It’s inevitable to see musicians being compared to other musicians of the same era. The Who’s Pete Townshend was one of the many people who became the subject of the matter.
Both The Who and Led Zeppelin achieved great success and the two parties respected each other. Despite the respect, Townshend did not like the band at all. Was the reason related to Led Zeppelin’s success, or was it nothing but pure hatred?
The Real Reason Why Townshend Disliked Led Zeppelin
Although The Who has achieved sales of approximately 100 million records over the years, they did not experience the instant success that Led Zeppelin did.
Given the fact that Led Zeppelin achieved fame quicker than many bands, it led them to be compared to almost anyone, making it a challenge for other bands in the industry. This affected Pete Townshend as well, as he did not appreciate the band’s music, and this fact was particularly difficult for him to accept, even jealousy might have been involved.
In a 1995 interview with Time, Townshend shared his genuine thoughts about Jimmy Page and Led Zeppelin. Though there was no beef between the two bands, Townshend was never a staunch admirer of Zeppelin’s work:
“I haven’t liked a single thing that they’ve done. I hate the fact that I’m ever even slightly compared to them. I just never, ever liked them. It’s a real problem for me because as people they’re all really, really great guys. I just never liked the band.”
There were no problems between the two, but The Who guitarist was aware of the fact that Led Zeppelin was bigger than them:
“I don’t know if I’ve got a problem, a block, because they became so much bigger than The Who in so many ways. But I never liked them.”
What Does Jimmy Page Think of Townshend?
His words were not one-sided, apparently. Jimmy Page too, had some words to say about The Who.
Page and Townshend first met when both were still young, and spent some time together. When they were still younger, the Led Zeppelin singer was asked about his thoughts on Townshend during an interview with Trouser Press in 1977. The rocker had nothing but good words to say about his friend. Acknowledging Townshend’s talent, he said:
“Oh, yeah. Lots of attack. Really good. He had his limitations, though. He was no Beck, but he was all right.”
So it’s evident that the two parties respect each other despite their different thoughts about each other.
