Townshend returns to The Nags Head (From St Albans & Harpenden Review)

Townshend returns to The Nags Head in High Wycombe

10:10am Saturday 11th February 2012 in This week By Andy Carswell

SIMON Townshend has his fingers crossed his next visit to the Nag's Head in High Wycombe goes better than one of his previous trip.

He returns to the legendary live music venue for a solo tour, giving a sneak preview to his first album in ten years, on February 25.

It's not the first time Townshend has played there, but on a previous occasion things didn't quite go according to plan.

He said: "One memory I have is the place flooding when we were playing. The power went and we had to stop. It was like a monsoon outside and water was flooding in and onto the stage. We got washed out, it was unbelievable."

The gig sold out weeks ago, following rumours of a special surprise guest also appearing, but Townshend said: "We used to have a good following in High Wycombe so it didn't surprise me the tickets sold out to be honest."

The younger brother of Who legend Pete, music is in Townshend's blood and his busy schedule has stopped him from dedicating the time he needed to do his own thing.

A series of tours with The Who and the Casbah Club - a band formed with Bruce Foxton and Mark Brzezicki - meant a solo album has put on the back burner.

Called 'Looking Out Looking In', it's available to download on February 16 and Townshend admits his brother has been an influence on it.

He said: "I've been influenced by my brother and The Who but I've also followed many other musicians and come up with my own thing.

"When you're working with other bands, their music stays in your head. Music embeds itself like an image you look at on a computer screen for too long. It takes a while to get back to doing your own thing.

"It's definitely a rocky album. With technology these days you can do so much more with a piece of music than you used to be able to do. When I did my first album in the 80s it was done on a tape with an engineer sat smoking behind a desk."

Giving a sneak preview of the gig he added: "I'll do a couple of Who classics but obscure ones that Pete doesn't play, and some of my own stuff. It's got a Whoey element, I can't get away from that."

For more details on the tour go to www.simontownshend.com.

The winner of the competition for two tickets to the sell out gig at the Nags Head on February 25 was Andy Knight from High Wycombe. Thank you to every one who entered.