He has mangled and wrecked them, and even jammed one into a speaker. But after 40 years of cruel and unusual axe abuse, Pete Townshend has announced: “I have smashed my last guitar.”

The pledge is bad news for guitar makers, who have enjoyed a secure living from The Who guitarist’s appetite for destruction. He has destroyed hundreds of unfortunate guitars at the explosive climax of the band’s concerts.

As The Who begin their world tour, Townshend, 61, promised a new era of six-string survival. A guitar that bit the dust at a concert in Yokohama, Japan, two years ago, will be the last he ever smashes. Townshend took apart the gold-sprayed Fender Stratocaster when he succumbed to the searing heat at the climax of The Who’s first Japanese show in July 2004. He feels guitar-smashing has become a cliche although he admits that he will never entirely escape the urge.

Fans have a chance to win the splintered Fender Stratocaster, which Townshend has signed, by entering a charity lottery, organised by his partner, Rachel Fuller. He said: “Rachel plans to sell $10 lottery tickets for the last ever guitar to be smashed by the legendary me, at Yokohama in Japan.” The proceeds will go to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Townshend claims that he broke his first guitar aged 13 when his grandmother interrupted a jam session with the band’s late bassist, John Entwistle, and told the pair to turn the racket down. “I’ll do better than that,” Townshend replied and smashed the guitar.

The first public act of destruction occurred at the Railway Hotel, Harrow and Wealdstone, in September 1964 when the neck of Townshend’s guitar snapped off against the ceiling.

Annoyed that the audience had found it amusing, Townshend trashed the rest of the instrument. The band’s lead singer, Roger Daltrey, told him: “You shouldn’t have smashed it up, I could have got it repaired.”

Onstage destruction of instruments became a regular part of The Who’s performances. During one show in the US Townshend concluded My Generation by jamming his guitar into a speaker, causing it to short circuit in a ball of fire. Townshend said: “If ever I wanted to deal with any kind of hidden rage, I could always take it out on the guitar.”

The splintered Yokohama guitar has been placed in plexi-glass and will be transported to every date of The Who tour. Lottery tickets will be sold at www.intheattic.tv.

A spokesman for the band said: “[Townshend] has promised the Yokohama guitar will be the very last to go.”

THEN AND NOW

1970
Tickets: 11s 6d (57.5p)
Crowd: 2,000
Recording: mobile recording unit for vinyl

2006
Tickets: £37.50
Crowd: 2,100
Recording: filmed for webcast and DVD

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