John Entwistle: "I wasted my whole career on The Who. "
My 1996 interview with The Ox concludes explosively. Part 3 of 3.
“It’s been a complete fucking waste of my space.”
It’s three hours since John Entwistle, initially with The Who’s sound engineer Bobby Pridden alongside him, began talking into my tape recorder, the first “major” interview for what was then, in the spring of 1996, my impending Keith Moon biography. (The book – Dear Boy in the UK, Moon in the US, and with various other translated titles along the way - recently celebrated its 25th Anniversary.) Alongside me is Matt Kent, whose dedication to the cause of what had long been a defunct The Who has seen him start a fanzine (Naked Eye) and host a successful convention in 1995 that Entwistle, known to all as The Ox, had attended. Matt has kindly facilitated the interview and driven me from London to Quarwood, John Entwistle’s mansion in the English Cotwolds. As noted in part 1 of this interview, it’s an uncommonly and fiercely hot day, and John is beginning it with some hair of the dog, gradually adding Remy to his black coffee.
"He blew up a little old lady in a lift..."
In parts 1 and 2 (see above), John mainly talks about his relationship with Keith, recounting a number of entertaining stories, occasionally conflating details as I would only discover once I was further into my research. But in this part, he talks about his relationship with the other band members, and it was clearly not healthy.
I held much of this material back from publication until now, but with the passing of time, I feel comfortable sending it out into the world.
These archive interviews are for paid subscribers to Tony Fletcher Wordsmith, and if you have hesitated about upgrading to a paid subscription until now, this may be your moment to take the plunge. Read on to hear how John wishes he’d left The Who to form Led Zeppelin with Keith, how The Who “invented the rider,” and how, “If it hadn't been for Pete Townshend making too much money I'd be rich.”