Who

**The Who** are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered one of the most influential rock bands of the 20th century and have sold over 100 million records worldwide. Their contributions to rock music include the development of the Marshall stack, large PA systems, the use of the synthesizer, Entwistle and Moon's influential playing styles, Townshend's feedback and power chord guitar technique, and the development of the rock opera. They are cited as an influence by many hard rock, punk rock and mod bands, and their songs still receive regular exposure.

The Who developed from an earlier group, the Detours, and established themselves as part of the pop art and mod movements, featuring auto-destructive art by destroying guitars and drums on stage. Their first single as the Who, "I Can't Explain" (1965), reached the UK top ten, and was followed by a string of hit singles including "My Generation" (1965), "Substitute" (1966) and "Happy Jack" (1966). In 1967, they performed at the Monterey Pop Festival and released "I Can See for Miles", their only US top ten single. The group's 1969 concept album Tommy included the single "Pinball Wizard" and was a critical and commercial success.

Further festival appearances at Woodstock and the Isle of Wight, along with the concert album Live at Leeds (1970), established their reputation as a respected rock act. The success put pressure on lead songwriter Townshend, and the follow-up to Tommy, Lifehouse, was abandoned. Songs from the project made up Who's Next (1971), which included the hit "Won't Get Fooled Again". The group released another concept album, Quadrophenia (1973), as a celebration of their mod roots, and oversaw the film adaptation of Tommy (1975). They continued to tour to large audiences before semi-retiring from live performances at the end of 1976. The release of Who Are You (1978) was overshadowed by Moon's death shortly after.

Kenney Jones replaced Moon and the group resumed touring, and released a film adaptation of Quadrophenia and the retrospective documentary The Kids Are Alright. After Townshend became weary of the group, they split in 1983. The Who occasionally re-formed for live appearances such as Live Aid in 1985, a 25th anniversary tour in 1989 and a tour of Quadrophenia in 1996–1997. A full reunion began in 1999, with drummer Zak Starkey. After Entwistle's death in 2002, plans for a new album were delayed. Townshend and Daltrey continued as the Who with regular live performances, releasing Endless Wire in 2006. In 2019, the group released the album Who and toured with a symphony orchestra.

## Links to Kershaw

Kershaw visited Leeds University in 2005 to get his doctorate and the vice chancellor asked him whether he could get the Who to perform there. A year later, Kershaw successfully got the band to perform there and wrote on the University of Leeds website on how he got them to do it:

> *"At the Womad festival, I bumped into Bill Curbishley, manager of both Robert Plant and the Who. (Robert had just finished a rip-roaring headlining show). I mentioned the Live At Leeds plaque to Bill. He seemed very pleased. “There are though, Bill, only two people who should really unveil that plaque. [Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend] What do you think?” Bill said he thought they’d be honoured. “And,” I pressed on, sensing I may be on a roll, “while they’re up there...” I didn’t have to finish the sentence. Bill Curbishley did it for me. “They’ll do it,” he said."* [1]
>
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The concert was generally a success with favourable review [2]. However, Kershaw rarely played much of the Who on his radio shows, although he did play a track of their performance at Leeds University .

## Shows Played

2006
* 25 June 2006: Won't Get Fooled Again (Live at Leeds University 2006)

## External Links

* Wikipedia
* Discogs
* Official Website