The Who Hits 50!
| World tour by The Who | |
 | |
| Associated album | The Who Hits 50! |
|---|---|
| Start date | 23 November 2014 |
| End date | 19 September 2016 |
| Legs | 8 |
| Number of shows |
1 in Asia 37 in Europe 49 in North America 87 in Total |
| The Who concert chronology | |
The Who's 2014–16 tour is an ongoing tour, billed as The Who Hits 50!, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the band. Roger Daltrey has referred to this tour as the band's "long goodbye" hinting that it will the final tour for The Who.[1] The tour will consist of 70 dates with the band performing in Asia, Europe and North America.
In September 2015 the band announced that fall 2015 North American leg was being postponed due to Daltrey contracting viral Meningitis and told by doctors to rest. The tour resumed in February 2016 and is scheduled to end in May 2016.[2]
History
An announcement about the tour came through the band's website and social media networks on 30 June 2014.[3][4] Pete Townshend described the show as "Hits, Picks, Mixes and Misses", for the band would play all their classic anthems as well as tackling deeper cuts from their catalog;[5][6]
In addition to longtime veterans Zak Starkey, Pino Palladino, and Simon Townshend, the same backing musicians from the group's previous tour were retained, minus the horn section.
Tour band
Original members
- Roger Daltrey – lead vocals, harmonica, acoustic guitar, rhythm guitar, tambourine
- Pete Townshend – lead guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals
- John Entwistle - bass solo on "5:15" (via video and audio recording from Live at the Royal Albert Hall)
- Keith Moon - vocals on "Bell Boy" (via audio recording from Quadrophenia)
Backing musicians
- Zak Starkey – drums, percussion
- Pino Palladino – bass guitar
- Simon Townshend – rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals
- Loren Gold – keyboards, backing vocals, percussion, jaw harp
- Frank Simes - keyboards, backing vocals, percussion, banjo, mandolin
- John Corey - keyboards, backing vocals, percussion, bass harmonica
The Show
The tour kicked off with the group's first ever show in the United Arab Emirates, followed by a UK leg. The band included several numbers not included in any recent tours, including the first full performance of "A Quick One (While He's Away)" since 1970 and the first full band appearances of "So Sad About Us" (Townshend and special guest Paul Weller performed it acoustically at the Royal Albert Hall in 2000) since 1967; "Pictures of Lily" and "Join Together" had not been played since 1989. The North American leg, with Joan Jett and the Blackhearts featured as the opening act, kicked off in April 2015. Eddie Vedder joined the band for a performance of "The Real Me" in Chicago. Daltrey suffered a throat infection in September 2015 forcing the band to postpone the 2015 fall North American dates until February 2016. Tal Wilkenfeld was featured as the opening act when the North American tour resumed on February 27, 2016. Pete Townshend was suffering from his own ailments when the band hit Washington DC on March 24, 2015. Townshend was suffering from a cold and losing his voice so his brother Simon Townshend took over most of his backing vocals (and with help from the audience) however Pete was able to make it through "I'm One" despite his rough sounding voice. "Eminence Front", which had been featured in all of the shows, was dropped in favored of the unrehearsed and rarely played "Slip Kid"
Songs performed
- "5.15" (performed only on first leg of the tour)
- "A Quick One (While He's Away)"
- "Amazing Journey"
- "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" (played in Abu Dhabi)
- "Baba O'Riley"
- "Bargain"
- "Behind Blue Eyes"
- "Bell Boy" (performed only on first leg of the tour)
- "Cry If You Want" (played in Leeds, Newcastle and Glasgow)
- "Eminence Front"
- "I Can See For Miles"
- "I Can't Explain"
- "I'm One"
- "It's a Boy" (played in Georgia and New Orleans)
- "Join Together"
- "Long Live Rock" (played in Liverpool and Glasgow)
- "Love, Reign O'er Me"
- "Magic Bus"
- "My Generation"
- "Naked Eye" (played in Liverpool and Glasgow)
- "Pictures of Lily"
- "Pinball Wizard"
- "See Me, Feel Me"
- "Slip Kid" (played in Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester, London, Royal Albert Hall, Tampa, Atlantic City, Brooklyn and Washington DC)
- "So Sad About Us"
- "Sparks"
- "Squeeze Box" (played in Nottingham, Leeds, Glasgow, and Abu Dhabi, North Carolina, Philadelphia, Houston, Dallas, Nashville, Chicago, and Atlantic City)
- "Substitute" (played during UK and European leg and in Tampa, Miami, and Jacksonville)
- "The Kids Are Alright"
- "The Real Me" (played in Abu Dhabi and in Chicago with Eddie Vedder)
- "The Rock" (played at Wembley Arena, Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Boston)
- "The Seeker"
- "Who Are You"
- "Won't Get Fooled Again"
- "You Better You Bet"
Tour dates
Gross
2015: $22.0 million from 27 shows[13]
Total available gross: $22.0 million
Notes
References
- ↑ http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-28087350
- ↑ http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/the-who-postpone-who-hits-50-tour-due-to-roger-daltrey-virus-20150918
- ↑ thewho.com / Blog / Story / The Who 50th anniversary british and irish tour this autumn (first access date = 1 July 2014).
- ↑ "F1: Pharrell Williams, The Who in Abu Dhabi". gulfnews.com. 30 September 2014. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ↑ "The Who Hits 50!". thegarden.com. 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
- ↑ "The Who, Glasgow SECC, review: 'too polite' (by Matthew Magee)". telegraph.co.uk. 1 December 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
- ↑ "The Who shows postponed due to Roger Daltrey illness". BBC. 16 December 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
- ↑ "The Who wrap up UK leg of tour early". petetownshend.net. 17 December 2014. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
- ↑ "The Who shows postponed due to Roger Daltrey illness". BBC. 16 December 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
- ↑ "The Who Tickets, Tour Dates & Venue Information". Retrieved February 18, 2015.
- ↑ "THE WHO TO RETURN TO THE ISLE OF WIGHT FESTIVAL!". thewho.com. 17 March 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
- ↑ "The Who à Toulouse en juin !". [[]]. 18 March 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
- ↑ http://www.pollstarpro.com/files/charts2015/2015YearEndTop100WorldwideTours.pdf