The Who kick off European tour

The Who kicked off their European tour on Wednesday, May 16th, in Lisbon, Portugal. Pete Townshend posted about the recent band rehearsals on his official blog petetownshend-whohe.blogspot.com.

The guitarist wrote that his brother Simon Townshend, who plays rhythm guitar and handles the backing vocals for the band, is worried about their mother Betty Townshend's health, explaining that, "She's getting older and older. Keith Richards' mum died recently in her '90s. Not sure whether the (Rolling) Stones' man's mum drank a lot. (But) Betty did, and sadly still does even in her late '80s. Survival in the face of self-abuse must be something to do with the size of your liver."

Townshend recently wrapped up a series of sessions for his girlfriend Rachel Fuller's upcoming album, which Townshend is engineering.

The Who's tour rolls on on Thursday, May 17th, in Madrid. They'll be on the road through July.