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"Fuzz" Townshend | |
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Born | John Richard Keith Townshend 31 July 1964 Birmingham, Warwickshire, England |
Occupations |
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Years active | 1980s–present |
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Television | Car SOS |
Spouses |
John Richard Keith "Fuzz" Townshend (born 31 July 1964) is a British drummer, TV presenter of National Geographic Channel's Car SOS [2] (also shown on Channel 4/More4), motoring journalist for Classic Car Weekly , former technical editor of Practical Classics , and mechanic. He is also honorary president of the Triumph Sports Six Club. [3] He also had a solo music career from 1996 to 2002.
Townshend's Afro hair was unique in his junior school and so, at seven years of age, his school friends renamed him Fuzz.
His mother won a Vauxhall Chevette in a national newspaper competition when he was ten; having never learned to drive, she instead opted to take the prize in cash and spent it buying her son a drum kit. After taking lessons from local jazz musician Al Reed, Townshend's stage debut was made in March 1977, aged just 12. By the end of the 1970s, Townshend had graduated to playing in clubs with college bands.
Townshend started an apprenticeship with the local bus company, the West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive, working on buses at the PTE's Dudley garage. [4] During his time at Dudley, he recorded his first two John Peel Sessions for BBC Radio 1 and released his first single which made its way into the NME indie charts.[ citation needed ]
Townshend joined former Beat singer Ranking Roger and his band General Public, which later toured the US under the guise of 'Ranking Roger'. Local indie band Pop Will Eat Itself noticed him drumming with local acts and asked him to join. Townshend spent the next four and a half years drumming for the band, during which time they had successes in both the UK single and album charts and toured North America with Nine Inch Nails. Townshend started playing drums for the dance music outfit Bentley Rhythm Ace.
His first solo release, "Hello Darlin", was released in 1996, and he eventually signed to Echo Records, in July 1997. The record charted at number 51 in the UK. [5] However, he was now able to make his first solo album, Far In, which was eventually released in the UK in 1999 and the US in 2001, the latter being on Stinky Records headed by chief MTV/VH1 lawyer Sabrina Silverberg. His second, self-titled album followed in 2002. [6]
Townshend became a part-time college lecturer in 2004, lecturing in music practice and music technology and during this time, his old band PWEI decided to reform.
Townshend recently also drummed for The Wonder Stuff, and currently plays drums for The Beat (known in the U.S. as The English Beat). [7]
Townshend's first job in journalism was for Practical Classics, going on to become Technical Editor until March 2011, when he decided to go freelance, as well as starting a new classic car restoration business, Westgate Classics.
In 2014, Townshend founded Classic Friendly Ltd, a network of classic car-friendly garages, offering comprehensive safety inspections for MoT test-exempt classic cars as well as standardized servicing regimes. He is also about to launch an inspection scheme for auction and online auction cars under the same CFL umbrella. [8] In April 2019, a message posted on the Facebook page Classic Friendly Ltd confirmed that Townshend had resigned from the business around one year earlier and that he had "no further dealings or influence with its direction or trading."
In the summer of 2016, Fuzz left Westgate Classics to set up a new garage, To-Ta Classics Ltd., in Oldbury, West Midlands. [9] In 2018, To-Ta changed its name to SOS Workshop Ltd. [10]
A TV production company invited Townshend to do a screen test audition for a new show, Car SOS, held at his garage. He was given the position and his businesses would feature as the show's location.
Car SOS airs on National Geographic Channel (with re-runs airing on Channel 4/More4) in the UK, and in 2018 won a National Reality TV Award for "Most Inspirational Show". [11] [12]
Townshend is also a passionate supporter of 'Classic Aware', [13] a new campaign promoting the importance of having one's classic vehicle properly checked: in the light of new legislation scrapping MoT requirements for classic vehicles made before 1960. [14]
He is based in Bishop's Castle, Shropshire and has regular features in Practical Classics magazine as well as Classic Car Weekly.
The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered one of the most influential rock bands of the 20th century. Their contributions to rock music include the development of the Marshall stack, large public address systems, the use of synthesizers, Entwistle's and Moon's influential playing styles, Townshend's feedback and power chord guitar technique, and the development of the rock opera. They are cited as an influence by many hard rock, punk, power pop and mod bands. The Who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.
