{"id":816921,"date":"2026-10-28T22:04:13","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T22:04:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/816921\/"},"modified":"2026-10-28T22:04:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T22:04:13","slug":"pete-townshends-rescued-1969-sg-is-coming-out-of-retirement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/816921\/","title":{"rendered":"Pete Townshend\u2019s rescued 1969 SG is coming out of retirement"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Pete\u2019s mad, you get a good show,\u201d Phillips says with a smile.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Pete\n<\/p>\n

Townshend performs with the Who at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City, 1970. (Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The Who had been riding a wave of success with their rock opera, Tommy<\/a>, but relentless touring had left the band exhausted. The Metropolitan Opera House, meanwhile, was an unusually prestigious setting for the group\u2019s raucous performances. With a crowd of teenagers descending on the venue, the evening was poorly organized and tensions were running high.<\/p>\n

The band nevertheless delivered a brilliant set. They even returned for an encore, something Phillips says was unusual for the Who at the time.<\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

\u201cUsually the stage was completely destroyed [by then], but Keith Moon didn’t dump the drum kit, Pete didn\u2019t break the guitar, so, they came back out, and they did \u2018Shakin\u2019 All Over,\u2019\u201d he recalls.<\/p>\n

\u201cPete\u2019s playing lead, and he\u2019s got his eyes closed,\u201d Phillips continues. \u201cHe hits the guitar on one of the Hiwatt cabinets, and it goes out of tune.\u201d<\/p>\n

All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!<\/p>\n

Phillips, a regular in the front row at Who shows, says he noticed an immediate change in Townshend\u2019s demeanor.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe threw the guitar on the ground, stomped on it, and cracked off the head,\u201d he remembers. \u201cHe shoots me this look, and I instantly get chills. I know what\u2019s happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Incredible Story of Pete Townshend\u2019s Smashed 1969 Gibson SG! The Who Holy Grail ! – YouTube
\n\"The<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n

Townshend then wrapped the guitar strap<\/a> carefully around the broken instrument before approaching the edge of the stage.<\/p>\n

What to read next<\/p>\n

\u201cHe walks to the very lip of the stage, looks at me and goes, \u2018You ready?\u2019 He stepped back about three steps, and he threw it really high, it arced, and I caught it by the horns. It was an absolutely dead perfect throw. A major league pitcher couldn’t have done that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Phillips had caught the guitar, but keeping hold of it was another matter. As the house lights came up, dozens of fans rushed toward him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe lights came up, and about 60 kids are tearing down the aisles to get the guitar,\u201d he says. \u201cEverybody\u2019s charging, and an usher, he was about 6’6″ with long blonde hair, looked down at me. He goes, \u2018You\u2019ve been at every fucking Who show I\u2019ve ever ushered. No one\u2019s taking that from you!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\"Pete\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The usher then turned on the advancing crowd, which quickly dispersed. One young girl remained, pleading with Phillips for a single guitar knob. He gave it to her, leaving that small piece of the SG as the only part of the instrument he no longer possesses.<\/p>\n

Townshend\u2019s guitar-smashing habit had begun long before that night. He was just 13 when he first discovered the cathartic power of smashing a guitar<\/a>, with his grandmother the target of his anger on that occasion. The act eventually became a defining feature of the Who\u2019s live shows.<\/p>\n

In the band\u2019s early days, when money was tight, Townshend would glue his guitars back together<\/a> so he could destroy them again at the next performance. As the Who grew more successful, he no longer needed to salvage the pieces himself. Many of the instruments were lost, making Phillips\u2019s rescued SG an especially unusual survivor.<\/p>\n

The guitar has since been carefully repaired, and Phillips is now entrusting it to Matt\u2019s Guitar Shop in Paris, the company that has also been showcasing Jeff Beck\u2019s celebrated Yardburst Les Paul<\/a> to high-profile players.<\/p>\n

Phillips and the shop share a desire to see the SG remain more than a museum piece. He hopes it will be played again.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want someone to play it,\u201d Phillips says. \u201cI just think it should be seen. [Pete Townshend] the first guitar player who made rhythm guitar the lead instrument,\u201d he adds, referring to the guitarist\u2019s influential approach \u2014 even though Townshend himself never considered himself the Who\u2019s lead player<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Townshend has also recently looked back on recording a Who classic<\/a> with a future rock legend, with both musicians distracted by a beautiful woman. He has also suggested that the Who could still make another album<\/a>, after previously threatening to turn to AI<\/a> for a new solo record.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Pete Townshend has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":816922,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[96,128,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-816921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-music","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/816921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=816921"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/816921\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/816922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=816921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=816921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=816921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}