(Credits: Far Out / Harry Chase / UCLA Library)
Wed 14 January 2026 7:00, UK
Having a little bit of self-confidence is something that will get you a long way in the music industry, and it’s fair to say that The Who were brimming with the stuff when they were at the peak of their powers.
Known for both their electrifying live performances and high-concept records of gargantuan proportions, all of the band’s energy was captured within the individual brilliance of all four members; a bunch of live-wire musicians who wouldn’t ever cease in their efforts to make sure they could fulfil their prophesy of becoming the biggest rock band in the world.
It may have been something that they had in swathes at the start of their career, but it rapidly declined after the death of drummer Keith Moon, at the end of the 1970s, and has shrunk considerably more in recent years, with neither frontman, Roger Daltrey, nor guitarist Pete Townshend seemingly able to find a shred of belief in their combined abilities.
This was exemplified by the fact that their farewell tour went up shit creek in style, with the two main figureheads in the band seemingly at odds with each other throughout, but that shouldn’t take away from how stellar they had been in their prime. They’d passed their best, and there was little they could do to rectify this other than allow their legacy to live on through the bounty of high-quality music they’d produced in their halcyon days.
However, while The Who during their prime were clearly a band full of confidence, there’s such a thing as having too much self-confidence, and this can spill out into being egotistical, which often gets in the way of musicians being hailed as the finest at their craft.
Again, the egos of the two surviving members may have been shattered by their constant barneying in recent times, but there were far bigger culprits in Townshend’s eyes as far as showing off an unnecessary amount of self-belief to the point where it became suffocating.
One musician who he admired greatly but could not ever seem to get beyond the unwavering self-belief of was Sting, and while he and Townshend weren’t known for having worked alongside each other extensively during their respective careers, he spoke about him in a 2012 interview with Mojo and claimed that he would have struggled to see eye to eye with the former Police bassist and frontman.
“The only guy I know who doesn’t have any shade of self-doubt is Sting,” he argued, “and therefore [he] is very difficult for us to deal with because of that. We all find him difficult because he is so immensely talented and writes beautifully. But there’s something about this man that is so self-assured that he can leave The Police.”
Of course, this is by no means always a bad thing, as having self-belief can lead to you producing unparalleled work, but also when you’re that good, it’s hard not to be aware of it to some degree, and sometimes this can spill over into being a barrier to people being able to work with you or connect with your art because of how arrogant it comes across.
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