# The Who’s Pete Townshend “never really got into Led Zeppelin,” says he felt they were “trying to pinch our audience”

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/the-whos-pete-townshend-never-really-got-into-led-zeppelin-says-he-felt-they-were-trying-to-pinch-our-audience/
- Published: 2026-10-28T12:36:51+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-04T04:06:21+00:00
- Original publisher: NME
- Original article: https://www.nme.com/news/music/the-who-pete-townshend-never-into-led-zeppelin-trying-to-pinch-audience-3974447?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-who-pete-townshend-never-into-led-zeppelin-trying-to-pinch-audience
- Topics: Entertainment, Music

## Key points

- Townshend felt Led Zeppelin were competing for The Who’s audience.
- He has recently revisited Zeppelin’s albums and praised their music.
- He disputes that The Who were the first heavy metal band.

## Summary

Pete Townshend says he never really warmed to Led Zeppelin because he felt the band were competing for The Who’s audience. Looking back, however, he has recently listened to their albums again and found “some great stuff”, and has contacted guitarist Jimmy Page about meeting for lunch.

Asked whether The Who were the first heavy metal band, Townshend disagreed, saying their 1970 live album *Live At Leeds* was probably their most explosive work, but heavy music was only part of their sound. He said AC/DC were the only heavy metal band he listened to much, and that he did not get into Black Sabbath either. The Who played their final live shows in 2025, though Townshend has suggested the band may still do something together.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.