Smashed Guitars

1964 Rickenbacker Rose Morris 1998

His first public guitar smashing, where he cracked the headstock of his guitar on a low ceiling, pulling it out and realizing the damage, he smashed the remainder in disgust, then turned to pick up his Rick 12 and continued playing. The next gig at the Railway, the crowd expected him to smash a guitar again.

Pete: (After cracking the headstock) I was expecting everybody to go, “Wow, he’s broken his guitar, he’s broken his guitar,” but nobody did anything, which made me kind of angry in a way. And determined to get this precious event noticed by the audience. I proceeded to make a big thing of breaking the guitar. I bounced all over the stage with it and I threw the bits on the stage and I picked up my spare guitar and carried on as though I really had meant to do it.

Anyway Anyhow Anywhere:

Kit Lambert invited Virginia Ironside (Daily Mail) and writer Nik Cohn along to this gig and briefed Pete to create an impression by smashing his £400 Rickenbacker, despite the expense. This he duly did, and Keith joined in by smashing his drums. However, Lambert had been waylaid in the bar with the journalists when this grand spectacle occurred and was reportedly horrified to find he had been taken at his word.

Danelectro guitar (unknown; likely Guitarlin) and Fender Telecaster.

When Pete accidently knocked over his amp stack, it fell on a Fender guitar and broke it in half.

Fender Stratocaster

“Not totally destroyed but plenty of flying bits as Pete rammed it and poleaxed it into the stage.” — Keith Cheesman

Fiesta Red Fender Telecaster

Bob Cianci:

I own the left half of a Fiesta Red Fender Telecaster Pete smashed in 1967 in Asbury Park, NJ. I was not at the show, but bought the smashed Fender a year later from Jim McGlynn, of Montclair, NJ, who was the teen columnist with the now-defunct Newark Evening News. He was there and interviewed Pete after the show, who presented him with the left half of the body. Jim sold it to me a year later for $10.

Fender Stratocaster – tri-coloured sunburst with added glitter and “coins.” See photo 1 and photo 2, courtesy Dadion Lester.

Dadion Lester:

I have the right half (body) of the Stratocaster played and destroyed by Pete at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., August 13, 1967. It was a tri-colored sunburst that has some glitter and a few U.S. coins glued to it. It was scarffed from the show by a longtime family friend and obtained in a trade with my oldest brother for a human skull soon after. Those were the days. This family friend is now a big wheel at P.R.S. Guitars, and he asked me to bring it so that he could see it again after many years. He confirmed that the guitar is in the exact same condition that it flew off the stage including the coins and sparkle.

Unknown guitar (likely Fender Stratocaster, or possibly Gibson SG EDS-1275 double-neck) White Fender Stratocaster and bass (by John; likely Fender Precision, which would eventually comprise “Frankenstein”)

Pete played the Gibson SG EDS-1275 double-neck through most of the show, then exchanged it for a white Stratocaster for destruction. (Craig Folkes)

Playing remaining half of the Gibson SG EDS-1275 double-neck.

Geoff Davidson:

I can verify adamantly that when The Who played Dunfermline Kinema on Sunday 8th October ’67 he was playing the remaining bottom half of the double neck SG. It was splintered straight across the factory-glued join and Pete’s right-hand fingers were bleeding from the constant catching on the splinters. His frilly yellow satin shirt front was splattered with blood. I’ll never forget it. Then a few weeks later they were on Top of the Pops (to premiere “I Can See For Miles”) with the guitar rebuilt with the necks V’d rather than parallel. I said to my mate — that’s half of the guitar I saw him play!

Unknown, smashed when the guitar is mistakenly lowered during The Who’s set.

I used to break a guitar every performance — if not two sometimes — and they would always cost around $150. They would always cost me an incredible amount of money to find — they’d cost, like, road manager’s time and my time to look through pawn shops, local music stores and things like that.

Unknown Sunburst Gibson ES-335 (replacement purchased by Bob Pridden)

Bob Cianci:

Part of the back was already broken off, and at certain angles, you could see right through the guitar. I was standing right at the foot of the stage and was hit with a few splinters of wood after Pete smashed it.

Ron Blackmore (tour manager):

I was out there trying to find guitars every day from guitar shops. I’d loosen the neck and try to get it ready, and hope that Pete could just drop it so that it fell in half, and didn’t smash it completely, becuse we couldn’t replace the bits.

