Synopsis
BEHIND BLUE EYES is the first-ever biography of Pete Townshend, one of rock's greatest innovators, the brains behind The Who, inventor of the rock opera, and an enduring presence as a performer and composer throughout his long and death-defying career. Geoffrey Giuliano has known Townshend intimately for almost 20 years and includes many interviews with close friends, co-workers, and fellow musicians, including Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, and Keith Richards, as well as with Townshend himself. Giuliano recounts episodes such as Townshend's upbringing in a dysfunctional family in a rough section of London, his devastating addictions to heroin and alcohol, his volatile and sometimes violent relationships with fellow band members, and his recent admission of his bisexuality. Appendices feature a complete discography of Townshend's recordings over the last three decades and a detailed chronology of major events in the artist's life.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 1996-11-01 | | Edition Description: | Illustrated |
| Size | | Length: | 340 pages | | Height: | 9.3 in | | Width: | 6.3 in | | Thickness: | 1.2 in | | Weight: | 22.4 oz |
Publisher's Note
Interviews with friends and fellow musicians recall the legendary rock guitarist's childhood, his productive years with "The Who," his addictions, his musical talent, his relations with band members, and other aspects of his life.
Industry Reviews
Touted as the "world's loudest rock band," The Who has also been one of the most innovative and popular musical groups for more than 30 years now. The creative force behind the band has always been Townshend, who, surprisingly, has never been the subject of a full-fledged biography. Giuliano (Born Under a Bad Sign, St. Martin's, 1994) uses his 20-year friendship with Townshend, interviews with Who insiders, and previously published interviews to create an admiring but gritty and insightful account of this contradictory man. He covers Townshend's troubled early life, his transformation from jazz guitarist to guitar-smashing rocker, his addiction and subsequent recovery, his search for meaning and discovery of guru Meher Baba, his creative output (especially the rock opera Tommy), the autobiographical nature of his writing, and his recent admission of bisexuality. Though Giuliano's style is often florid, this is a highly readable account of a popular musical genius and his demons. Recommended for all music and popular culture collections. Rosellen Brewer, Monterey Bay Area Cooperative Lib. System, Cal.
Breitman
The man who became a voice of the young when he penned such 1960s anthems as "My Generation" and "I Can't Explain" has grown from a guitar-bashing rebel to a revered inductee (as a member of The Who) in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In this spirited chronicle, veteran rock biographer Giuliano (Dark Horse: The Private Life of George Harrison, etc.) captures nearly everything in between, the excesses as well as the successes. Townshend's tumultuous life has gone through several incarnations. Giuliano adequately documents the musician's struggles to continue to break new creative ground after the public embraced Tommy, his conflicts with his bandmates and, of course, his highly publicized substance-abuse problems. But Giuliano also peels away the layers of Townshend's public persona to find a complex, passionate man who is full of contradictions. Although Townshend has been married to the same woman most of his adult life, he has carried on numerous affairs with both men and women; in the 1970s, he followed the teachings of spiritual leader Meher Baba, which required him to abstain from alcohol and drugs, but he continued to struggle with his addictions. In tracing Townshend's later years, Giuliano, who's known the rock star for nearly 20 years, reveals that his subject hasn't lost his bite: "You know what happens to the likes of Bowie, Jagger, and me?" asks Townshend. "Our teenage kids turn around and say, `You look like mutton dressed as lamb. How can I possibly have my friends around?' " The kid's still all right, and so is this penetrating look at his life. (Nov.)
Lopate
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