Tag Archives: The Who

Today: Pete Townshend is 68

pete townshend

No one knows what it’s like
To be the bad man
To be the sad man
Behind blue eyes
~Pete Townshend (Behind Blue Eyes)

“If you don’t want anyone to know anything about you, don’t write anything.”
― Pete Townshend

“Rock ‘n’ Roll might not solve your problems, but it does let you dance all over them”
― Pete Townshend

Baba O’Riley:

Pete @ Letterman Nov. 2012 – Great fun:

Wikipedia:

Birth name Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend
Also known as Bijou Drains
Born 19 May 1945 (age 68)
Chiswick, London, England
Genres Rock, art rock, hard rock, power pop, progressive rock, British beat, jazz
Occupations Musician, singer-songwriter, musical arranger, author
Instruments Vocals, guitar, bass guitar, harmonica, keyboards, banjo, tin whistle, mandolin, ukulele, violin,accordion, drums

Peter Dennis Blandford ”Pete“ Townshend (born 19 May 1945) is an English rock musician, multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, songwriter and author, known principally as the guitarist and songwriter for the rock group The Who, as well as for his own solo career. His career with The Who spans more than 40 years, during which time the band grew to be considered one of the most influential bands of the 1960s and 1970s.

Townshend is the primary songwriter for The Who, having written well over 100 songs for the band’s 11 studio albums, including concept albums and the rock operas Tommy and Quadrophenia, plus popular rock and roll radio staples such as Who’s Next, and dozens more that appeared as non-album singles, bonus tracks on reissues, and tracks on rarities compilations such as Odds & Sods. He has also written over 100 songs that have appeared on his solo albums, as well as radio jingles and television theme songs. Although known primarily as a guitarist, he also plays other instruments such as keyboards, banjo, accordion, harmonica, ukulele,mandolin, violin, synthesiser, bass guitar and drums, on his own solo albums, several Who albums, and as a guest contributor to a wide array of other artists’ recordings. He is self-taught on all of the instruments he plays and has never had any formal training.

pete townshend

Behind Blue Eyes:

Townshend has also been a contributor and author of newspaper and magazine articles, book reviews, essays, books, and scripts, as well as collaborating as a lyricist (and composer) for many other musical acts. Townshend was ranked No. 3 in Dave Marsh’s list of Best Guitarists in The New Book of Rock Lists, No. 10 in Gibson.com’s list of the top 50 guitarists, and No. 10 again in Rolling Stone magazine’s updated 2011 list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. Townshend was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Who in 1990.

pete townshend

Tea and Theatre + The Seeker (Live Royal Albert Hall 2008):

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Playlist of the day:

Other May 19:

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The Who – 30 Greatest songs – a list from Uncut Magazine Oct. 2009 (videos & Audio)

The who

It’s Pete Townshend’s 68th birthday tomorrow.. & in addition to our upcoming calendar post .. here is a great list.

From the Oct.2009 edition of Uncut Magazine. Videos & pictures are included at top 15…

All quotations are from Uncut’s article.

30. Shakin’ All Over
29. Boris The Spider
28. Heaven And Hell
27. Sparks
26. Guitar And Pen
25. I’m One
24. Happy Jack
23. Magic Bus
22. Young Man Blues
21. Tea And Theatre

20. Pinball Wizard
19. Who Are You
18. Anyway Anyhow Anywhere
17. So Sad About Us
16. 5.15

15. The Kids Are Alright

14. See Me, Feel Me

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The Who – Live @ Charlton Athletic Football Ground (the Valley), 18th May 1974 (Video)

The Who Charlton 1974

..It was also the day before my twenty-ninth birthday. I wasn’t just drunk by the time of the concert – I was smashed. Fortunately, it went off OK.
~Pete Townshend (from “Who I Am”)

The first ~28min:  a 1974 Pete Townshend studio interview by Melvyn Bragg

Sat, 18 May 1974:
London, Charlton Athletic Football Ground

Original Setlist:

