The Life and Legacy of Rock Legends, The Who

The windmill move wasn’t planned. Pete did it one night onstage, just a big, wild swing of his arm that hit the strings with more force than usual. It looked strange, even a little ridiculous. But it felt right. And so he kept doing it.

After a while, it became part of how people pictured him—this lanky, furious guitarist, slashing at his instrument like he was trying to kill it. It wasn’t about showmanship. It was about energy. Pete didn’t move like a rock star. He moved like someone trying to wrestle something out of himself, one chord at a time.