Music Monday ~ Purcell & Townshend

Pete Townshend of The Who has mentioned many times, in interview, that some of his music was heavily influenced by 17th century Baroque composer Henry Purcell. The opening bars of Pinball Wizard, parts of Won't Get Fooled Again & I Can See For Miles are usually cited as best known examples.

Let's compare:

Townsend shares, “The chordal structure for the intro was inspired by [English Baroque composer] Henry Purcell, who did this very short piece called ‘Symphony Upon One Note.’ It’s a very plaintive piece, almost like the [20th century U.S. composer] Samuel Barber composition ‘Adagio for Strings’ -- only the Purcell piece was written in 1600 or something. A single bowed note runs throughout that whole piece. I found that a stunning thing to call upon while I was in the process of writing ‘Pinball Wizard.’ I analyzed every single chord in the piece and found ways to play them on guitar.”
(See HERE)

Not sure I hear it! I'm the original cloth-eared twit, though, when it comes to chord structure and suchlike.

Won't Get Fooled Again...I see similarity better here - in the intro.




Whether or not it's always clear to the listener, it was clear to Pete Townshend.

Let's compare natal charts - as far as possible. Information on Henry Purcell's true date of birth is sketchy. He died at the very early age of 36. Wikipedia and Astrotheme have his date of birth as 10 September 1659, other sources are more careful and state only "circa 1659". Just for fun, using 10 September 1659 (Wiki's information must have come from somewhere) are there any harmonious astro-chords?

I've copied planet positions for Pete Townshend from astro.com and noted same for Purcell from astrotheme:

 Back then

Pete Townshend born London, England 19 May 1945 at 3.00 PM

 17th century sketch

Henry Purcell born in London, England (possibly on) September 10, 1659. Data at 12 noon on that date:

Sun 17.36 Virgo
Venus conjunct Jupiter 28/29 Leo
Saturn and Mercury in Libra 27 and 13 degrees respectively
Mars at 8 Gemini
Chiron 6 Capricorn








Compare: Townshend's natal ascendant and Jupiter with Purcell's natal Sun.
Their natal Venus (planet of the arts) Aries and Leo in harmonious trine.

There's some astro-harmony there, for sure! It looks, too, as though Townshend might have inherited Purcell's nose as well as his "ear".

Townshend, Daltrey & THE WHO

Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey recently received Kennedy Center Honors in New York. We watched the TV presentation of this event earlier in the week. We were quite surprised to see the two Brits, leading lights of the 60s/70s rock band The Who, placed among such American luminaries as Barbra Streisand, Morgan Freeman and George Jones. There's a list of the year's honorees, and all those from previous years, here.

I'm not implying that these two don't merit the honor, but there are so many deserving American musicians, it seemed surprising that the judges needed to venture across the pond for honorees. Townshend and Daltrey appeared at The Concert for New York City, after 9/11, of course, but so did many others. That's not likely to be the reason they were chosen. However, the section of the show honoring Townshend's and Daltrey's work did include the appearance of "New York's finest and bravest", the fire fighters and police, singing along behind musicians on stage.

Anyway, seeing the two former hard-rockers sitting there, all establishment-ish, felt rather like sampling a caviar hamburger with a cherry on top - and almost as indigestible!


Speaking of digestion, I bit off more than I could chew as I started to investigate The Who's astrology. The best-known line-up consisted of Roger Daltrey as vocalist, Pete Townshend guitar, John Entwistle bass, and Keith Moon on drums. Their natal charts are included below. Times of birth, which seem to me to have been rounded-off, are as given at Astrotheme.

Extract (see here).

Few bands in the history of rock & roll were riddled with as many contradictions as the Who. All four members had wildly different personalities, as their notoriously intense live performances demonstrated. The group was a whirlwind of activity, as the wild Keith Moon fell over his drum kit and Pete Townshend leaped into the air with his guitar, spinning his right hand in exaggerated windmills. Vocalist Roger Daltrey strutted across the stage with a thuggish menace, as bassist John Entwistle stood silent, functioning as the eye of the hurricane. These divergent personalities frequently clashed, but these frictions also resulted in a decade's worth of remarkable music.

As one of the key figures of the British Invasion and the mod movement of the mid-'60s, the Who were a dynamic and undeniably powerful sonic force. They often sounded like they were exploding conventional rock and R&B structures with Townshend's furious guitar chords, Entwistle's hyperactive basslines, and Moon's vigorous, chaotic drumming. Unlike most rock bands, the Who based their rhythm on Townshend's guitar, letting Moon and Entwistle improvise wildly over his foundation, while Daltrey belted out his vocals. This was the sound the Who thrived on in concert, but on record they were a different proposition, as Townshend pushed the group toward new sonic territory. He soon became regarded as one of the finest British songwriters of his era, as songs like "The Kids Are Alright" and "My Generation" became teenage anthems, and his rock opera, Tommy, earned him respect from mainstream music critics.

The diversity of personalities within The Who could well account for its success. It's not easy to find any clear astrological linkage, apart from the outer planet placements. The four guys were born within two years of each other, so naturally Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are in similar positions - Uranus in Gemini, Neptune in Libra and Pluto in Leo.

I'll mention just one or two interesting points from the charts:

Roger Daltrey has a nice close Air trine from Uranus to Neptune with sextile to Pluto. He is arguably the most versatile of the four. He added acting to his resume, though without receiving any great acclaim, it has to be said. He did come up with competent performances in several UK TV series, and a few movies too. Four planets in versatile Gemini, including Saturn, which lay in Cancer or Leo in the other three charts, reflect his adaptability.




Pete Townshend shone as a songwriter in addition to his talent as guitarist. Jupiter in Virgo on his ascendant (one of the most powerful areas of the chart) is a good illustration of this: Virgo is ruled by Mercury the writer's planet, Jupiter is known as planet of publication and expansion.

From his natal chart (below), I don't see Entwistle being the group's "eye of the hurricane" as stated in the quote, above. Actually the author contradicts himself somewhat, because in the second paragraph he says "The Who based their rhythm on Townshend's guitar". Townshend's nitpicky Virgo ascendant would seem far more likely to provide a stable foundation than Entwistle's impulsive Aries rising. Entwistle's midheaven is in stable cardinal Capricorn, though while Townshend's is in mutable Gemini, with Uranus sitting there (if time of birth is accurate)....I'm not informed enough about rock music to decide whose astrology best symbolised The Who's "anchor".

Both Entwistle (right) and Moon (below) died too soon, their charts are similar in that the planets are huddled within half or less of the zodiac circle, leading to a less circumspect outlook in general. Both have four planets in Libra. Their deaths were in similar circumstances, Moon died of an overdose of a prescribed drug, a drug to assist in loosening an alcohol addiction - note that in his chart Mars and Neptune, the addictive planet, are conjoined within 2 degrees. Entwistle died of a heart attack due to an overdose of cocaine. In his chart Neptune and Mercury conjoin within 3 degrees and lie on the descendant angle which is one of the four most sensitive points in any chart.

Neither Townshend nor Daltrey has a personal planet close to Neptune -that's not to say that they didn't use drugs or alcohol, but they were probably more strong-minded, less the addictive type.


12 noon chart for Keith Moon as no time of birth known.


The video, from a performance in 1968, illustrates a little of the destructive motif for which the band became famous: smashing their instruments, destroying sets. The presenter individually introduces the four lads before they sing "My Generation". Towards the end we see the infamous incident when Keith Moon added 3 times the amount of explosive to a special effect, without letting the band know. Rumor had it that Pete Townshend's hearing loss started from that point, having stood close to the resulting explosion.