Pete Townshend says female fans of bands are ‘fickle’ and ‘move from one group to the other’ as he discusses the death of One Direction’s Liam Payne

Pete Townshend has claimed that female fans of bands are ‘fickle’ and ‘move from one band to another’ as he discussed the death of Liam Payne.

The 79-year-old musician, one of the co-founders of The Who, quickly found success with the band and recalled that by the time he was 22 they were already “really big.”

Speak with The TelegraphPete and his wife Rachel Fuller were asked about the recent death of One Direction star Liam Payne, who died at the age of 31 after falling from a third-floor balcony of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina on October 16.

Speaking about the great wealth and hedonism that can come with fame in a pop or rock group, Rachel said: ‘I think that [the effect of] also wealth, and privilege and fame. You see it in football players.’

Pete, however, disagreed, saying he thought The Who’s hedonistic ways stemmed from the fact that they were young, rose to fame quickly and appealed mainly to boys.

Pete and his wife Rachel Fuller were asked about the recent death of One Direction star Liam Payne, who died aged 31 after falling from a third-floor balcony on October 16.

He continued: ‘The thing about One Direction was that they were suddenly a big hit and their audience was 90 per cent girls. And girls are very light-hearted. They are fickle. They go from one band to another, and from one artist to another, pretty quickly.”

It’s why, Pete says, he told his bandmates early in their career, “We’re not going to be like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones or The Kinks.” We’re not going to work for screaming girls. We’re going to work for the boys.’

An autopsy previously confirmed that Liam suffered internal and external bleeding and multiple traumatic injuries as a result of the fall.

The singer’s solo career emerged from the worldwide fame that began with the ITV talent show The X Factor.

He was eventually placed in a boy band with four other solo hopefuls during the boot camp phase of the competition – the group that later became One Direction.

In 2012, the band won their first Brit Award for Best British Single for their debut song What Makes You Beautiful, before taking home the UK Global Success Award a year later.

The members would eventually go their separate ways before Liam launched his solo career.

A young woman staying at the same hotel said the former One Direction singer told her: “I was in a boy band – that’s why I’m so confused” just minutes before he died.

Pete thought The Who’s hedonistic ways stemmed from the fact that they were young, rose to fame quickly and appealed mainly to boys (LR Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, John Entwistle and Keith Moon in 1965)

Pete said: ‘One Direction were suddenly a big hit and their audience was 90 per cent girls. And girls are very light-hearted. They’re fickle’ (One Direction pictured in 2010)

An autopsy previously confirmed that Liam suffered internal and external bleeding and multiple traumatic injuries as a result of the fall

Rebecca’s surprise 30-minute meeting with Liam took place in the lobby of the hotel where she was staying for a wedding.

Liam was supposed to check out on Wednesday morning but still hadn’t done so by late afternoon, she claimed.

Following the star’s death, Payne’s family said they were “heartbroken”, adding: “Liam will live on in our hearts forever and we will remember him for his kind, funny and courageous soul.”

A joint statement from his One Direction bandmates said they were “completely devastated” and will miss the singer “terribly”, adding that “the memories we shared with him will be cherished forever”.