Pete Townshend might have just lost himself a little Who fan after what he did at a performance of Quadrophenia in Ontario. At the Feb. 19 show at the Hamilton Copps Coliseum, a seven-year-old girl was holding up a sign, asking the frontman to do his signature move of smashing his guitar.
It was then reported that he turned to the father and daughter and started to berate them from the stage saying things such as,“Don’t bring your children [or] use them. I want to tell you two words but I can’t because you’ve got a child there.” Instead of actually saying the actual two words, the singer went on the mouth “f..k off” in their general direction.
After the father went on to speak with the Toronto Sun about what happened, it was revealed that his daughter was actually a really big Who fan and that the sign was more full of pure joy of being able to see them live and not from trying to get him to do something she wanted. Once this was revealed to Townshend, he went on to write an apology letter to the little girl and father with the help of a local Toronto DJ:
Apologies and condolences from my side, and very best wishes to you and your family.
I asked my friend Mike Tyler to find you so I could tell you that I am so sorry the story about us blew up the way it did, but also to tell you that I sympathize with you both, and your daughter’s mother, and that I am most certainly not angry. I was not angry on stage either. I was in rock star mode, the big mouth.
I could have handled it differently. I thought of sending someone to find you both and telling you I was not upset, but we were flying to New York straight after the show, and had no time to spare. I wish things had been different. It would have saved you from all this furor.
I thought your placard was fun. I had a job to do (to announce our musicians) and I didn’t want to lengthen the show by trying to deal with you directly and in detail. I was also worried that your daughter looked a little frightened as the crowd started to follow you down the aisle. The ushers should not have let you leave your seats and walk forward. All that said, you did nothing wrong.
You can see the Townshend video here:
Talk Music To Me 