Pete Townshend says The Who are on the verge of retiring.
The veteran rocker – who has been playing with the band for almost 60 years – has admitted both he and bandmate Roger Daltrey have found touring has been getting much harder as they get older and it takes much longer for them to adjust to life at home after they get back from the road – and he says it might be time for them to play a farewell tour like Sir Elton John.
Pete, 77, told Record Collector magazine: “I suppose Roger and l, at some point, will look ahead and try to work out whether or not we want to do an Elton John and end it [the band] in some way.
“It’s difficult to make a decision going forward, to say we’re going to do this or that, because we don’t know how well we’ re going to be or how fit we’re going to be.
“We’re both old. That in itself has a downside because, apart from what you can or can’t do on the stage, when you finish touring you come back to normal life – whatever it is that you decide to do to fill your time away from the road – and it’s harder and takes longer.”
He added: “We’re at that stage where it’s obviously getting closer to retirement. But all the time we’re doing well I’m never going to say we’re not going to do something more in the future. I’ve always said that you don’t give this business up, it gives you up.”
