Pete Townshend discography

For his work with The Who, see The Who discography.

The following is the solo discography of British rock musician and recording artist Pete Townshend. Townshend's career as a published musician and songwriter began in 1964 as a member of rock band the Who, before branching out as a solo artist in the 1970s.

Pete Townshend discography
Pete Townshend with The Who at Manchester Arena in 2014
Studio albums	6
Live albums	9
Compilation albums	4
Singles	18

Studio albums

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions										Certifications
		UK [1]	AUS [2][3]	AUT [4]	GER [5]	NED [6]	NZ [7]	NOR [8]	SWE [9]	SWI [10]	US [11]
1972	Who Came First	30	35	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	69
1977	Rough Mix (with Ronnie Lane)	44	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	45
1980	Empty Glass	11	28	—	—	—	21	40	—	—	5	RIAA: Platinum[12]
1982	All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes	32	41	—	—	—	17	33	—	—	26
1985	White City: A Novel	70	16	26	15	31	20	—	17	11	26	RIAA: Gold[12] BVMI: Gold[13]
1989	The Iron Man: The Musical by Pete Townshend	—	59	—	—	39	—	—	—	—	58
1993	Psychoderelict	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	118
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Live albums

Year	Album	Peak chart positions	Notes
		US [11]
1986	Deep End Live!	98	Recorded 1985, expanded version Live: Brixton Academy '85 released 2004
1999	A Benefit For Maryville Academy	—	Recorded 1998
2000	Live: Sadler's Wells	—	Recorded 2000, from Townshend's Lifehouse concert series
	Live: The Empire	—	Recorded 1998
	Live: The Fillmore	—	Recorded 1996
2001	Live: La Jolla 22/06/01	—	Recorded 2001
	Live: La Jolla 23/06/01	—
	The Oceanic Concerts (with Raphael Rudd)	—	Recorded 1979–1980
2003	Live: Bam 1993	—	Recorded 1993, on Townshend's Psychoderelict tour
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Soundtrack albums

Year	Recording	Notes
1975	Tommy	From Ken Russell's 1975 film

Compilations

Albums

Year	Album	Notes
1996	The Best of Pete Townshend	Features new song "Uneasy Street"
2005	Anthology	2xCD
2015	Truancy: The Very Best of Pete Townshend	Features new songs "Guantanamo" and "How Can I Help You"

Box sets and samplers

Year	Album	Notes
2000	Lifehouse Chronicles	Box set
	Lifehouse Elements	Sampler of Lifehouse Chronicles.
2001	Jai Baba	Box set of Happy Birthday, I Am, and With Love
2025	The Studio Albums[14]	Box set

Singles

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions										Album
		UK [1]	AUS [2][3]	BEL (FL) [15]	CAN	GER [16]	NED [6]	NZ [7]	SWE [9]	SWI [10]	US [17]
1980	"Rough Boys"	39	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	89	Empty Glass
	"Let My Love Open the Door" b/w "Greyhound Girl", non-album track	46	82	—	5	—	—	—	—	—	9
	"A Little Is Enough"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	72
	"Keep on Working"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1982	"Face Dances, Pt. 2" b/w "Man Watching", non-album track	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	105	All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes
	"Uniforms (Corp d'Esprit)" b/w "Dance It Away", non-album track	48	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1985	"Face the Face"	89	9	14	17	15	14	11	8	14	26	White City: A Novel
	"Give Blood"	—	77	—	—	61	—	—	—	—	—
1986	"Secondhand Love"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
	"Barefootin'"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Deep End Live!
1989	"A Friend Is a Friend" 12" b/w "Real World (Can You Really Dance?)", non-album track	—	113	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	The Iron Man: The Musical by Pete Townshend
	"I Won't Run Anymore"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1993	"English Boy"	87	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Psychoderelict
	"I Believe My Own Eyes"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
	"Don't Try to Make Me Real"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1996	"Let My Love Open the Door" (1996 remix)	145	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	The Best of Pete Townshend
2001	"O' Parvardigar"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	I Am/Who Came First
2014	"It Must Be Done" (with Nathan Barr)	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	N/A (for The Americans)
2023	"Can't Outrun the Truth"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	N/A[18]
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Other appearances

Year	Song	Album
1970	"Content" (with Maud Kennedy), "Day of Silence", "Mary Jane", "The Seeker" (solo version), "Begin the Beguine", and "The Love Man"	Happy Birthday
1972	"Baba O'Riley" (instrumental) and "O' Parvardigar"	I Am
	"Classified"	Glastonbury Fayre
1976	"His Hands", "Meher", "Sleeping Dog", and "Lantern Cabin"	With Love
1982	"Ascension Two"	Music & Rhythm
1986	"Life to Life"	Playing for Keeps
2012	"Corrina, Corrina"	Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan

Demos

Albums

Year	Album
1983	Scoop
1987	Another Scoop
2001	Scoop 3

Compilation

Year	Title
2002	Scooped

Production

Year	Title	Artist	Notes
1969	"Wilhelmina"	Thunderclap Newman	also bassist
1970	"I See It All"
	"Stormy Petrel"
	Hollywood Dream
1979	"Peppermint Lump"/"Breakfast in Naples"	Angie	also arranger[19]
	"Spread It Around"	Straight Eight	executive producer on B-sides "It Ain't Easy" and "Oh No"[20]
1983	Sweet Sound	Simon Townshend	[21]
1991	"She Blows My Mind"	The Tambourines	[22]
2003	The Awakening	Raphael Rudd	vocals on "The Awakening", recorded 1978[23]

Theater and classical

Plays

Year	Recording	Notes
1993	Tommy	Original cast recording of a musical play with music & lyrics by Townshend and book by Townshend & Duff McAnuff. Produced by George Martin.[24]

Adaptations

Year	Recording	Notes
2015	Classic Quadrophenia	orchestrated by Rachel Fuller conducted by Robert Ziegler[25]