The Who was a voice, the troubles of life brought to the rhythm of British R&B and mind of rock with the angry emotion of punk, defining themselves as one of the most influential and innovative bands of all time, and unofficially dubbed one of the best rock-and-roll bands. They also smashed their instruments on stage.
The Who was formed in 1964. It originally consisted of guitarist Peter Townshend, vocalist Roger Daltrey, bassist John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. Roger Daltrey was part of the group The Detours, with John Entwistle. Peter Townshend was added on guitar by John’s request. Keith Moon, unknown to them at the time, played drums for the group Mark Twain and The Strangers. The Detours changed their name to The Who after kicking out their vocalist, Colin Dawson, allowing Roger to take his place. Peter Meaden became the groups’ publicist, changing their name to The High Numbers and turning them into a mod band. On July 3, 1964, Fontana Records released ‘I’m The Face/Zoot Suit’ by the High Numbers. The album failed to chart and in August of 1964, Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp became the new managers for the High Numbers after seeing their performance the month before at the Railway Hotel. At the same hotel, their instruments would be destroyed.
Pete smashed his first guitar by accident at the Railway Hotel in 1964, and a week later; Keith destroyed his drum set to demonstrate solidarity. In November of 1964, the High Numbers changed their name back to the Who. Equipment smashing took its toll on their finances at London’s Marquee Club during their 16-month residency there. On January 29, 1965, The Who appeared on the British TV show, Ready Steady Go! for the first time. On August 6 of the same year, the Who played at the Richmond Jazz Festival. In December, their song, My Generation was released, reaching number five on the UK LP charts and on January 5, 1966, Pete admit to drug use on the BBC TV show, A Whole Scene Going. On March 19, Keith married Kim Kerrigan. On June 23, 1967, John married Alison Wise. On August 23, Keith’s twenty-first birthday celebration ended in chaos at the Holiday Inn in Flint, Michigan. February through April, The Who went on their first headlining US tour. On May 20, Pete married Karen Astley. In 1969, on May 23, they released Tommy, which reached number four in the US, staying on the charts for 47 weeks, and number 2 in the UK. This added a lot of stress to Pete.
In March of 1971, Pete suffered his first nervous breakdown. On July 19, Roger married Heather Taylor. In October, the Who toured the UK. On March 9, 1976, Keith collapsed on stage, resulting in the show being put off until April first. On July 30, 1978, former Who manager Peter Meaden was found dead. Keith died in his rented Mayfair flat from an accidental overdose of alcoholism-combating pills on September 7, 1978 and the rock world mourned one of their favorite drummers. On September 8, the day after Moon’s death, the Who vowed to continue and in January 1979, it was announced that Kenney Jones would be replacing Keith on drums. On April 7 in 1981, Kit Lambert, their first original co-manager died at his home in London. February 8, 1988 was the last time Kenney Jones would play with the Who. Another loss followed.
On June 27 in 2002, John Entwistle died of a heart attack in his hotel room on the eve of a US tour. Despite John’s death, the Who continued on their tour with Pino Palladino on bass, Zak Starkey on drums and Simon Townshend, Pete’s younger brother, on a second guitar. In 2004, the six-piece Who performed in Japan for the first time, and then in Australia, Hawaii and California. In June 2006, Roger and Pete performed together in New York. On March 31, 2007, the Who performed at a Teenage Cancer Trust show at the Royal Albert Hall in London and once again in April 18, 2008, the Who played one of their rare acoustic sets to end another Teenage Cancer Trust week in London at the Royal Albert Hall. They are currently on tour in Australia and New Zealand.
The Who, the voice of a generation. The Who brought concepts to albums and rock to the opera.
