Sam Leith Sam Leith

‘My wife sends me sleep bubbles’: The extraordinary world of Pete Townshend

The Who star on his wife’s psychic abilities, creativity and his first novel

issue 30 November 2019

When most rock stars have trouble sleeping, they fall back on Valium, temazepam, heroin or Jack Daniel’s. But Pete Townshend, guitarist and songwriter for The Who and — we’re pleased to discover — Spectator subscriber, isn’t much like most rock stars. Sober now for three decades, he calls instead on his wife Rachel’s psychic powers.

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