The Who - Art of Destruction

What do you think? Is this really art of destruction? Discover that and order THE WHO Tour 2020 Tickets and books ON SALE NOW! In the mid 1960s, guitarist Pete Townshend of the Who was the first guitar-smashing rock artist. Rolling Stone Magazine included his smashing of a Rickenbacker guitar at the Railway Tavern in Harrow and Wealdstone in September 1964[5][6] in their list of “50 Moments That Changed Rock & Roll“. A student of Gustav Metzger, Townshend saw his guitar smashing as a kind of auto-destructive art. Keith Moon, the Who’s drummer, was also known for destroying his drum set. The most famous episode of this occurred during the Who’s debut on U.S. television on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in 1967. Moon overloaded his bass drum with explosive charges which were detonated during the finale of the song, “My Generation.“ The explosion caused guest Bette Davis to faint, set Pete Townshend’s hair on fire and, according to legend, contributed to his later partial deafness and t
Back to Top