
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is that the one he tossed in the Thames?
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Ken Byng


From:
Southampton, England
Post  Posted 30 Nov 2020 10:44 am    
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Jeremy Reeves wrote:
is that the one he tossed in the Thames?


That's the one! Whoa!
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Jack Hanson


From:
San Luis Valley, USA
Post  Posted 30 Nov 2020 10:49 am    
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A poor choice of instruments for windmilling.
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Bill Hatcher

 

From:
Atlanta Ga. USA
Post  Posted 30 Nov 2020 11:03 am    
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Ken Byng wrote:
Jeremy Reeves wrote:
is that the one he tossed in the Thames?


That's the one! Whoa!


whats the story on that? thx!
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Ian Worley


From:
Sacramento, CA
Post  Posted 30 Nov 2020 11:33 am    
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Here is Pete Townshend on steel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qGz9zO9gjQ

Here he is as "Bijou Drains" with Thunderclap Newman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKgL1Cq2Jhg
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Ken Byng


From:
Southampton, England
Post  Posted 30 Nov 2020 11:48 am    
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There is a fuller story on this incident on the Sho~Bud in Denmark Street thread on this site.

This is as related to me by Ron Mawn who worked in the Sho~Bud (London) store in the 70's and half of the 80's. Pete Townshend acquired his Sho~Bud in the mid 70's, and after a period of trying to get a grip with the guitar and doing a few recordings with it, was so frustrated with his lack of ability to keep it in tune that he ended up throwing it into the Thames. However, it wasn't as dramatic as it could have been, as the tide was out and the guitar landed in mud!

Townshend's roadies retrieved the 'Bud from the mud, and wisely took it to the Sho~Bud London shop. Ron Mawn stripped the guitar body down to the bare bones, thoroughly dried, cleaned it, and polished the metal parts. He re-assembled the parts, lubricated and re-strung it, and gave it a comprehensive set up. Once Ron had worked his magic, the guitar was returned to Townshend's team, and Ron heard nothing else from them afterwards. Ron did tell me that he was very sure that Townshend had 'fiddled around' with the guitar, and put it miles out of whack. There were a number of British rockers who bought pedal steels around that time, but I think that life in the Who was short lived for that particular Sho~Bud. Rolling Eyes
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Ian Worley


From:
Sacramento, CA
Post  Posted 30 Nov 2020 12:04 pm    
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Great story Ken. The Thunderclap Newman track was released in '69, so he apparently did have a steel in the late '60s, maybe a different one? The other track is from an '80s solo album but I don't know when it was actually recorded. Perhaps that was the mud-Bud!
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Tucker Jackson

 

From:
Portland, Oregon, USA
Post  Posted 30 Nov 2020 12:54 pm    
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Ken Byng wrote:
...he ended up throwing it into the Thames.

I totally get why a noob steel player would chuck his guitar in a river. The only thing that saved my guitar was that the Thames doesn't run anywhere near here.
.
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Larry Bressington

 

From:
Nebraska
Post  Posted 30 Nov 2020 2:18 pm    
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Good story Ken, crikey mate it hurts thinking about it...a real boat anchor? Very Happy
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Mike Bacciarini


From:
Arizona
Post  Posted 1 Dec 2020 6:56 am    
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Rusty Young finally figured out some stage antics with psg....



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Joachim Kettner


From:
Germany
Post  Posted 1 Dec 2020 7:09 am    
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https://www.nme.com/news/music/the-who-129-1323103
Ken, does the river Thames run anywhere close to Shepherds Bush, where the Who came from? I'm just curious.
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Ken Byng


From:
Southampton, England
Post  Posted 1 Dec 2020 7:25 am    
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Shepherds Bush is less than a mile from the River Thames. Very Happy
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Last edited by Ken Byng on 1 Dec 2020 7:40 am; edited 1 time in total
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Joachim Kettner


From:
Germany
Post  Posted 1 Dec 2020 7:35 am    
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Thank you!
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Roy Heap


From:
United Kingdom
Post  Posted 1 Dec 2020 4:08 pm    
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Joachim,
Roger Daltrey and most of the Who came from Acton just up the road from where I was born in Chiswick. I worked as a record salesman in a large record shop in Chiswick and knocked about with Roger Daltrey and others before getting married and moving to Bristol in the West Country.. Shepherd Bush was further up the road from Chiswick and Acton.
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Jim Fogarty


From:
Phila, Pa, USA
Post  Posted 1 Dec 2020 4:21 pm    
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Joachim Kettner wrote:
https://www.nme.com/news/music/the-who-129-1323103
Ken, does the river Thames run anywhere close to Shepherds Bush, where the Who came from? I'm just curious.


By the point Pete would've tried to drown his steel, he was living on a houseboat with a studio on it, on the Thames. Convenient! Laughing Laughing Laughing
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Bill Cunningham


From:
Atlanta, Ga. USA
Post  Posted 6 Dec 2020 10:09 am    
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Ken Byng wrote:
There is a fuller story on this incident on the Sho~Bud in Denmark Street thread on this site.

This is as related to me by Ron Mawn who worked in the Sho~Bud (London) store in the 70's and half of the 80's. Pete Townshend acquired his Sho~Bud in the mid 70's, and after a period of trying to get a grip with the guitar and doing a few recordings with it, was so frustrated with his lack of ability to keep it in tune that he ended up throwing it into the Thames. However, it wasn't as dramatic as it could have been, as the tide was out and the guitar landed in mud!. Rolling Eyes


That reminds me. I ain’t no Pete Townsend but my first guitar was a brand new early ‘70’s ShoBud The Professional. My dad was a musician and wanted me to have the best. It would not stay in tune even after two trips back to 416 Broadway. I nearly gave up out of frustration until I traded for a new MSA Classic. A Super Pro in the 80’s was much better except for those flying left knee levers. Laughing Laughing
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Mike Harris

 

From:
Texas, USA
Post  Posted 19 Dec 2020 6:22 pm     sho-mud
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when you say it would not stay in tune are you referring to the open strings or to the applied levers/pedals (or all of the above)? I'm guessing pedals/levers...
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