How the Queen Mother and a Towing Company Inspired The Who’s “My Generation”

Pete Townshend said a dispute over his car helped inspire The Who’s “My Generation”, turning a personal frustration with the establishment into a song that became an anthem of youthful defiance. Released in 1965, it captured the band’s rebellious image and its fans’ sense of being misunderstood by older generations.

Townshend had parked a Packard hearse outside his home in Chesham Place, near Buckingham Palace. He said it was removed because it reminded the Queen Mother of the vehicle used to bury her husband, and that retrieving it cost £250, although he had bought it for £30. The song reached No. 2 in the UK and No. 74 on the US Billboard Hot 100.