Biffy Clyro's Simon Neil reveals ear damage after not listening to The Who's warnings about playing too loud

15 March 2020, 14:00 | Updated: 15 March 2020, 14:01

The Biffy Clyro frontman revealed he has suffered "problems" with his ears after not listening to warnings from the legendary rockers that his guitars were too loud.

Simon Neil has revealed he's suffered damage to his ears due to years of playing too loud at gigs.

The Biffy Clyro frontman has spoken out about "problems" he has with his ears and revealed he didn't listen to The Who's warnings when they said their guitars were too loud.

Speaking on Phil Taggart's Slacker podcast, he said: "I do have problems with my ears now," adding: "When we played with The Who, Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend took real exception to the volume of my guitars.

"To be fair they found out the hard way why you shouldn't be that loud."

In fact, the Instant History rockers revealed that the legendary British band had told them on two occasions that they were two loud, with the last being at the now obsolete T in The Park Festival.

"On two separate occasions the same summer we got told by The Who that the noise was outrageous," he mused. "For a few months I was like, 'We're too loud for The Who!'"

The Who may have warned the Biffy frontman about his guitars at loud gigs, but Pete Townshend lost his hearing for a reason you may not expect.

Speaking to Radio X in According to Google, the guitarist revealed: "I damaged my ears at home when I was listening to earphones, 'cause I used to write songs at home... And I used to write the song, put the earphones on, have a drink and think, oh yeah that's great. "

He added: "So it wasn't loud music on the stage, it was loud music in the studio."

The Who's Roger Daltrey, Biffy Clyro frontman Simon Neil and The Who's Pete Townshend. Picture: 1.Ethan Miller/Getty Images 2. Gus Stewart/Redferns

Meanwhile, The Who have just announced the postponement of their UK tour dates due to the coronavirus.

The My Generation duo were set to kick off their "WHO 2020" tour on Monday 16 March at Manchester Arena, but the 10-date run has been postponed due to concerns over the virus.

The veteran London band have also postponed their appearance at the Royal Albert Hall on 28 March as part of the Teenage Cancer Trust series of charity shows.

In a statement, the band said: "After serious consideration, it is with much regret that The Who have postponed their UK and Ireland tour, due to start next Monday March 16th in Manchester at the Manchester Arena and finishing at Wembley SSE Arena on April 8th. The dates will be rescheduled for later in the year. All tickets will be honoured.

"The fans' safety is paramount and given the developing Coronavirus concerns, the band felt that they had no option but to postpone the shows as a precaution."

Roger Daltrey assured fans that the gigs will "Definitely happen and it may be the last time we do a tour of this type, so keep those tickets, as the shows will be fantastic".

Pete Townshend said the band, "Haven't reached this decision easily, but given the concerns about public gatherings, we couldn’t go ahead."