Pete Townshend turned to the Gibson Les Paul Deluxe guitar in August 1972 when the Gibson SG Special, that had been Pete's first main stage guitar, was discontinued. Townshend had been experimenting with the Les Paul Deluxe prior to this, inter-mixing them with the use of his trusted SG. It was important for Townshend to have a stable guitar where replacements could be easily obtained after frequent performances where Pete smashed his guitar on stage. In an interview in 2001 Townshend guessed that over the years it was likely that he had destroyed around 200 guitars on stage.
The Les Paul Deluxe soon became Pete's guitar of choice for recording and touring by the Autumn of 1973, in the accompanying letter Pete writes This Les Paul Deluxe guitar was originally sold to me by Bob Heil for the American tour of Quadrophenia in 1973. The majority of these early Les Pauls were in a cherry sunburst finish, but a few were the more distinctive 'Gold Top' such as the one in this lot. The illustrated photograph in the catalogue, taken by Neal Preston, shows Pete playing a similar Les Paul Gold Top during the US tour. He continued to use this model of guitar throughout the 1970s, which has been attributed to the Who's individual sound during what is considered to be the bands most revered era.
It is this model of guitar associated with the distinct numbering system devised by Pete and Alan Rogan, his guitar tech. The pair decided to number each guitar, between 1-5, with tape initially on the back of the body. A quick and unique way to differentiate which guitar was at a specific capo setting for smooth and swift guitar changes during Townshend's dynamic performances. Pete recalls that the guitar in this lot, .. was my #5 stage guitar on that tour and must be one of my earliest Les Paul's. It's unmodified, apart from the machine-heads, which were replaced with Grovers. The guitar remained in Pete's possession until circa 1975-1976 when he then gave it to Jon Astley, his long term producer and engineer.