Years before the Who's rock opera Tommy was written, a six-year-old Simon Townshend had his own Pinball Wizard to look up to: his big brother, Pete.

Pete, and the rest of the Who, were already larger than life by the time Simon, now 45, started attending public school in England. Charged power-chord rock anthems like My Generation, The Kids are Alright and Who Are You? poured out of pubs and playgrounds.

Over the phone from Calgary, Simon says it was indeed a surreal time, made even stranger now that he finds himself playing guitar and singing backup for the the band.

The Who is performing at Rexall Place tonight.

"I always remember Pete being kind of famous," Simon recalls. "He never really got more or less famous; it's always been kind of constant.

"Pete's incredible. He's like a young guy up there. He doesn't seem to have any signs of age at all. He's really alert, bright, positive and witty. And his performances are consistently great."

Time, has, however, taken its toll on the band.

From the original lineup, only Pete, 61, and lead singer Roger Daltrey, 62, remain. Drummer Keith Moon died of a prescription-drug overdose in 1978 and bassist John Entwistle passed away in 2002, a day before the Who's scheduled U.S. tour.

Taking their place are Pino Paladino on bass, Zak Starkey (son of Beatle Ringo Starr) on drums and Simon.

Even with the loss of Moon and Entwistle, says Simon, the Who is, at its core, really about Pete and Daltrey.

In 1994, it was Daltrey who first approached Simon to play on a tour he was mounting that would see him singing '70s hits, from classics by the Who through Led Zeppelin.

"We all made money and it could have been better," remembers Simon, "but it went on and on for flipping years. Roger actually hopped off, but the tour went on."

Pete was likewise looking for creative outlets. He had been playing acoustic selections from Quadrophenia during the early '90s, but Simon says he was really looking for ways to recharge. A gig at Hyde Park in 1996 would mark a turning point for the band.

"He kind of stopped playing," explains Simon, "and the Who wasn't out much at all and I guess Pete needed a way to get back into what he was with the Who during the '70s and '80s.

"Playing acoustic got him back to the idea of playing electric again. On the first few gigs, I played all the lead guitar and then he started to introduce an amp and an electric. It was the first step."

Things have kept rolling since, with Simon and Starkey even forging their own creative ventures. A few years ago, they formed another band, Animal Soup, and Simon's current side project, Casbah Club, has opened for the Who on recent European tour dates. They'll also both be heard on the Who's new album, Endless Wire, out on Oct. 30.

And Simon definitely defends his place in the Who pantheon, saying it's neither nepotism nor all that easy.

"It's quite a tiring gig, the Who - it's a tough old show," he laughs.

"People still want to hear the songs live and see Pete and Roger perform. In their heyday, they were the most powerful and incredible rock band you could ever wish to see. It was a life-changing experience - every gig you saw was just different. For me, there's never been a live band like it."

Happily, he adds, very little has changed.