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The Who guitarist Pete Townshend: “The Beatles copied us!”

The Who guitarist Pete Townshend talked about The Beatles bassist Paul McCartney, and he also mentioned the similarities between their albums.

People believe that the “Sgt. Pepper” album of The Beatles and The Who Sell Out album of The Who are similar.

Pete Townshend mentioned a quick chat with Paul McCartney, who revealed that The Beatles was looking to do something similar to A Quick One While He’s Away. That song of The Who is in the album that released both before The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper (May 1967) and The Who Sell Out (December 1967).

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone raised that issue to Pete Townshend and got his comment as to who inspired whom.

Pete Townshend on The Who inspiring The Beatles

When asked about the similarities between the albums, he answered that question:

“No, no. Come on. The Beatles copied us! Paul McCartney came up to me at the Bag O’Nails, which we mention in the album artwork. He was always very, very sweet to me. I should say that first. But he said to me that he really loved our mini-opera, which was called ‘A Quick One, While He’s Away.’

That was on the album that preceded ‘The Who Sell Out.’ And he told me they were thinking about doing similar things.”

Pete Townshend also talked about when they learned the name of the album, which he liked so much.

“I think anybody that was even a little bit art school back then, a little bit adventurous – and, of course, The Beatles were encouraged to experiment to the max in the studio – would have thought about doing something which was a concept.

In this case, of course, it wasn’t a concept. It wasn’t a concept until the day that we walked in to get photographed in tubs of baked beans. It was only at that photo session that we learned that the name of the album was going to be ‘The Who Sell Out,’ which is a brilliant title, of course.

It was only on that date that we learned what the cover was going to look like. Things moved very quickly in those days.”

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