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October 23rd, 2026 · 10:16pm BST
Pete Townshend has never been one to keep his opinions to himself. For more than six decades, The Who guitarist has been just as capable of causing a stir with his words as with his music, taking aim at some of rock’s biggest names with the same ferocity that made his band one of the most explosive forces of the 1960s.
Townshend has never been afraid to speak his mind, and his outspoken personality has become almost as famous as his musical achievements. His unpredictability is part of what makes him such a fascinating figure, with even the biggest names in rock never quite knowing when they might find themselves on the receiving end of his criticism.
From revealing his problem with the game-changing efforts of Jimi Hendrix to declaring he was “incredibly disappointed” by his teenage hero Bob Dylan, as he said that was “nothing” to his personality, it should be no surprise that a man who had such a significant hand in changing culture should be unafraid to veer off the beaten path.
Of course, Townshend has saved energy for criticising himself as well. Still, his comments on the efforts of others stand out the most, as they offer insight into how he consumes music and what he looks for when listening, therefore painting a picture of how he established his artistry. Townshend is unashamedly a purist when it comes to rock music, and this perspective has seen him tear into a host of prominent acts and offer well-considered accounts, even if they’re not always the most agreeable.
Although he’s previously gone after sacred aforementioned artists like Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix, Kiss were somewhat of an easier target when Townshend decided to unload on the masked-up rockers. While albums such as Destroyer rightly asserted them as killers, they did eventually become a pastiche of themselves, and more of a corporate brand than a rock ‘n’ roll band.
Speaking to Hazy Rock in 2014, The Who guitarist didn’t hold back when he gave his thoughts on the rock juggernauts, who by this time had been living off past glories for some time. In his mind, they were an embodiment of the USA, and would never have been able to get away with their schtick if they were from York instead of New York.
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He explained, “One thing that Kiss are absolutely, unquestionably not – in any sense, whatsoever – is European or English. They are straight out of Creem magazine meets Las Vegas. Or New Orleans, even. There is a bit of New Orleans in it, a very American kind of Mardi Gras thing.”
Further reading: From The Vault
Doubling down on his statement, Townshend added, “They couldn’t have happened here. They could maybe have happened in Berlin – in which case their music wouldn’t have been like their music. They would have looked like they looked. But they would have made a different kind of music. They’re a very American phenomenon.”
Not finished with his account, Townshend called the early years of Kiss particularly “difficult” because he thought it was a clear “parody”, before questioning their elaborate attire, concluding, “That business of wearing disguises. Not quite sure about it. You know, I think I’d have to do an academic study to try and work out what’s really going on there.”
Every band is a product of their surroundings, which makes it impossible to argue against Townshend’s water-tight argument. Kiss were an embodiment of their environment, and were loud, brash, and proud of it, which, naturally, goes against the self-deprecatory and reserved nature of Brits. That being said, Townshend was hardly the shy and retiring type with his own on-stage exploits, smashing up guitars on a nightly basis.
For Kiss’ Gene Simmons, The Who were the benchmark that he wanted his own band to surpass. He attended a show on their Quadrophenia in 1973, during the early days of Kiss, and left the building with an urge to up his own game, telling Goldmine in 2023, “I remember Paul (Stanley) and I looked at each other. This is going to be embarrassing because I hold The Who in such high esteem, ‘We’re going to kill them.’ And that’s what you want from new talent.”
In Townshend’s eyes, Kiss didn’t come close to killing The Who, and he’d likely be offended to even see their names next to one another in the same sentence. For him, they are just an American phenomenon he’ll never understand.
