The Who album that inspired David Bowie

(Credits: Bent Rej)

Tuesday 27 August 2024 4:30pm, UK

Progenitors of raucous, distorted rock and roll, the landscape of British rock music would be very different without the influence of The Who. Having honed their craft within the modernist subculture, the band went on to capture the angry voice of post-war British youth, becoming an iconic sound of the Sixties. As the Pete Townshend-led band grew, their influence became much more profound, particularly after the groundbreaking rock opera Tommy.

The 1969 album represented something of a renaissance for The Who. They had built their name and reputation on creating short, punchy, adrenaline-fuelled rock anthems for the younger generation, but inevitably Townshend and his bandmates had to grow up at some point. After all, no one wants to hear rich men in their late thirties singing “My Generation” forever. So, with TommyTownshend pushed the band into previously unexplored avenues of artistic expression, creating a concept album unlike anything seen before.

Concept albums like Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys or the Beatles Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Orchestra The albums challenged the way the album format was perceived, but it wasn’t until the release of Tommy that albums began to present an overarching narrative. In The Who’s case, this revolved around one character, Tommy, tracing his tumultuous life from birth to his rise as a spiritual leader. His powerful narrative set the tone for The Who’s future and inspired countless other artists in the process.

Apparently, one of the artists who was inspired by Tommy was none other than David Bowie. The Brixton-born songwriter is often known for his ability to reinvent himself, creating different characters and narrative stories around his different personalities. According to Pete Townshend, Bowie got the idea after hearing The Who play Tommy live in the flesh.

In a 1995 interview, Townshend said: “Bowie was someone who came backstage at the Royal Albert Hall and told me he was going to pick up where I left off with Tommy.”

Recounting the story, the guitarist said: “We played ‘(Tommy’s Holiday Camp).’ It was the day the Stones were playing in the park (Hyde). We played a show with Chuck Berry. We played ‘Tommy’ and Bowie was in the front row, standing next to my little brother, who didn’t know who he was at the time.”

Admittedly, few people knew who David Bowie was when The Who played the Royal Albert Hall in 1969. Aside from a string of failed singles, the songwriter had yet to realise his dreams of musical greatness. In fact, the London concert took place just days before Bowie released Space Oddity, the first song that brought the songwriter to national prominence.

As Townshend recalls, “It wasn’t just anybody, it was a guy called David Jones… and he came back and said, ‘This is what I’m going to do, I’ve now seen that I can create characters.’ He ran off and started doing it.”

The fallout from this backstage meeting may well have inspired Bowie to begin formulating plans for future personas like Ziggy Stardust, who had a clear story about his music and personality – much like TommyOf course, Townshend isn’t entirely responsible for Bowie’s incredible career, but if Tommy helped sow the seeds that would become Ziggy Stardust, then perhaps we have The Who to thank for more than we originally thought.