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Rough Boys
I almost hate to bring this up again, but I noticed that the "Is Pete
Gay?" question came up again. I pulled out a tape I have containing a
bit of the interview that, I believe, started that whole rumor
(hopefully, this will answer more questions than it will raise, but I
kinda doubt it).
In an interview with Timothy White, for his book "Rock Lives," Pete
was asked about the song "Rough Boys."
PETE:
"How could Rough Boys have been written for The Who? It's about
homosexuality. It was kind of an acknowledgment of the fact that I
had had a gay life and I understood what gay sex was about. That it
was... it was not about faggery at all. It was about violence and
savagery in a lot of senses. I think one of the things that stunned
me when the record was released was suddenly I realized I found a
female audience. Just by being honest about the fact, you know, that
I have...I understand. Y'know, I understand how gay people feel. I
understand and I identify and I know how it feels to be a woman. I
know how it feels to be a woman because I am a woman, you know, and I
won't be classified as just a man."
When I first heard that, I did not take it literally or too seriously,
given the way Pete tends to ramble about things in general and given
the fact that he was married and had a family (not that it would have
changed my opinion of him). I sort of assumed he was speaking
figuratively, the way he obviously was about being a "woman."
Nowhere in the interview does it say that he has actually had a
homosexual liaison. When he was questioned about it later, he
declined to confirm or deny anything, stating, "I don't want to betray
my gay fans feelings of solidarity with me. I really don't think it
matters whether I am gay or not." (true)
The only other related thing that I came across from an interview in
1989 before the LA Tommy performance:
"People sometimes expect us to be like we were on Live At Leeds all
the time. You know, heavy drums, lots of guitar smashing...And when I
started to record solo albums in 1979, and I allowed a feminine side
to creep in, I was amazed at how many women I discovered were actually
buying our records, and buying my records."
You can make of this what you wish. I have heard/read a lot of
interviews with Pete and have found that he sometimes contradicts
himself and tends to go "shooting off at the mouth" a lot. But that
is one of the things that makes his interviews interesting (and
sometimes frustrating).
peace,
Mike