Townshend says he did not have many friends growing up, so he spent much of his boyhood reading adventure novels like Gulliver's Travels and Treasure Island. He enjoyed his family's frequent excursions to the seaside and the Isle of Man. It was on one of these trips in the summer of 1956 that he repeatedly watched the 1956 film Rock Around the Clock, sparking his fascination with American rock and roll.
Townshend says he did not have many friends growing up so he spent much of his boyhood reading adventure novels like Gulliver's Travels and Treasure Island He enjoyed his family's frequent excursions to the seaside and the Isle of Man It was on one of these trips in the summer of 1956 that he repeatedly watched the 1956 film Rock Around the Clock sparking his fascination with American rock and roll