The Who Tour 1974

History

After beginning work in January on the soundtrack for the Tommy film, the band played a mini-tour of France in February, continuing to feature Quadrophenia as the centerpiece of their shows as in 1973. In May, the group took breaks amidst more work on the film to play three shows, including a large outdoor concert at The Valley in Charlton, London, headlining an event that also featured such acts as Bad Company, Humble Pie, Montrose, and Lindisfarne. The set was altered considerably for these shows, with less Quadrophenia material featured and the return of several older numbers that had fallen out of their act of late. Another break on the film saw the band play four shows in New York City, where the band had not played during their 12-date North American tour in late 1973. These would be their last shows until October 1975, after the recording of The Who by Numbers.

Material from the 18 May Charlton performance was frequently aired on BBC radio broadcasts following the event.

Live releases

Live material from 1974 that has seen release all comes from the group's performance at The Valley in Charlton, London on 18 May and has appeared on the following:

Tour band

French tour

A short French tour started from 8 February in Lille and ended on 24 February in Lyon. This was considered the second leg of the previous year's tour in support of the Quadrophenia album. The final concert of this leg would be the last Quadrophenia-centric concert by The Who until the Hyde Park concert in 1996. Here is a fairly typical set list from this tour (all songs written by Pete Townshend unless specified otherwise).

1. "I Can't Explain"
2. "Summertime Blues" (Eddie Cochran, Jerry Capehart)
3. "My Wife" (John Entwistle)
4. "My Generation"
5. "The Real Me"
6. "The Punk and the Godfather"
7. "I'm One" (not performed on 10 February)
8. "5.15"
9. "Sea and Sand"
10. "Drowned"
11. "Bell Boy"
12. "Doctor Jimmy"
13. "Love, Reign o'er Me"
14. "Won't Get Fooled Again"
15. "Pinball Wizard"
16. "See Me, Feel Me"

Encores (variations of the following list):

There were some set list substitutions, variations, and order switches during the tour. "I'm One" was not performed on 10 February following a power outage; in the same concert, "My Generation" was played twice, as both the fourth and final songs. In Lyon, on 24 February, "Bell Boy" and "Drowned" switched places.

UK/US performances

The band played three shows in May, beginning on 6 May at New Theatre Oxford. These shows saw a shorter selection of Quadrophenia material and the return of songs like "Young Man Blues", "Baba O'Riley", and "Boris the Spider", among others. A four night stand at Madison Square Garden in New York City ended on 14 June with a triple-guitar-smash by Townshend and Moon (although some reports have Daltrey joining in). That was the last The Who concert until 1975. Here is a fairly typical set list from this leg (actual setlist taken from the 18 May Charlton show). All songs written by Pete Townshend unless specified otherwise.

1. "I Can't Explain"
2. "Summertime Blues" (Eddie Cochran, Jerry Capehart)
3. "Young Man Blues" (Mose Allison)
4. "Baba O'Riley"
5. "Behind Blue Eyes"
6. "Substitute"
7. "I'm a Boy" (dropped after 10 June)
8. "Tattoo"
9. "Boris the Spider" (John Entwistle)
10. "Drowned"
11. "Bell Boy"
12. "Doctor Jimmy"
13. "Won't Get Fooled Again"
14. "Pinball Wizard"
15. "See Me, Feel Me"

Encores (variations of the following list):

There were some set list substitutions, variations, and order switches during the tour. Many songs from the encore were sometimes played in the regular set, and vice versa. Also, some other songs were played which are not in the above list: