On August 18 1978, The Who released Who Are You, the band had already secured their place in the pantheon of music history and were destined to do even more. Now Pete Townshend has released his warts ‘n’ all memoir Who I Am.

“What I’ve never really done is just my story from my point of view,” says Pete, who was the spokesperson for The Who for 28 years.

At 67 the guitarist and songwriter is talking about his life and experiences both in and out of The Who with the benefit of hindsight and experience.

“This book also gives me the chance to talk about The Who’s music and my part in it in a pretty brutal way,” says Pete.

And it’s not like it hasn’t been years in the making – he apparently kept fan mail from his 20s to be opened upon the writing of his autobiography.

But it’s not only the iconic music and seminal appearances – The Who at Woodstock to over 1 million people is something of legend – that Pete covers in Who I Am. He lays himself open, and talks about his chaotic and sometimes abusive childhood, his self-doubt while the band was at its peak, and the later controversy in his life.