September 1964: Pete Townshend smashes a guitar

During a performance by The High Numbers (later The Who) at London's Railway Hotel, Pete Townshend accidentally breaks the neck of his guitar on the club's low ceiling, then proceeds to shatter the instrument. He would repeat the act innumerable times through the years. Note: While the venue is known, the exact date is not. The band played each Tuesday at the Railway that month (September 8, 15, 22 and 29).

Photo taken at National Jazz and Blues Festival, Royal Windsor Racecourse, July 1966.

* "Smashed Guitars" (www.thewho.net): @

* "Rickenbacker Guitars" (www.thewho.net): @

* "Pete Townshend and the Auto-Destructive Art of Guitar-Smashing" (dangerousminds.net): @
* "50 Moments That Changed Rock and Roll: Townshend Smashes It Up" (Rolling Stone): @
* "History: The Story of The Who" (thewho.com): @

* Footage from a Railway Hotel set (exact date unknown): @

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