Townshend hits out at 'bully' Moore

Published on Wednesday 14 July 2004 01:00

PETE Townshend, guitarist with the Who, has called the controversial US documentary-maker Michael Moore a "bully".

The rock legend criticised Moore after Townshend, 59, was accused by him of supporting the war in Iraq.

After Townshend refused to allow the classic Who hit Won’t Get Fooled Again to be used in the Palme d’Or winning film, Fahrenheit 9/11, the film-maker claimed the guitarist was in favour of the war.

Townshend hit back on his website, saying that the reason he did not want the song used was that he did not trust the accuracy of Moore’s reporting and regarded him as a bully. He said: "When first approached I knew nothing about the content of his film Fahrenheit 9/11. I had not really been convinced by Bowling for Columbine [Moore’s previous film] and had been worried about its accuracy. Once I had an idea what the film was about, I was 90 per cent certain my song was not right for them."

The rock guitarist added: "I greatly resent being bullied and slurred by him in interviews just because he did not get what he wanted from me.

"It seems to me that this aspect of his nature is not unlike that of the powerful and wilful man at the centre of his new documentary.

"Moore will have to work very, very hard to convince me a man with a camera is going to change the world more effectively than a man with a guitar."

Fahrenheit 9/11 has taken more than 1.3 million since its UK release last Friday - breaking box-office records for the first weekend of any documentary.

Moore won an Oscar for Bowling for Columbine, a critical look at gun laws in the United States. But it has been alleged in the US that he has been attempting to obtain a $1 million (540,000) advance from a major record label for a "soundtrack album" to the 9/11 film.

A music industry source said: "There are only a couple of songs in the movie - The Go-Gos’ Vacation and Neil Young’s Rockin’ in the Free World. So Michael is trying to get the labels to buy the idea, and then get their artists to sing songs ‘inspired by the movie’."

The insider added: "First of all, no-one gives out advances like that, especially for soundtracks, and the movie has been out in the US for two weeks already.

"He has been to at least four major labels, but no-one is biting at the proposal."

Moore’s agent said: "Michael is not shopping it around; the [distributor] Fellowship Adventure Group (FAG) is. The $1million number is off, but there is strong interest."

The documentary-maker, from Michigan, is part of FAG with the film-producing brothers, Harvey and Bob Weinstein, of Miramax.