The Who Tour 1967

History

The group continued to perform in the United Kingdom and Europe in the early part of the year, promoting A Quick One and "Happy Jack", both released in late 1966; one performance at the Saville Theatre in London saw the group share the bill with The Jimi Hendrix Experience, who had been performing in England since the previous September. In March, the band made their first trip to North America to play two to three short performances per day at New York City's 58th Street Theater as part of shows promoted by disc jockey Murray the K, packaging the group with several other artists. After the release of "Pictures of Lily", a return trip saw the band tour the United States and Canada coast-to-coast over three months while supporting Herman's Hermits, highlighted by their six-song set at the Monterey Pop Festival in June as well as an appearance on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, both which showcased the requisite instrument smashing ritual that usually closed their performances (and produced memorable footage for The Kids Are Alright biopic). The group also booked studio time during the tour to record material for The Who Sell Out and tracks like "Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand" whenever possible. In between more performances in the United Kingdom, the band returned for another two-week stint in America late in the year, with The Who Sell Out seeing release in December.

Live Releases

Live material from 1967 (excluding TV appearances where the band mimed to pre-recorded material) has appeared on a number of different releases:

Tour band

January-Early April: UK, Italy, and First US Shows

With A Quick One released in late 1966, shows during the early part of the year saw performances of songs like "So Sad About Us", "Run Run Run", and "Don't Look Away", none of which would feature in the group's act for very long. Meanwhile, other new numbers such as "Happy Jack" (released in late 1966 as a single) and John Entwistle's "Boris the Spider" were also incorporated into the show and would become fan favourites. Older singles such as "Substitute", "I'm a Boy", and "My Generation" continued to feature heavily in the act.

Songs documented as being played at this stage are as follows (all written by Pete Townshend unless otherwise specified):

1. "I Can't Explain"
2. "So Sad About Us"
3. "Barbara Ann" (Fred Fassert)
4. "Run Run Run"
5. "Don't Look Away"
6. "Substitute"
7. "I'm a Boy"
8. "Happy Jack"
9. "Boris the Spider" (John Entwistle)
10. "My Generation"

April–June: Europe and UK

The band's new single, "Pictures of Lily", was added to the act at this point, as the group did short tours of Germany and Scandinavia as well as a few dates in England. Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues", which would be a staple in the group's act and arguably their most well-known cover tune, also began appearing around this time. The band even reportedly played their cover of Jan and Dean's "Bucket T." while in Sweden, the track having charted well in that country after being released as a single (it appeared on the Ready Steady Who EP in England). Drummer Keith Moon missed several shows in late May and early June while recovering from a hernia.

June–September: First North American Tour

A long, three-month North American tour was the group's first, supporting Herman's Hermits and highlighted by their appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival. They began playing the "mini-opera" "A Quick One, While He's Away" at this time and also appeared on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour at the very end of the tour, miming to both the newly recorded "I Can See for Miles" and a specially-recorded version of "My Generation" culminating in an instrument smash-up that Pete Townshend and Tommy Smothers played into a comedy routine, later seen at the beginning of The Kids Are Alright.

Songs documented as being played at this stage are as follows (all written by Pete Townshend unless otherwise specified):

1. "Substitute"
2. "Pictures of Lily"
3. "Summertime Blues" (Eddie Cochran, Jerry Capehart)
4. "So Sad About Us"
5. "Barbara Ann" (Fred Fassert)
6. "Boris the Spider" (John Entwistle)
7. "A Quick One, While He's Away"
8. "Happy Jack"
9. "I'm a Boy"
10. "My Generation"

There were some set list substitutions, variations, and order switches during the tour. Some other songs were played which are not in the above lists:

October–December: UK Dates and Return to America

The group continued to perform in both the United Kingdom and United States while finishing The Who Sell Out. Songs from the album such as "I Can See for Miles", "Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand", "Odorono", "Relax", "Tattoo", and "Rael" were reportedly played at this stage, but no recordings of these shows exist. The band began playing the Johnny Kidd and the Pirates hit "Shakin' All Over", which would be a mainstay of their sets in 1969–1970, around this time as well.

Songs documented as being played at this stage are as follows (all written by Pete Townshend unless otherwise specified):

1. "I Can't Explain"
2. "Substitute"
3. "Pictures of Lily"
4. "A Quick One, While He's Away"
5. "Run Run Run"
6. "Summertime Blues" (Eddie Cochran, Jerry Capehart)
7. "Happy Jack"
8. "My Generation"

There were some set list substitutions, variations, and order switches during the tour. Some other songs were played which are not in the above lists:

"Boris the Spider" and "I'm a Boy" were likely part of the act at this time as well.