(Credits: Bent Rej)
The Who are a band who refused to settle into any specific mould. When they first started making music, they were churning out hit singles, constantly excelling with their musical excellence and pushing themselves to the very limit. They were making songs such as ‘My Generation’ and ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’, which gave them great play on the radio and helped the band gain notoriety worldwide.
Of course, many fans of the band don’t adore their music because of individual singles, but instead, they like their in-depth concept albums, and it’s easy to see why. When you listen to albums such as Tommy and Quadrophenia, it’s clear just how much musical talent this band displays. Not only do the songs sound great, but they tell an in-depth story that gives characters development and progression.
Regardless of what kind of music they were making, though, the band was constantly famed for its live shows. Each member constantly brought their A game and was always trying to give the crowd the greatest show possible. They were always trying different ways to ensure their gigs were unlike anything else. For instance, they gave up playing solos because they were worried that it would bore a crowd too much.
”Drum solos are fucking boring,” said Keith Moon, “Any kind of solo is. It detracts from the group identity.” Just because they didn’t solo didn’t mean the band put no effort into their shows, though. The Who were one of the best live bands in the world and didn’t do encores often because they left everything on the stage the first time.
“Our encores were always shitty. “If you ever got an encore, you regretted asking for it,” said Roger Daltrey, “We all gave it all out in the show. If you give a good show out, you’ve got nothing left for a good encore. And pretentious crap about, oh, we go off now, so we can be called back. What a lot of bollocks.”
So, will The Who ever stop touring?
As the band said, all good things need to come to an end. The band announced recently that they will be stopping touring and doing some farewell shows in North America and Canada in August and September. They thanked American audiences for their loyalty over the years and said they were keen on going out on a high.
“Roger and I are in a good place, despite our age, eager to throw our weight behind this fond farewell to all our faithful fans, and hopefully to new ones who might jump in to see what they have been missing for the last 57 years,” said Pete Townshend, “This tour will be about fond memories, love and laughter. Make sure you join in.”
While this is sad news, fans of the band shouldn’t consider this the definitive end of The Who. The band have called it quits many times in the past and have a long history of farewell shows and reunion shows.
How many farewell gigs have The Who done?
The Who’s first farewell tour took place in 1982. The band did two warm-up shows in Birmingham before going on tour in North America, which they told everyone was their final run of shows. To commemorate the occasion, they also recorded the live album Who’s Last.
A few years later, the band reunited for some one-off shows at Live Aid and during the BPI Awards. They had a reunion tour in 1989 and have since performed and toured sporadically when the timing felt right. The lack of pressure faced by the band because of their casual nature in announcing tours likely improved their attitude towards shows and motivated them to give their best performances.
The Who also began a “long goodbye” in 2014, which lasted two years and saw them travel around the world. The long goodbye wasn’t an official goodbye, though, as the band toured for a month in 2017, performing their album Tommy. Since then, they have done tours in South America and North America, with their most recent tour taking place in 2021. They have also performed sporadically in the UK for mini tours and charity performances.
It remains to be seen whether this farewell tour will be the band’s official farewell tour. If it is, it will mark the final shows of one of the greatest live bands in the world.
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