"In the Summertime" - Jimmy talks & anecdotes

["Jennifer L. Davies" <jen@nt.net>]

        I'm amazed!  Jimmy Page spoke of his own free will in front of a
recording audience!  (Maybe I haven't seen enough footage, but I'm amazed.
He's always so quiet.)
        Which brings up a neat anecdote.  It's from the novel "Stairway to
Heaven" by Richard Cole (a roadie with the Who before Zep), really about
Zep, but with a few Who interjections.  (Naturally I have no permission, but
it's a great piece of history, so please don't tell anybody.)

        "I never really got tired of watching the Who perform.  In the
course of a 90 minute performance they could electrify crowds with their
music and shock audiences with their antics, while sending critics scouring
their thesuaruses looking for just the right verb to describe what was
taking place.  Just when you thought the Who was the most disciplined,
masterful band you had ever seen and heard, the musicians had a chameleon's
gift for instantly transforming themselves into raving, deranged lunatics.
All in a night's work.
        "At times, the anarchy that accompanied the music often became
frightening...[pointless]
        "...Peter whirled his guitar and accidentally struck its neck on a
very low ceiling above the stage.  It happened with such force that the neck
fractured.  Peter stood stunned for just a moment, surveying the damage.
Then he shouted, "Goddam it!", gritting his teeth, and erupted in wild
anger, suddenly flailing the guitar furiously and recklessly...[thus the
Autodestruction, which Keith enjoyed too, was born according to back-stage
Cole] ...  As the demolition continued, the crowd - already on the brink of
hysteria - roared its approval.
        "After that initial outburst, Townshend never looked back...  (he)
came to get a real kick out of it, amused that he could incite the crowd,
work them up, and push them over the edge, just for the price of a guitar or
two.
        "...[they were falling verrry quickly into serious debt]  You don't
have to be an Einstein to figure out that the band was committing fiscal
suicide.  And it created enormous of tension within the band.
        "Particularly in the beginning, John Entwistle and Roger Daltrey
were horrified at the destructive onslaughts and what they were costing the
band.  "This is absolutely ridiculous!" John shouted at Peter one evening.
"We lose money every night we play!  We'd come out ahead just by not showing
up!"
        "Peter couldn't be bothered by that kind of logic.  "Fuck off!" he
yelled back at Entwistle.  "This is something we do!  It's part of the show.
The fans love it.  So accept it!""

        An interesting insider's view.