Acursory glance at their careers would not suggest that Pete Townshend of The Who and Neil Young of Canada via the American West Coast musical community have much in common: Townshend is rooted in the London mod scene; Young is an unreconstructed hippie. Yet their separate autobiographical endeavours – both conducted over many painstaking years without ghostly aid – reveal them to be soul brothers. They are both cussed perfectionists, egotists, often thwarted visionaries, deeply attached to those they consider friends and stubbornly antipathetic to entrenched foes – those who do not share their frequently mad dreams. Furthermore, for all his attachment to the smashing up of guitars and the howl of the mob, Townshend has long been a disciple of the gentle teachings of his spiritual guru Meher Baba, while Young, for all his espousal of the tree-hugging side of life, has always been aware of the value of a buck and some good wheels. And a yacht.

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