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Who Take New Album on Faith

"We want to produce it on the lines of 'You've got to have faith in something better than yourselves,' but no one will believe we are serious"

Pete Townshend in the recording studio London.
Chris Morphet/Redferns/Getty Images
February 24, 1968

The Who, off to Australia for a tour with the Small Faces, are planning a new album that will show them as more than just musicians – they are going to be preachers as well.

"We want to produce it on the lines of 'You've got to have faith in something better than yourselves,'" said Peter Townshend, guitarist of the group, "but no one will believe we are serious. Can you imagine Roger [Daltrey] standing there singing something like that?"

The Who: Straight Rock and Roll Music

One track on the album will be "Glow Girl" by Townshend, which is also planned as the Who's next single. It deals with a couple in a plane crash. As the plane goes down they discuss the things they value in life: the girl talks about her possessions, the boy, their love. Like the old "Teen Angel" type songs it also features a reincarnation angle. There will also be a Who-style commercial, this one an anti-smoking track to plug the "beat cancer" campaign in England.

"Actually, 'Glow Girl' may only be an American release as a single," Townshend said. "For England we're working on a very slow ballad number with wild guitar sound over the top. Only Keith [Moon] and I really agree about the new single – and that worries me."

This story is from the February 24th, 1968 issue of Rolling Stone.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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Chris Morphet/Redferns/Getty Images
Pete Townshend in the recording studio London.
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