My Generation is the debut studio album by English rock band the Who, released on 3 December 1965 by Brunswick Records in the United Kingdom, and Festival Records in Australia. In the United States, it was released on 25 April 1966 by Decca Records as The Who Sings My Generation, with a different cover and a slightly altered track listing. Besides the members of the Who, being Roger Daltrey (vocals), Pete Townshend (guitar), John Entwistle (bass) and Keith Moon (drums), the album features contributions by session musician Nicky Hopkins (piano).
Nicholas Berkeley Mason is an English drummer and a founder member of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. He has been the only constant member since the band's formation in 1964, and the only member to appear on every Pink Floyd album. He co-wrote Pink Floyd compositions including "Echoes", "Time", "Careful with That Axe, Eugene" and "One of These Days".
The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band formed in Tacoma, Washington, in 1958, by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle. The band, which was a quartet for most of its existence, helped to popularize the electric guitar across the world during the 1960s. While their popularity in the United States waned in the 1970s, the group remains especially revered in Japan, where they have toured regularly. The classic lineup of the band consisted of Wilson, Bogle, Nokie Edwards, and Mel Taylor (drums).
The Wonder Stuff are a British alternative rock band. Originally based in Stourbridge in the West Midlands, England, the band's first lineup released four albums and nearly 20 singles and EPs, enjoying considerable chart and live success in the UK. The band have continued to tour and record since 2000.
Bentley Rhythm Ace (BRA) are a British electronic music act formed in Birmingham in 1995, originally consisting of Mike Stokes and Richard March.
Pop Will Eat Itself are an English alternative rock band formed in 1986 in Stourbridge in the West Midlands of England with members from Birmingham, Coventry and the Black Country. Initially known as a grebo act, they changed style to incorporate sample-driven indie and industrial rock. Graham Crabb describes their sound as "electronic, punk, alternative hip-hop, hybrid music for fucking, fighting & smoking cigars". Their highest-charting single was the 1993 top-ten hit "Get the Girl! Kill the Baddies!". After initially disbanding in 1996, and having a brief reformation in 2005, they issued their first release in more than five years in 2010.
Who Are You is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Who, released on 21 August 1978 by Polydor Records in the United Kingdom and MCA Records in the United States. Although the album received mixed reviews from critics, it was a commercial success, peaking at number 2 on the US charts and number 6 on the UK charts.
Peter Michael Tong is an English disc jockey who works for BBC Radio 1. He is the host of programmes such as Essential Mix and Essential Selection on the radio service, which can be heard through Internet radio streams, for his record label FFRR Records and for his own performances at nightclubs and music festivals. Tong has also worked as a record producer and is regarded as the "global ambassador for electronic music."
The Classics IV is an American band formed in Jacksonville, Florida, United States, in 1965. The band, founded by Dennis Yost, is known mainly for the hits "Spooky," "Stormy," and "Traces," released 1967 to 1969, which have become cover standards.
"SOS" is a song by Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released in June 1975 as the fifth single from their self-titled 1975 album.
"I Can't Explain" is a song by English rock band the Who, written by Pete Townshend and produced by Shel Talmy. It was released as a single in the United States on 19 December 1964 by Decca and on 15 January 1965 in the United Kingdom by Brunswick. It was the band's second single release and first under the Who name.
Wool was an American rock band from Washington, D.C., and based in Los Angeles. The band was active from 1990 to 1996 and specialized in a rough hewn but melodic brand of punk-based hard rock.
"Eminence Front" is a song by the Who, written and sung by lead guitarist Pete Townshend. It appears as the sixth track on the group's tenth studio album It's Hard (1982). The single entered Billboard Hot 100 on 25 December 1982, reaching number 68.
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Charlie Luxton is an architectural designer and television presenter who writes and speaks about the environment and sustainable architecture.
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Car SOS is a British automotive entertainment television series that airs on National Geographic Channel as well as being repeated on Channel 4 and More4. The series began in 2013 and is presented by Tim Shaw and Fuzz Townshend.
Who is the twelfth studio album by the English rock band the Who, released on 6 December 2019. The band's first new studio album in thirteen years, and the second overall comprising the duo of vocalist Roger Daltrey and instrumentalist Pete Townshend, it comprises ballads, rock music, electronic experimentation and "classic Who-ish" songs, according to Townshend.