  1. I Can’t Explain
  2. Summertime Blues
  3. Young Man Blues
  4. Baba O’Riley
  5. Behind Blue Eyes
  6. Substitute
  7. I’m A Boy
  8. Tattoo
  9. Boris The Spider
  10. Drowned
  11. Bell Boy
  12. Doctor Jimmy
  13. Won’t Get Fooled Again
  14. Pinball Wizard
  15. See Me Feel Me
  16. 5.15
  17. Magic Bus
  18. My Generation
  19. Naked Eye
  20. Let’s See Action
  21. My Generation Blues

Here is the video (1h 42min) – it does not include the full setlist:

Also check out:

-Egil

Today: The Who released – Live At Leeds – in 1970

The_who_live_at_leeds

Rolling Stone hailed it as the best ever live album, and they may still be right…
~Chris Jones (BBC – 2007)

From youtube:
The Who at Leeds for their greatest live in 1970! it’s the ONLY VIDEO of this concert!

  • Fortune Teller (0:00 to 0:05) –
  • Happy Jack (0:06 to 0:13) –
  • I’m a Boy (0:14 to 0:33) –
  • A Quick One While He’s Away (0:34 to 2:09) –
  • Christmas (2:10 to 3:05) –
  • Pinball Wizard (3:06 to 3:22) –
  • Go to The Mirror (3:22 to 3:26) –
  • Smash The Mirror (3:27 to 3:35)-
  • Tommy’s Holliday Camp (3:36 to 3:45) –
  • We’re Not Gonna Take It (with See Me, Feel Me) (3:46 at the end)

1970 Original LP – Full Album:

The Who Live At Leeds

Wikipedia:

Released 16 May 1970
Recorded 14 February 1970,
University of Leeds,
Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire,
England, United Kingdom
Genre Rock
Length 36:24
Label Decca/MCA
Producer Jon Astley, Kit Lambert, and The Who

Live at Leeds is The Who’s first live album, and is the only live album that was released while the group were still actively recording and performing with their best known line-up of Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle and Keith Moon. Initially released in the United States on 16 May 1970, by Decca and MCA and the United Kingdom on 23 May 1970, by Track and Polydor, the album has been reissued on several occasions and in several different formats. As of 2005, the album is ranked number 170 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

The album has been cited as the best live rock recording of all time by The TelegraphThe IndependentThe New York Times, the BBC, and Rolling Stone. It is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, and in Q magazine’s list of Loudest Albums of All Time. A Rolling Stone readers’ poll in 2012 ranked it the best live album of all time.

Shakin’ All Over:

 Release History:

  • The original LP was released on 16 May 1970 in stereophonic format. The album was reissued on Compact Disc in 1985 by MCA in the US, and in 1987 by Polydor in Germany.
  • In 1995, the album was reissued as a remixed CD including more songs than the original vinyl edition, as well as song introductions and other banter that had been edited out of the original release. For the remix, new vocal overdubs from Daltrey, Townshend and Entwistle were recorded to address occasional flaws in the original tapes or performances.
  • In 2001, the album was released again as a part of the Universal Deluxe Edition series. The Deluxe Edition includes more chat between the songs, and the entirety of the band’s Tommy set as performed at Leeds. Again, new overdubs from the vocalists were employed at select points.
  • In October 2010, Universal Music announced the impending release of a 40th Anniversary edition of the album which would not only contain the full Leeds show from 14 February 1970 but also the band’s complete performance from Hull which was recorded the following evening as well as a heavyweight vinyl reproduction of the original six-track album, memorabilia and a replica 7 Inch Single of ‘Summertime Blues/ Heaven & Hell’. This performance had previously been unavailable because of a problem with the recording of John Entwistle’s bass guitar on the first six songs. To fix this problem his performance at the Leeds show was overdubbed over these tracks of the Hull performance using digital technology.

Fortune Teller:

Playlist of the day:

Other May 16

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