Pete Townshend has claimed that female fans of bands are “fickle” and “move from band to band” while discussing the death of Liam Payne.
The 79-year-old musician, one of the co-founders of The Who, quickly found success with the band and recalled that by the time he was 22, they were “really big.”
talking to The telegraphPete and his wife Rachel Fuller were asked about the recent death of One Direction star Liam Payne, who died at the age of 31 after falling from the third-floor balcony of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on October 16.
Speaking of the great wealth and hedonism that can accompany fame in a pop or rock group, Rachel said: “I think that’s also (the effect of) wealth, privilege and notoriety.” You see it with footballers.”
Pete disagreed, however, saying he thought The Who’s hedonistic ways were driven by the fact that they were young, became famous quickly, and appealed primarily to children.
Pete Townshend has claimed that female fans of bands are “fickle” and “move from band to band” while discussing the death of Liam Payne.
Pete and his wife Rachel Fuller were asked about the recent death of One Direction star Liam Payne, who died at the age of 31 after falling from a third-floor balcony on October 16.
He continued: ‘The thing about One Direction is that they suddenly became a huge hit and their audience was 90 per cent girls. And the girls are very frivolous. They are fickle. “They go from band to band pretty quickly and from artist to artist.”
It’s why, Pete says, he told his bandmates early in their careers: “We’re not going to be like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones or The Kinks.” We’re not going to work for screaming girls. Let’s go work for the boys.’
An autopsy previously confirmed that Liam had suffered internal and external bleeding and multiple traumatic injuries as a result of the fall.
The singer’s solo career emerged thanks to global stardom that began with ITV talent show The X Factor.
He was eventually put in a boy band with four other aspiring soloists in the training stage of the competition: the group that later became One Direction.
In 2012, the band won their first Brit Award for Best British Single for their debut song What Makes You Beautiful, before collecting the Brit Award for Global Hit a year later.
The members would eventually go their separate ways before Liam launched his solo career.
A young woman staying at the same hotel said the former One Direction singer told her minutes before he died: “I used to be in a boy band, that’s why I’m so screwed.”
Pete thought that The Who’s hedonistic ways were driven by the fact that they were young, became famous quickly and appealed primarily to children (LR Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, John Entwistle and Keith Moon in 1965).
Pete said: “One Direction suddenly became a huge success and their audience was 90 per cent girls.” And the girls are very frivolous. They’re fickle’ (One Direction photographed in 2010)
An autopsy previously confirmed Liam had suffered internal and external bleeding and multiple traumatic injuries as a result of the fall.
Rebecca’s 30-minute surprise encounter with Liam took place in the lobby of the hotel, where she was staying for a wedding.
Liam was due to leave on Wednesday morning but had not left by late afternoon, he claimed.
Following the star’s death, Payne’s family said they were “heartbroken”, adding: “Liam will live forever in our hearts and we will remember him for his kind, funny and brave soul.”
A joint statement from his One Direction bandmates said they were “completely devastated” and will miss the singer “terribly,” adding that “the memories we shared with him will be treasured forever.”