- Roger Daltrey formed the Detours in 1962,
with several member changes and role swaps abound,
John Entwistle joined. Sometime later, on
John's recommendation, Pete Townshend was
added to the line up. In the meantime, The Detours had become a
four-piece band; the drummer was changed with
Keith Moon during early 1964.
The High Numbers, as the four musicians were now calling themselves,
had become a Mod band, with the help of new manager Pete Meaden. The
name fluctuated between The High Numbers and The Who; the High Numbers
was quickly abandoned and The Who was born.
As their popularity gained momentum, by being one of the better live
acts on the circuit and with Pete destroying his guitars, and Keith
with his drums too, on stage, this gave them maximum publicity with the
predominantly working class audience that had come to see them.
As the sixties drew to a close, the Hippy movement had swamped the
World, with its ideology of Tune In, Turn On and Drop Out. This was to
climax in one of the World's most famous of music festivals, Woodstock
the Music and Arts Fair, in August 1969. The Who played here, in front
of an average crowd of 300,000 plus. This performance catapulted them
into the American market and World domination, mainly because the whole
festival was filmed and released in major cinemas within the year. This
was also done with the help of their highly controversial double
concept album from 1969, Tommy.
What followed was a live album, Live at Leeds, from Leeds University,
England, and recorded on Valentines Day night, 1970.
Quadrophenia, the concept album about a 1960s Mod, came out in 1973.
This double album came with its own problems, such as playing with
backing tapes at the live concerts. It was soon abandoned. Other albums
followed as well as concerts, during the earlier 1970s.
But as the money came pouring in, the four members took individual
lives and sometimes concerts and albums were far between, the most
noticeable difference was with
Keith Moon, his over indulgence in
drugs and drink were taking their toll. He put on too much weight and
his lifestyle showed his drumming was becoming unpredictable.
Keith made his only solo album, Two Sides of The Moon, in 1975 while
living in California, for MCA Records. At the age of just 32 years, he
died; it was an accidental overdose of prescribed medicine, which was
to help him cut down on his alcohol addiction. An irony if there ever
was one.
After a short reprise, with Kenney Jones on
the drums, The Who officially split up in 1982. Reforming for the 1985
Live Aid Concert at Wembley Stadium, then with a World tour of Tommy
during the late eighties. There was also a tour of an an updated
Quadrophenia during the mid nineties.
With the three remaining players, they toured under the name of The
Who, a fine idea, until the death of
John Entwistle in a Las Vegas hotel room
on June 27th, 2002.
"Ladies and Gentlemen: A nice Rock n' Roll band from Shepherd's Bush
London, The OO, thank you very much."- IMDb Mini Biography By: Cinema_Fan
- In common with other British rock bands Genesis and Dire Straits, they have sold over 100 million records and released many hit singles but never had a number one in the UK Singles Chart.
- Robbie Williams' song "Old Before I Die" [UK release: 14th of April, 1997] was written in response to The Who's "My Generation" [UK release: 29th of October, 1965] which include the lyrics "I hope I die before I get old.".
- Ranked #9 on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Rock & Roll and #8 on VH1's 100 Greatest Hard Rock Artists.
- The Who were honored by the Vh1 Rock Honors in 2008 at the the Pauley Pavilion at UCLA. The concert consisted of an hour-long performance by the band as well as tributes by Incubus, Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, The Flaming Lips, Adam Sandler and Tenacious D. An edited television broadcast of the show was aired on July 17, 2008. It included commentary from other musicians, celebrities, and The Who itself describing the band's career and impact. It is also the first program in the series to pay tribute to only one artist. Presenters included David Duchovny, Sean Penn, Rainn Wilson, Mila Kunis and Adam Sandler, who performed his own version of "Magic Bus".
- The group was banned from staying at all Holiday Inn hotels following a very rowdy birthday party for drummer Keith Moon, which culminated with a Cadillac convertible being driven into the hotel's swimming pool.
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