The Who’s Pete Townshend Responds To One Direction ‘Best Song Ever’ Controversy

Pete Townshend, the guitarist from The Who, has responded to claims that he attempted to have One Direction’s latest single, “Best Song Ever,” banned from being released.

It was claimed that “Best Song Ever” sounded eerily similar to The Who’s classic track, “Baba O’Riley,” which immediately saw One Direction’s army of fans respond furiously to claims that Townshend had asked the song to be withdrawn.

Townshend stated, “No! I like the single. I like One Direction. 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!”

He then want on to explain, “It’s a part of my life and a part of pop’s lineage. One Direction are in my business, with a million fans, and I’m happy to think they may have been influenced a little bit by The Who. I’m just relieved they’re all not wearing boiler suits and Doc Martens, or Union Jack jackets.”

Townshend even added, “The funniest thing is that in Canada this year I met with Randy Bachman, once the leader of The Guess Who, who told me that he not only copied “Baba O’Riley” for [Bachman-Turner Overdrive’s] hit “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet”, but he even called his band after us. Why would I not be happy about this kind of tribute?”

Previously, Townshend had been threatened by One Direction’s fans, with one even writing on Twitter, “You should be afraid, we’re psychotic. If you delete it, you don’t wanna know what’ll happen.”

“Best Song Ever” was released last month, and it will be accompanied by the band’s third new album, which will hit shelves later this year.