Queen’s Brian May says Pete Townshend “basically invented” rock guitar
Queen‘s Brian May has praised The Who‘s Pete Townshend, saying that he “basically invented” rock guitar – see the post below.
Taking to Instagram yesterday (May 20), May shared an image of himself with Townshend alongside a past quote he’d given about the musician, in which he described him as “the master of mood change, a master of the suspended chord”.
It added: “Pete Townshend’s a god of guitar and always will be! I’d seen him stand there and let the guitar explode into life on its own.”
In the caption, May reiterated his admiration for Townshend. “I’m glad I said this – I probably don’t say it enough,” he said. “I can’t imagine Rock Guitar without Pete Townshend. Looking back, it seems to me he basically invented it!”
He continued: “I was lucky enough to be there watching. My playing owes so much to him. I’m not talking about the blues-influenced playing which also underpinned the evolution of 70s and 80s rock music – Townshend brought to the scene a blistering clang of super-amplified but not over-saturated chords – razor-edged monoliths crashing angrily through our brains, biting rhythmic hammer blows which would change the likes of me forever.
“If you want to feel what I’m talking about – put on ‘My Generation’ at full volume on your home system – and gasp in wonder!!! Keith Moon drumming insanely, John Entwistle thundering a massive bass with the sonic breadth of a full orchestra – and an aggressive young Shepherds Bush rebel Roger Daltrey – a punk icon long before the invention of ‘Punk Rock’. Completely Awesome.”
May went on to instruct his followers to “listen to those suspended chords in ‘I’m A Boy'”, adding: “How did Townshend invent that?”
Offering further recommendations, he said: “Listen to ‘Substitute’ for a tour de force of gigantic rhythm playing and a lyric ten times as deep as anything out there. Finally listen to the Who’s first chart smash – ‘[I] Can’t Explain’ – along with their version of the classic ‘Summertime Blues’ it transformed Rock and Roll into ROCK!!!”
The Queen member signed off with: “Good Morning folks !! You have your assignment for the day! 
.” You can see the post above.
During a previous interview with Radio 2, May recalled watching Queen live in Shepherds Bush as a teenager with his Queen bandmate Roger Taylor.
“When they did turn up it was mayhem let loose,” he said. “It was just so loud, dangerous and anarchic, I guess. This was long before punk. So I think The Who kind of wrote the recipe for punk, if you like.
“So they played local to us and we went to see them a lot. We followed them, we loved them. They ripped out the rulebook.”
In other news, Brian May recently joined The Offspring on stage for a live performance of ‘Gone Away’ and a cover of ‘Stone Cold Crazy’. He also teamed up with French composer and performer Jean-Michel Jarre at the Starmus Festival.
Earlier this year, Pete Townshend said The Who had one “final” thing left to do before they “crawl off to die”. Frontman Roger Daltrey had previously reflected on turning 80, saying he had “to be realistic” and that he was “on [his] way out”.
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Tom Skinner
NME
