Month: June 2020

1963 – The Detours play the White Hart Hotel in Acton

1964 – The Who play their first show at the Bluesday Club at the Railway Hotel in Harrow/Wealdstone. Although they had played at the hotel twice before in 1963 as The Detours, this date is the first of a series of dates at the hotel that will provide the nucleus of The Who’s Mod following and be immortalized on the inner gatefold jacket of Meaty, Beaty, Big & Bouncy

1967 – Track Records rushes the double A-sided single “The Last Time” and “Under My Thumb” by The Who into record shops. Accompanying the single is this press release: “SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: The Who consider Mick Jagger & Keith Richard have been treated as scapegoats for the drug problem and as a protest against savage sentences imposed upon them at Chichester yesterday, The Who are issuing today the first of a series of Jagger/Richard songs to keep their work before the public until they are again free to record themselves.” Kit Lambert announces all royalties will go to charity.

Before the day is over both Jagger and Richard are released on bail during appeal. Widespread opposition to the severity of the sentences leads to the rescinding of both Jagger and Richard’s jail terms. There are no other Stones-cover singles by The Who. This one peaks at #44 in the charts and is subsequently released in Europe and Japan. The U.S. release does not come until both tracks appear on Two’s Missing 20 years later. Pete later says Jagger acknowledged The Who single by calling Pete “a real gentleman” with his usual sarcastic tone.

1972 – Gallagher and Lyle release their single “Give A Boy A Break.” Pete plays bass on the track and Glyn Johns produces.
You can listen to it on YouTube here

1975 – Roger’s promo videos for Ride a Rock Horse, produced by Gavrick Losey premieres at the Starlite Cinema, Mayfair Hotel, London.

1979 – Pete performs as a solo act with acoustic guitar at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London as part of The Secret Policeman’s Ball event benefiting Amnesty International. His performances of “Pinball Wizard”, “Drowned” and “Won’t Get Fooled Again”, the latter accompanied by classical guitarist John Williams, are later released on The Secret Policeman’s Ball album and video.

1980 – The Who play the ASU University Activity Center in Tempe, Arizona. A combination of a heat wave and having The Who perform in their town at the same time knocks out the power for 90 minutes in the middle of the show. To pass the time, Roger signs autographs while Pete plays air guitar on a broom. The supporting act is Willie Nile.

1987 – John performs at the North American Music Merchandisers trade show at McCormick Place in Chicago.

1989 – The Who play the second of 4 nights in East Rutherford, New Jersey at Giants Stadium

1996 – Pete performs a 30-minute set at a private party at Thunder Drive in London. Paul Keating comes up to sing “Pinball Wizard” and Joe Walsh joins in for “My Generation.”

2000 – In an interview in the Boston Globe, Roger says “This is an ongoing band now. We’re definitely back as a working band.” He also says, in response to complaints about high ticket prices, “Many of our hard-core fans, the people who grew up with us, are now CEOs of companies and can afford it.”

2001 – “A Walk Down Abbey Road: A Tribute To The Beatles.” featuring John play at the Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Champion, Pennsylvania

2006 – The Who play the Rock Werchter Festival in Werchter, Belgium

2007 – The Who play the “Live at the Marquee” Cork Festival in Cork

2010 – Roger opens for Eric Clapton at the Riverbend Music Center in Cincinnati. This show marked the first time any member of The Who performed in Cincinnati since the tragedy in 1979

2011 – Roger is interviewed by The Telegraph where he admits he joined the Countryside Alliance but quit when it became dominated by the single agenda of allowing fox hunting.

2013 – The Who play the Echo Arena Liverpool in Liverpool

2015 – The Who play the Zénith de Paris in Paris, France

1963 – The Detours play at the Oldfield Hotel in Greenford

1964 – The Who play the Glenlyn Ballroom in Forest Hill

1965 – The Who play Burton’s Ballroom in Uxbridge, Middlesex

1966 – The Who were scheduled to perform at the Sheffield University Arts Festival. Pete flew into London from New York with jet lag that forces him to pull over to the side of the M1 and take a nap. Support group Tony Rivers and The Castaways played an extra set. Ticket holders were offered a refund.

1967 – Keith and Kim join protesters of “The News of The World” over their involvement in the Jagger/Richards arrests.

1967 – At 3am John receives a phone call aboard the HMS Queen Elizabeth. Hearing the call is from London, he expects dire news about his family. Instead it is someone from Kit Lambert’s office asking if The Who have his permission to record an emergency single without him. An angry John says The Who have his permission to put drugs in London’s water supply if they want to and hangs up.

1968 – The Who play the second of two nights at the Shrine Exposition Hall in Los Angeles, California

1968 – Melody Maker carries a full page ad for Dogs as well as a feature on microphones which includes a piece by Pete titled “The Stuff We Wouldn’t Wreck!”

1970 – The Who play the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Columbia

1979 – The New York Times prints an interview with Pete where he admits he has reservations about touring but feels “fired up” about the new Who

1979 – The Kids Are Alright soundtrack is certified gold by the RIAA

1986 – Pete’s father Cliff Townshend dies of cancer at the age of 70

1989 – The Who play Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey

1996 – Billed under their separate names, Pete, Roger and John perform the entirety of Quadrophenia live at the Masters of Music festival at Hyde Park on the 29th. It is the first time the work has been played live in its entirety since the first night of The Who’s 1973 U.K. tour. Phil Daniels of the movie version narrates, Gary Glitter plays the Godfather, Ade Edmondson is the Bell Boy, Trevor McDonald reads the news and Stephen Fry is the hotel manager.

Pete plays only acoustic guitar and piano leaving the electric guitar parts to Dave Gilmour. Zak Starkey takes the drummer’s seat for the first time for the group that will soon revert to the name The Who. Roger wears a Mod eyepatch to cover his injury. Quadrophenia is preceded by performances by Alanis Morrisette and Bob Dylan and followed by Eric Clapton. Highlights from the show are later broadcast on HBO in the U.S. The entire event raises money for the Prince’s Trust charity. Before the show all the performers meet backstage with Prince Charles.

2000 – The Who play the Coca-Cola Star Lake Amphitheater in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania

2000 – Pete writes another diary on his website talking about his problems writing new music for The Who, “that many musicians I admire don’t even like.”

2001 – Roger was supposed to perform at a tribute honoring songwriters Leiber and Stoller at the Hammersmith Apollo but cancels

2001 – “A Walk Down Abbey Road: A Tribute To The Beatles.” featuring John play at the DTE Energy Music Theatre in Clarkston, Mississippi

2004 – the DVD John Entwistle Band: Live, recorded Aug. 13, 1998, is released by Image Entertainment

2007 – The Who play Marley Park in Dublin

2009 – Roger, Sarah, the Duchess of York, and Kelly Jones, of the Stereophonics are at Cardiff’s University Hospital of Wales for the opening of the £3.3m specialist cancer unit for teenagers.

2012 – Roger is one of a host of stars that attend a party celebrating the 80th birthday of Sir Peter Blake. The British Pop Artist assembled The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band cover as well as The Who’s Face Dances.