Act One: War Music. Chapters 1 - 3, 'I Was There', 'It's a Boy!', and 'You Didn't See It' Summary and Analysis

Pete Townsend is a world-famous rock star, a guitar player in the band The Who. In this book, he tells the story of his life from growing up in post-war Britain, joining a band, and his first hits, all the way through the pitfalls and trials of rock star life to where he is now.

In the first chapter, 'I Was There', Pete remembers his first The Who show, at the Railway Hotel in London, June 1964. Here he first smashed his guitar, beginning The Who's tradition of auto-destruction.

Pete recognizes that music is an escape from fear and misery, and that it was an important part of...