A selection of little-known facts about The Who
Содержание
The Who is without a doubt one of the greatest British bands of the 20th century! And today we will recall the most interesting facts about them, but - firstly, we will briefly familiarise ourselves with their biography! With a formidable and talented core line-up that includes Roger Daltrey, Pete Townsend, Keith Moon and John Entwisle - it's no wonder that the band is considered one of the most influential bands in the history of rock... And it's really hard to argue with that, as the band has sold over 100 million records worldwide, something that many other artists have failed to do! The band was formed in 1964, but nowadays Daltrey and Townsend are the only remaining members of the original line-up. However - The Who are still going strong! And the popularity of their songs and albums is proof of that! So: this is a collection of little known facts about The Who... Let's get started!
Roger Daltrey once thought he'd killed Pete Townsend.
The pressures of fame combined with a penchant for substance abuse - no wonder there were conflicts between Who members. But one particular brawl made vocalist Roger Daltrey think he'd actually killed Pete Townsend... Tensions mounted when the band were forced to record a promotional video for their upcoming Quadrophenia tour in 1973, the filming of which took up valuable rehearsal time. When Daltrey expressed his dissatisfaction with the amount of time it was taking to film, Townsend lashed out at him. An excerpt from Daltrey's memoirs reads:
"Pete, fuelled by a bottle of brandy, exploded like a firework! Next thing I knew, he was throwing a Les Paul guitar at me... The guitar flew past, but I responded with an uppercut to the jaw. Pete jumped up like he'd been shot. And then he went down hard, hitting his head on the stage. I thought I'd killed him..."
Keith Moon regularly flushed explosives down the toilet.
Keith Moon was known for his eccentricity - after all, not many people can boast that their favourite hobby is blowing up toilets! During the band's heyday, Moon earned a reputation for destroying bathrooms by flushing cherry bombs or dynamite down toilets... Moon's biographer, Tony Fletcher, even wrote that "no hotel toilet or changing room is safe until Moon has worked off all his explosives..."
One day, a hotel manager called Moon's room and asked him to turn down the volume on the cassette recorder because it was "too noisy". Moon then invited the manager up to the room and then, after apologising, went to the bathroom and put a stick of dynamite in the toilet. When it exploded, Moon said to the manager: "That, my dear boy, is what made the noise..."
One audience member once had to replace Moon on drums in the middle of a performance
Moon's self-destructive behaviour and substance abuse problems did their part... In 1973, Moon collapsed during the band's performance at the Cow Palace in California, in the middle of playing "Won't Get Fooled Again". The band immediately stopped the show when their roadies arrived and carried the drummer off the stage. After reviving him with a shower and a cortisone injection, Moon returned to the stage a half hour later. But he passed out again during "Magic Bus," causing Townsend to ask the audience, "Can anybody play drums? I mean anyone good?" A drummer named Scott Halpin was brought on stage, given a shot of brandy (to calm his nerves), and played three songs with the band. Daltrey praised Halpin's abilities, later saying he "did a good job!"
They were banned from Holiday Inns after causing $24,000 worth of damage to the hotel
Moon turned 21 years old at the Holiday Inn in Flint, Michigan. It was actually Moon's 20th birthday, but the drummer decided to pretend it was his 21st birthday so he could have a proper drink. Moon started drinking as soon as they arrived in town, and was already pretty drunk by the time the band played their evening gig at Atwood Stadium. Back at the hotel, Moon started a cookery fight, throwing parts of his birthday cake at people. He then knocked out part of his front tooth - the rest of which had to be extracted without anaesthetic because he was intoxicated. The birthday celebration quickly turned into chaos, with guests (as well as furniture) already relaxing in the pool... Afterwards, Holiday Inn management charged the participants of this act $24,000 and banned The Who from all hotel facilities!
Pete Townsend wrote all of their hit singles (except "Summertime Blues")
While many bands rely on songwriters to write their own material for them, The Who were somewhat unusual in having one member write all but one of their most favourite hit tracks... Pete Townsend did indeed write all their hit singles - with one important and very successful exception. The Who's cover of Eddie Cochran's 'Summertime Blues' was a staple of their set list and one of their all-time favourite singles!
It was first released as part of their 1970 album Live at Leeds, recorded in a canteen at the University of Leeds. Today the tune is considered one of the best rock recordings of all time.
The London Olympic Committee has asked if the late Keith Moon can perform at the opening ceremony
Most fans of The Who know that Keith Moon's life was tragically cut short in 1978 due to an overdose of gemineurin, a prescription drug used to treat alcohol withdrawal symptoms. It later emerged that Moon had taken 32 tablets when his doctor had advised him to take no more than 3 tablets a day... But it seems this tragic piece of rock history has passed the Summer Olympic Committee in London by. The committee contacted The Who's manager Bill Curbishley about Moon's performance at the games... 34 years after his death. Curbishley said in an interview with The Sunday Times:
"I replied by email that Keith is currently residing at Golders Green crematorium... If they have a round table, some glasses and candles, we could contact him ourselves!"
They've never had a number one in the UK
With over 100 million records sold, you'd expect The Who to have had many number one hits! However, the band never released a number one single in their country... And only once did the band have a number one album: 1971's Who's Next.
Pete Townsend called The Beatles "lousy".
The Who's distinctive style may have come in part from a disdain for several hugely successful bands. In a 1966 interview on the BBC show A Whole Scene Going, Pete Townsend said that he was not impressed by The Beatles' musical ability.
"John (Entwistle) and I listened to a stereophonic record of The Beatles with the voices on one side and the minus track on the other," he declared. "And when you actually hear the minus tracks of The Beatles without their voices, they're lousy!" he decreed.
Moreover, Townsend treated the songs of rival band Led Zeppelin with disdain, stating in 1995:
"I don't like a single thing they've done, I hate the fact that I'm even slightly compared to them... I've never liked them," he added. "It's a real problem for me because I think they're really great blokes! I've just never liked their band..."
Daltrey was once fired by the band for assaulting Moone
In the early days of The Who, Daltrey established himself as a leader! And he wasn't afraid to fight, even physically, to maintain his authority. Townsend once said that Daltrey "was really good and ran things the way he wanted to".
"If you argued with him, you usually got an A (hit)," Townsend recalled.
In 1965, Daltrey became enraged when he discovered Keith Moon's stockpile of psychoactive substances. He swiped them off and punched Moon in the face.
"It took about five people to keep me off it," Daltrey noted in his biography. "It wasn't just because I hated it, it was just because I loved the band so much and thought it was being ruined by those pills..."
The group fired Daltrey, but then allowed him to return a week later, taking a promise that he would not fight again.
