Pete Townshend Defends The Who Against Bloodthirsty One Direction Fans After Web Rumor Goes Awry

The Who guitarist and de facto bandleader Pete Townshend was forced to scramble and give the true story before hordes of angry One Direction fans could tear him limb from limb regarding internet rumors. Somehow it was reported that The Who was moving to have One Direction's "Best Song Ever" removed from YouTube because a three-chord sequence sounded too much like Townshend's "Baba O'Reilly."

Directioners, the One Direction fan base, lived up to their notoriety under confrontation, and gave The Who what for. Townshend issued a statement for his own safety if nothing else.

"No! I like the single. I like One Direction," he said. "The chords I used and the chords they used are the same three chords we've all been using in basic pop music since Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran and Chuck Berry made it clear that fancy chords don't mean great music - not always. I'm still writing songs that sound like 'Baba O'Riley' - or I'm trying to!"

Hopefully the statement came in time to save one of the greatest living guitarists, before the Directioners got to him. Rolling Stone compiled a collection of tweets threatening the band. Below are a few examples:

"#DontTouchBestSongEver BC I WILL STRANGLE YOU B---- K BYE."

"There will be World War 3 between The Who and Directioners. Beliebers are joining forces with Directioners."

"@TheWho go away you freaks and leave one direction alone."

Admittedly, this is much, MUCH more toned down from what Directioners told GQ writers after the magazine's article on Harry Styles ran.

Tags

Pete Townshend, The Who, Roger Daltrey, One Direction, Best Song Ever