Veteran rocker Pete Townshend has spoken about the surprising Cornish connection to his groundbreaking album Quadrophenia.

It comes as Quadrophenia: A Mod Ballet opened with its world premiere in the South West this week.

The iconic 1973 album by The Who, written by Townshend, explores a young person's struggles with identity, mental health, and societal pressures, set against the backdrop of the era's clashes between Mods and Rockers.

And the Sadler’s Wells ballet, which launched at Theatre Royal Plymouth, is a visually stunning interpretation, resplendent with costume by the Paul Smith fashion house, and orchestrated by Townshend’s wife, Rachel Fuller.

Pete Townshend suggests that Quadrophenia's themes are universal, and even more relevant today than when he wrote it five decades ago.

He highlights that young people now face complex challenges like mental health issues, gender transitions, and ethnic and religious tensions that weren't as openly discussed in the 1970s.

And he says that social media has dramatically changed how people communicate and perceive issues, creating polarisation and fragmented conversations. The rapid technological changes and the emergence of AI make understanding youth experiences even more challenging, he says.

Like the original album, the ballet opens with the crashing sound of waves.

And Townshend revealed the sound effects for ‘I am the sea’ were recorded in Cornwall.

He said: “We wanted quadrophonic sound, the rough sea, and it felt like the best way to do that would be with a mobile studio.

“So I helped build a mobile studio in an Airstream caravan, and me and Ronnie Lane took it down to, I think, Porthtowan. It was a pretty bleak, empty beach, we parked next to the loos and put four big microphones up on a rock and waited for the tide.

“The generator didn’t work so we had to plug into the power in the public loos, and it worked.

“The microphones practically got overcome by the waves, but it was just fantastic,” he said.

The years since the release of the album have seen a Quadrophenia movie, starring Phil Daniels, Sting and Leslie Ash; and a musical, which coincidentally also premiered in Plymouth. While both resonated with the original, its this new ballet that feels closer to the raw emotion and sentiment of the 1973 vinyl.

Paris Fitzpatrick plays Jimmy, with Dan Baines the stylish Ace Face leading the mod pack until he ends up working as a hotel bellboy, and Serena McCall as the mod girl temptress and tormentor.

Director Rob Ashford said: “I’d love it if people who don’t normally go to watch dance would come and see it and feel it is for them.”

It drew standing ovations on Wednesday and Thursday night in Plymouth, where it runs until Saturday (May 31), before performances in Edinburgh (June 10-14), Southampton (June 18-21) and Sadler’s Wells London (June 24-July 13).