[no subject]

Townsend Gets Colleagues' Support

By Robert Kahn
Staff Writer

January 16, 2003, 5:53 PM EST


Hes no Pee-wee Herman.

Rock legend Pete Townshend, implicated in a widening
Internet child porn crackdown, has won the support of
music-industry colleagues thanks to his forthrightness
and history as a child advocate  and because his life
has so far been free of the taint of scandal, insiders
say.

If this had been Michael Jackson or Pee-wee Herman, I
think people would just jump in and say Ah-hah, we
knew it,  said Liz Rosenberg, a senior vice
president at Warner Bros. Records, a spokewoamn for
the likes of Madonna and Cher. But in this case,
people are going to stop and think for a minute. Hes
a revered artist.

The goodwill Townshend has engendered as a member of
Brit rock nobility and a crusader against child abuse
have helped garner support from the likes of Who
bandmate Roger Daltrey and pop singer Elton John 
even as the guitarist shrinks from the negative
publicity stemming from his arrest Monday in London.

Friends of the Tommy tunesmith  who has
acknowledged using a credit card to enter a child porn
Web site as part of research for a book, but denies
having downloaded any images  have rushed to his
defense.

Pete has perhaps been a little naove the way he has
gone about it, but I believe his intentions are good,
Daltrey told The Sun tabloid in London.

Model Jerry Hall reminded reporters Townshend was an
avid supporter of child-welfare groups. Elton John
said: I love Pete and my thoughts are with him.

Julian Stockton, a spokesman for Townshend, said the
rocker was incredibly grateful for all the support
that he has received.

The reasons that support has poured forth can be
attributed to several factors, said Tony Fletcher,
author of Dear Boy, a respected Keith Moon
biography.

Hes addressed it in his songs. Theres a certain
sense that if hes doing that, he wouldnt be going
out and engaging in it, Fletcher says.

Fletcher added that the guitarist has also apparently
been honest and forthcoming with authorities.

I think people are putting those things together and
ultimately thinking All Pete Townshend is guilty of
is being stupid, he says.

Crisis management experts, meanwhile, say theres a
time-tested path that Townshend, who has not been
charged with any crime, should now follow.

People are going to be asking questions, so he should
just answer them honestly with a concise statement,
noted Ed Moed, managing partner of Peppercom, a
Manhattan PR firm.

Meanwhile, British police yesterday widened their
investgation into Internet child porn, arresting Tam
Paton, the former manager of 1970s pop group the Bay
City Rollers. Officials also were questioning Matthew
Kelly, one of the countrys most popular TV hosts.

The inquiries have been part of Operation Ore, the
British arm of an FBI-led investigation.

This story was supplemented by wire-service reports. 
Copyright ) 2003, Newsday, Inc. 


=====
-Brian in Atlanta
The Who This Month!
http://www.thewhothismonth.com
Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now.
http://mailplus.yahoo.com