Fender Stratocaster, requiring “Emergency guitar replacement” the following day, causing one-hour delay of the show.

During Shakin’ All Over, the neck snapped off of Pete’s Fender Stratocaster, blue with white scracthplate, then borrowed Steve Marriott’s black Gibson Les Paul but didn’t break it.

Update, from Geoff Lowe:

The blue and white Stratocaster first had the neck detached from the body and was taken backstage, then in the closing song (I thought it was I Can See For Miles) it was definitely completely smashed. My friend and I bought the scratchplate with pickups and knobs intact from a guy near the front for A$20. A few days later we sold it to a guy in Richmond called McCarty who made Maxim amps and guitars (often to copy the sound of Chuck Berry and other famous musicians). He gave us the $20 we paid for it. I saw someone else, a girl, walking out with the neck.

Gibson ES 345 Stereo and Coral Hornet

Pete in Melody Maker:

“I smashed up two guitars at the end of the show, because one I was using had recently been repaired and broke as I came on stage, so I played another one I use for recording. At the end, I though, ‘What the hell,’ and smashed them both. The Gibson Stereo cost £200 and the amps, which were borrowed, will cost about £20 each to repair. I can’t put it down to tax because when I say I use 70 guitars a year, they don’t believe me.”

UnknownFender Stratocaster (sunburst)

Rory Callaghan:

He smashed a sunburst Stratocaster. I cannot remember if it was a maple or a rosewood neck. He then proceeded to smash an amp or two. I believe that tour was sponsored by SUN amplifiers. I think the guitar was smashed in frustration with the amplifiers. After a break, they returned to finish the show borrowing the local band’s amps (Cyrus Erie, whose members later formed the Rasberries).

Fender Stratocaster

Jay from Brooklyn:

I was in the second row, right in front of Pete. They were mind-blowingly great, and Pete systematically destroyed a Stratocaster, starting with shaking the guitar, pickups facing straight up, and getting the whammy bar to spin out of it like a helicopter blade. It flew into the gleeful audience, and he proceeded to wallop this poor Strat in an exhibition of destructiveness I have yet to see him top, on film or live.

Cherry Gibson ES-345

Geoff Davidson:

PT regularly eyed up the straightness of the neck of a cherry stereo 345 between numbers. We could tell its life was endangered and in between some very rough treatment, which must have hurt his pelvic bone, the guitar was poked through the stage ceiling and rotated ’til it roared like an airplane engine. It was then battered senseless on the floor and totally shredded beyond repair. A middle section of fretboard flew in my direction. Despite my rapid response, a girl fan snatched it. I remember also Bob Pridden having a terrible time of it with PT who upended all his Hi-Watt head amps gesturing there was a problem. BP scrambled on stage unaware of the specific problem. When he shrugged his shoulders, PT went ballistic and kicked his ass all over the stage playing all the while!

Gibson SG Special (wasn’t actually smashed; tossed into audience and reportedly retrieved (or strong-armed) by a roadie for subsequent use.)

A review of the 1970 Hull City Hall show mentions that the guitar was caught by an audience member named Kurt Pfeiffer, and later retrieved. See story on thisisull.com. (h/t Trevor Cobain.)

Gibson SG Special Gold-Top Les Paul

“It looked as though the strap came unhooked on a jump and hit the floor. He decided to finish it off.” (John Rollason)

It was on the third song — “Won’t get Fooled Again.” I was in the front row aisle — we rushed the stage. An unforgettable evening. The Who sat everyone down, even us in the aisle, after Pete hurled the guitar in the audience (three pieces). (Larry T. Malinowski)

Four Gibson Les Paul Deluxes (three by Pete, one by Keith)

Pete smashes first Les Paul at end of regular set (My Generation), then two together at end of encore (Naked Eye) with help from mic stand. Keith then smashes fourth.

Gibson Les Paul Deluxe cherry sunburst: for filming of Tommy film’s Pinball Wizard sequence.

Pete in Anyway Anyhow Anywhere:

After one retake, there was an anxious moment when Townshend’s falling Les Paul grazed a young extra’s head. “There was blood everywhere, and she was carried off to hospital. But she came back a few hours later and told us she was ‘very honoured’ to habe been smashed over the head by Pete Townshend’s guitar. I gave her the guitar.”

(See video on YouTube)