Pete Townshend confirms The Who will return in 2025

1 November 2024, 17:23

"The song is over, I'm left with only tears."

The aforementioned lyrics to The Who's 1971 track 'The Song Is Over' doesn't quite relate to them, at least for now it seems.

When the 'My Generation' legends stepped on stage at London's Royal Albert Hall for the Teenage Cancer Trust earlier this year, many fans believed it'd be the last time.

Despite frequent back and forth-ing about whether or not the colossal rock band still have a future, there's positive news for fans of The Who.

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Having spent a year mostly apart, Pete Townshend has confirmed that he and Roger Daltrey still have unfinished business.

In a new interview with The Standard, Townshend has confirmed that The Who will be back in 2025.

Speculation about an end wasn't helped by the band's key players adding fuel to the flame.

Daltrey told The Times in January 2024: “I don’t write the songs. I never did. We need to sit down and have a meeting, but at the moment, I’m happy saying that part of my life is over.”

He also admitted that he's facing up to his life ending too, adding: “I have to be realistic. I’m on my way out. The average life expectancy is 83 and with a bit of luck I’ll make that, but we need someone else to drive things.”

Townshend then responded by saying any continuation of the band was out of his hands.

The guitarist told The Daily Beast in August: “I’m not gonna try to bully Roger to do anything. I don’t want to have the job that I used to have around the time of Quadrophenia, which is bullying everybody in The Who to do exactly what I want to do.”

He went on to admit that the pair "do have a bit of a river to cross", but "once we cross that river, we’ll see what happens.”

It seems like the duo are on the other side, with Townshend offering relief for The Who's fans with the hope that they'll perform together once again.

Talking to The Standard, Townshend said: We're in good form. We love each other.'

"We're both getting a bit creaky, but we will definitely do something next year."

Any further tours will unlikely resemble the large-scale, orchestral concerts that the band undertook during their most recent dates in 2023 however.

"The last big tours that we've done have been with a full orchestra, which was glorious," Townshend continued, "but we're now eager to make a noise and make a mess and make mistakes."

There is some disappointment however - at present, it's unlikely there will be any new material from The Who.

During the interview, Townshend added: "The album side of it – Roger's not keen but I would love to do another album.

He did joke that he might return to his old ways, jesting "and I may try to bully him on that."

Whether or not there's a new studio record from The Who, a live return will no doubt satiate their legions of loyal fans.

Only recently, Roger Daltrey was present at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducting his dear friend Peter Frampton.