Musician Pete Townshend reflects on the highs and lows of a career which spans almost half a century, in conversation with John Wilson.

Townshend remembers his motivation for writing songs such as My Generation and I Can't Explain for The Who in the mid-1960s. He also recalls how his father, a dance-band saxophonist, did not encourage his musical ambitions.

In the light of his new memoir, Townshend examines his troubled childhood, and how it shaped him. He also looks back to the events surrounding his caution by the police in 2003, after entering his credit card details on a website which hosted pornographic images of children.

And after the deaths of band members Keith Moon and John Entwistle, he reflects on how he feels about taking to the stage with The Who now, including this year's performance at the Olympic closing ceremony.


Producer John Goudie.