Joey & the Who

I've enjoyed reading the articles about the Who that various people have
typed in, so I thought I'd make a contribution.  First, some background:
"Film at 11" was a tabloid that covered the local entertainment scene in
Springfield, Missouri, back in the mid '80s.  I occasionally wrote for it,
as did a musician named Joey Skidmore.  In February of 1987, Joey wrote a
column about meeting his three idols--Willie Dixon, Mitch Ryder, and Pete
Townshend.  I've excerpted the Townshend/Who section, although here's one
quote from Ryder:

After the show, Ryder seemed nervous and paranoid about granting me an
interview.  Staggering into the dressing room, he wolfed down a big piece
of ham, saying, "I love meat--I hate vegetarians.  Too many damned many
vegetarians in the world."

Sorry wf!

Anyway, here's "Remembering The Who, Mitch Ryder, and Willie Dixon," by
Joey Skidmore:


After the Who performed its 1980 concert at Kemper Arena in Kansas City,
bassist John Entwistle and drummer Kenney Jones lounged around in the
sunken bar in the lobby of the Crown Center.

The show could have been a disaster--several people had been trampled to
death at a recent Who concert, and the roof at Kemper Arena had fallen in a
few months before.  I felt certain that the loudest band in the world would
blow the building up, but, fortunately, everything went smoothly.  The
crowd was polite and orderly, there were few arrests, and no one got hurt.

Before the band kicked into "My Generation," its rebellous youth anthem
that shouts "I hope I die before I get old," Townshend told the audience
that he wanted to live to be as old as Pablo Picasso--98.

After the show, Jones and Entwistle sat drinking with family and friends,
and Jones, the newst addition to the group, seemed eager to talk about his
days with the Small Faces, and what ever happened to Rod Stewart.

"Rod's problem is he doesn't really have a band; he's just hired a bunch of
guys to play with him," Jones said, adding that he still kept in touch with
Stewart.

He said a Faces reunion would be great "if they were all in good health.
But Ronnie's not too healthy," he said but declined to elaborate.  I found
out later that Ronnie Lane is suffering from MS.

Even though most of the people at the hotel didn't seem to notice that
there were superstars in their midst, when Townshend came into the lobby,
he created quite a stir.  After hearing Townshend tell his room number
(1117) to a musician playing in the bar, a friend and I managed to get
ourselves invited up by John "Rabbit" Bundrick, their touring keyboard
player.

Ironically, I had never seen Bundrick before, and the name "Rabbit" meant
nothing to me.  He had been positioned behind the speaker stacks where I
couldn't see him.  He was pretty drunk and acted like we were his oldest
friends, until he realized that I didn't know who he was.  Then he wouldn't
say a word to me the rest of the night.  I felt like a heel weeks later
when I saw his picture.

Jones and Roger Daltrey didn't make it to the party in the room, but
Townshend, Entwistle, and a crew of about 20 music industry people
(including producer Chris Thomas), groupies, friend, and employees of the
band were there.  I met Daltrey just long enough for him to autograph my
demo tape and wish me good luck with my music.  He was a lot smaller than I
expected, about my size, but he looked in great shape--tough and confident.

"Roger works out all the time," Jones had told me, scornfully.

In the Who's suite, all the people tried to speak with an English
accent--whether they were from England or not--especially the groupies
trying to impress and pick up the band members.

There was no chucking TV sets off of the balcony, but there were cases and
cases of champagne.  Although Townshend turned down drinks, he was
obviously already wired.

The film "Quadrophenia," based on the Who's classic two-record set had just
been released.  Townshend expressed disappointment with the final product,
saying it was "too violent" and had not turned out like they wanted it to.

Entwistle started making out on the couch with a tall, skinny woman with
curly hair and no make up.  I wondered if he was going to slip her the pork
right there, but, at the last minute, they excused themselves and left the
room.  He had been so quiet all night, we hardly missed him.

By about 3 a.m., the party had thinned out considerably, and word went
around that it was going to move across town.  Townshend, myself, and about
seven or eight others migrated to the new location.  My old, beat-up Mazda
wagon fit in just great with the procession of Porsches, Ferraris, BMWs,
and taxis.


Well, there you have Joey's story.  I find it interesting that Kenney was
remembering the Faces on a night that he had just drummed for the Who, and
that Joey hints at some friction between him and Daltrey.  I hope that the
ex-Mrs. JAE doesn't read this list!  She will have reason to come after
JAE.  Joey always had a bad habit of leaving his stories half-finished, so,
Joey, if you're out there, please finish this one because I want to know
what happened between you and Pete later that night.

Jim McWilliams
mcwillia@hannibal.wncc.cc.ne.us



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From: JMunoz7792@aol.com