In the early days of The Who, Pete Townshend demolished his fair share of Rickenbackers and Gibson SGs. In 1973, however, he took out his rage on a Gretsch that was gifted to him by Joe Walsh.

This particular guitar, a 1959 6120 Chet Atkins Hollow Body (featuring two FilterTron pickups and a nickel-plated V-shaped Bigsby), almost met its untimely end on the Top Of The Pops TV show in October 1973. Incensed (or was it simply showmanship?) that the band couldn’t perform the song 5:15 in its entirety, Townshend first kicked over Keith Moon’s drums (Moon, of course, joined in) before giving his Gretsch what-for. Check out the knockout clip here.

Townshend used the hollow-body on many of his post-Tommy Who recordings - Who’s Next and Quadrophenia are two stunning examples - and, after the instrument was repaired (only the neck was broken), he continued to employ it on both band and solo albums.

Last we heard, the guitar was still in one piece.