Pete Townshend Calls Kiss ‘A Very American Phenomenon’

Kiss have been known to work the Who's 'Won't Get Fooled Again' into their concerts, but they probably shouldn't hold their breath waiting for Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey to return the favor.

Townshend struck a somewhat bewildered tone when the subject of Kiss came up during a recent interview, pointing out right off the bat that there's an ocean -- both literally and figuratively -- separating the U.K.-bred Who from the proudly American Kiss. "One thing that Kiss are absolutely, unquestionably not -- in any sense, whatsoever -- is European or English," he observed. "They are straight out of Creem magazine meets Las Vegas."

Not that there's anything wrong with that, mind you; it's just that Townshend can't necessarily relate to it -- and he knows Kiss couldn't have made it anywhere but in the U.S. "They couldn’t have happened here. They could maybe have happened in Berlin -- in which case their music wouldn’t have been like their music," he mused. "They would have looked like they looked, but they would have made different kind of music. They’re a very American phenomenon."

And on the subject of how Kiss look -- you know, the makeup and everything -- Townshend admitted he's a bit confused. "The early years of Kiss were difficult, because there was sort of a parody of rock inherent in what they were doing. And also, that business of wearing disguises. Not quite sure about it," he shrugged. "You know, I think I’d have to do an academic study to try and work out what’s really doing on there."

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