# THE WHO’s PETE TOWNSHEND Says He ‘Never Really Got Into LED ZEPPELIN’: ‘The Only Heavy Metal I Really Listened To Was AC/DC’

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/the-whos-pete-townshend-says-he-never-really-got-into-led-zeppelin-the-only-heavy-metal-i-really-listened-to-was-ac-dc/
- Published: 2026-10-27T22:09:23+00:00
- Original publisher: Blabbermouth
- Original article: https://blabbermouth.net/news/the-whos-pete-townshend-says-he-never-really-got-into-led-zeppelin-the-only-heavy-metal-i-really-listened-to-was-ac-dc
- Topics: Art, Culture, Entertainment, Music

## Key points

- Townshend has revisited Led Zeppelin and now admires their range.
- He says AC/DC was the only heavy metal he really listened to.
- He sees *Live At Leeds* as explosive but is unsure The Who created metal.

## Summary

Pete Townshend says he has recently been listening to Led Zeppelin’s albums again and now recognises “some fucking great stuff” in their music. In a new interview, he also said he never really got into the band at the time because he felt they were trying to take The Who’s audience.

Townshend said AC/DC was the only heavy metal he really listened to, and he was unsure that The Who helped create the genre. He noted that musicians cited the band’s 1970 live album, *Live At Leeds*, as inspiration to play more expansively, and recalled The Who performing both *Tommy* and heavier material at Woodstock. In 2019, he had said The Who “sort of invented heavy metal” with the album; *The Who By Numbers* is due for a deluxe reissue on 30 October.

## Coverage

- [Blabbermouth: THE WHO’s PETE TOWNSHEND Says He ‘Never Really Got Into LED ZEPPELIN’: ‘The Only Heavy Metal I Really Listened To Was AC/DC’](https://blabbermouth.net/news/the-whos-pete-townshend-says-he-never-really-got-into-led-zeppelin-the-only-heavy-metal-i-really-listened-to-was-ac-dc)
- [Consequence: The Who’s Pete Townshend “Never Really Got Into Led Zeppelin,” But Did Listen to AC/DC](https://consequence.net/2026/10/the-who-pete-townshend-never-really-got-into-led-zeppelin/)

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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.