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NFL 'urged to remove The Who from Super Bowl halftime show'

A child abuse prevention organisation has reportedly complained about the booking of Pete Townshend's band

• January 2, 2010 | 12 Comments
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The Who should not perform at the NFL Super Bowl XLIV halftime show, a child welfare organisation has reportedly argued.

The band are due to play at the biggest date in the American sports calendar in Miami, Florida on February 7.

However, Child AbuseWatch.net told the South Florida Sun Sentinel it objects to guitarist Pete Townshend performing with the band due to his 2003 arrest and police caution for accessing child pornography.

Founder and chief executive officer Evin Daly told the news source: "The Who is a great band. Pete Townshend is the only issue here."

Meanwhile, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told the Associated Press the band would still be playing at the show, despite the protests.

"UK police cleared him since he was doing research for a project on child abuse," McCarthy is quoted as saying.

Townshend was cautioned and placed on the Sex Offenders Register for five years after he admitted using his credit card to look at a paedophile website for research into child abuse. The guitarist said at the time he was researching a book about his life.

He was cleared on a separate charge of possessing indecent pictures downloaded from the web.

http://www.nme.com/news/the-who/49055