Emma Townshend (born 28 March 1969) is an English writer and journalist, and the elder daughter of
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...
's
Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is co-founder, leader, guitarist, second lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s.
Townsh ...
. She has previously worked as an academic, a musician and in adult education, but since 2006 has been the ''
Independent on Sunday
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
’s'' garden columnist. Townshend has written for most of the broadsheet newspapers and has been a guest on radio and TV including the ''
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...
'', ''
Woman's Hour
''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946.
History
Created by Norman Collins and originally presented by A ...
'', and ''
Newsnight
''Newsnight'' (or ''BBC Newsnight'') is BBC Two's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. The programme is broadcast on weekdays at 22:30. and is also availa ...
''.
Early life
Emma Townshend was the first child born to
Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is co-founder, leader, guitarist, second lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s.
Townsh ...
and his wife Karen (née
Karen Astley, 12 June 1947, Grappenhall, Cheshire) in 1969. Three of Townshend's grandparents were professional musicians who had been in armed forces entertainment during the war. Emma's father is the lead guitarist and principal songwriter of the rock band
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...
; he has said that when Emma was born, "the room was filled with angels," although he later speculated that this might have been an acid flashback. When she was a baby, her parents took her to the
Woodstock
Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...
festival in a carrycot, and she was brought up following the teachings of the Indian spiritual leader
Meher Baba
Meher Baba (born Merwan Sheriar Irani; 25 February 1894 – 31 January 1969) was an Indian spiritual master who said he was the Avatar, or God in human form, of the age. A major spiritual figure of the 20th century, he had a following of ...
.
Writing career
Townshend attended
St Paul's Girls' School
St Paul's Girls' School is an independent day school for girls, aged 11 to 18, located in Brook Green, Hammersmith, in West London, England.
History
St Paul's Girls' School was founded by the Worshipful Company of Mercers in 1904, using part o ...
. She studied history at
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city ...
then specialised in history of science, receiving a master's degree from
Imperial College, London
Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...
. She then returned to Cambridge for doctoral studies in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science. Before writing up her thesis she left Cambridge to sign to
East West Records
East West Records (stylized as east''west'') is a record label formed in 1955, distributed and owned by Warner Music Group, headquartered in London, England.
History
Upon its creation in 1955 by Atlantic Records, the label had one hit with th ...
, part of Warner Music. She began teaching undergraduates in Cambridge and subsequently taught in adult education for over 15 years, including for the
Workers Educational Association
The Workers' Educational Association (WEA), founded in 1903, is the UK's largest voluntary sector provider of adult education and one of Britain's biggest charities. The WEA is a democratic and voluntary adult education movement. It delivers lea ...
,
Birkbeck and
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
's Department of Continuing Education; she was also a Visiting Lecturer at
City University, London
City, University of London, is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, and a member institution of the federal University of London. It was founded in 1894 as the Northampton Institute, and became a university when The City Univ ...
.
As a journalist Townshend has written for ''The Telegraph'', ''The Guardian'', ''The Observer'', ''The Times'' and ''The Independent'', about a range of subjects, often environmental, ranging from the English landscape and long-distance walking to conceptual art. She has also written about sport, profiled public figures such as scientist Richard Dawkins, and often reviews for the ''Independent''’s books pages. She has written in support of using public funds to preserve significant archive material in the history of British pop music.
Townshend is the author of ''Darwin's Dogs: How Darwin's Pets Helped Form a World-Changing Theory of Evolution'' (2009) which was generally well-received, and she made several appearances to promote the title.
The book looks at how Darwin used his much-loved dogs as evidence of his continuing argument that all animals including human beings descended from one common ancestor, examining parts of Darwin's own writings in
The Descent of Man
''The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex'' is a book by English naturalist Charles Darwin, first published in 1871, which applies evolutionary theory to human evolution, and details his theory of sexual selection, a form of biolo ...
.
In Darwin's bicentenary year, 2009, Townshend wrote on Darwin’s connections with the Royal Botanic Garden for ''
Kew Magazine
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,100 ...
'', gave talks at the British Museum, and led guided tours of Kew. She continues to have links with the Royal Botanic Gardens: in December 2013 a tour of Kew plus afternoon tea with Townshend was auctioned for charity, by her employers the ''
Independent on Sunday
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' newspaper, selling eventually for £720.
Music career
In 1982 Townshend and her sister Minta made their professional music debut singing back-up on ''
A Bao A Qu
A, or a, is the first Letter (alphabet), letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name ...
'', a four-track EP by their aunt, singer-songwriter Virginia Astley, named after a Jorge Luis Borges story. Emma sang back-up on Pete Townshend's ''
White City: A Novel'' album released in 1985, and appeared in the film of the same title, named after an area of West London. She was also guest vocalist at two November 1985 London concerts by her father's
Deep End supergroup.
Townshend's record deal with EastWest Records, part of the
Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...
, extended from 1995-1998, and she released the album ''Winterland'' in 1998, named after the celebrated sixties San Francisco music venue. The album received good reviews. She provided vocals for "We Can Fly Away", written by Sandy McLelland and Paul Lowin, which was the theme song in the 1999 made-for-TV movie ''
The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns
''The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns''
is a 1999 fantasy television miniseries. It stars Randy Quaid, Colm Meaney, Kieran Culkin, Roger Daltrey, Caroline Carver and Whoopi Goldberg. The miniseries contains two main stories that eventually int ...
''. This song has become her most popular, despite its lack of common ground with material issued under her own name.
Discography
Releases:
*''Five-A-Side-Football Remixes'' (Maxi) (2 versions), EastWest, 1998
*''Five-A-Side-Football Remixes'' (CD, Maxi), EastWest, 1998
*''Five-A-Side-Football'' (12", Promo), EastWest, 1998
*''The Last Time I Saw Sadie'' (12", Promo), EastWest, 1998
*''The Last Time I Saw Sadie'' (CD, Maxi), EastWest, 1998
*''Winterland'' (CD, Album), EastWest, 1998
Appeared On:
*''
A Bao A Qu
A, or a, is the first Letter (alphabet), letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name ...
'' (Single), "We Will Meet Them Again," Why Fi Records, 1982
*''
From Gardens Where We Feel Secure'' (Album), "A Summer Long Since Passed," Happy Valley / Rough Trade, 1983
*''
White City: A Novel'' (Album),
ATCO Records
ATCO Records is an American record label founded in 1955. It is owned by Warner Music Group and operates as an imprint of Atlantic Records. After several decades of dormancy and infrequent activity under alternating Warner Music labels, the comp ...
, 1985
*''White City: A Novel'' (CD, LP), ATCO Records, 1985
*''White City: A Novel'' (CD, Album, RM, RE), Hip-O Records, 2006
*''Pearl + Umbra'' (CD), "Canyon: Split Asunder," Bella Union, 1999
Tracks Appeared On:
*Platinum (2xCD), ''Five-a-Side Football'', Warner Music UK 1998
References
External links
Independent Minds Journal*
1969 births
Living people
Pete Townshend
{{Improve categories, date=April 2023
British journalists
British writers
British academics