Pete Townshend‘s Classic Quadrophenia album has been excluded from the Official UK Classical Chart.
According to a statement, Townshend’s ‘symphonised’ version of The Who’s album has sold enough copies needed to secure the No.1 position in the Classical Charts.
However, the orchestral record has not been accepted into the Classical Chart, due to the fact that the original material is rock music.
The album, which was released on Monday, has reached No. 32 in the UK Official Album Chart.
On discovering his exclusion from the Classical Chart last week, Townshend expressed his disappointment:
“So musical snobbery in the “classical” elite is still alive & kicking then? F**k ’em. There’s a huge team behind this album, entirely rooted in the practical world of recorded classical music, who deserve better than this petty slap-down. I know I’m a rock dinosaur and I’m happy to be one, but the team on Classic Quadrophenia are all young, creative and brilliant.”
Despite the work being disallowed from the UK Classical Chart, Townshend hopes Classic Quadrophenia will go on to become a regular part of the orchestral repertoire and boost attendance at classical concerts:
“A lot of major symphony orchestras are in trouble because their audience is getting old and the younger audiences prefer softer stuff, such as film soundtrack music,” he explains. “I think that Quadrophenia would reinvigorate their audiences and bring in people who might not otherwise go to see a symphony orchestra perform without lights and fireworks and a movie screen.”
The History Of Rock – a brand new monthly magazine from the makers of Uncut – goes on sale in the UK on July 9. Click here for more details.
Meanwhile, the July 2015 issue of Uncut is in shops now – featuring the Rolling Stones, 13th Floor Elevators, Jim O’Rourke, Ringo Starr and more!