The Who Tour 1996–1997

History

Having worked on the remastering of Quadrophenia in 1996, Pete Townshend was inspired to finally perform the complete rock opera as he had always hoped to hear it played, with a full band including a horn section, keyboards, and backing vocals. Initially agreeing to perform as a solo artist at a special charity event for The Prince's Trust on 29 June in Hyde Park, London, Townshend ultimately requested his former bandmates Roger Daltrey and John Entwistle join for the performance, the first time they had played a show together since 1989. With Townshend playing only acoustic guitar, supporting musicians included longtime keyboardist John "Rabbit" Bundrick, Townshend's brother Simon on rhythm and lead guitar, and drummer Zak Starkey (son of Beatle Ringo Starr and a one-time friend of Keith Moon). The group were also joined by veteran British rock sideman Geoff Whitehorn on lead guitar and keyboardist Jon Carin, who had toured with Pink Floyd in their post-Roger Waters incarnation and worked with Townshend on some solo appearances in April–May 1996; a five-piece horn section, backup singers, and percussionist Jody Linscott rounded out the band. The Hyde Park show also featured special guest David Gilmour, who sang and played lead guitar on "The Dirty Jobs" and played lead guitar on "Love, Reign o'er Me". Meanwhile, Phil Daniels, who had portrayed the lead character Jimmy in the film version of the rock opera, served as narrator for the show, while various actors and singers played other parts in the story. Among these was Gary Glitter in the role of the Godfather...and who inadvertently struck Daltrey in the eye with a microphone stand during rehearsals, forcing the frontman to wear an eyepatch (fittingly adorned with a mod-inspired target logo) during the show. Although Townshend later spoke unfavorably about the Hyde Park performance, it was successful enough to encourage the band to do a run of six shows at New York City's Madison Square Garden in July, billed under the three Who members' individual names instead of as The Who. These dates featured the same basic line-up (minus Gilmour), with the notable addition of Billy Idol portraying the Ace Face. In addition to the main attraction of Quadrophenia, an encore each night included familiar songs such as "Behind Blue Eyes", "Naked Eye", and a stripped-down, acoustic version of "Won't Get Fooled Again" performed only by Townshend, Daltrey, and Entwistle. There was a live radio broadcast of the July 18th show.

With the New York dates well-received, the group (now billed as The Who) took Quadrophenia on a 25-date tour of North America in the fall, this time featuring pre-recorded narration by the Jimmy character (portrayed by Alex Langdon) on the video screen, helping to explain the story. The band was streamlined slightly for the tour, with only Townshend and his brother Simon on guitar; Townshend gradually began playing more electric guitar as the tour wore on, with one of the show's highlights occurring during "The Rock" when he would switch to electric and begin playing the song's lead guitar harmonies along with his brother. Daltrey also contributed some acoustic guitar, playing the beginning of "Who Are You" unaccompanied before the rest of the band joined. Three dates in England in December saw P.J. Proby replace Gary Glitter as the Godfather.

1997 brought more Quadrophenia dates, with the group's first European tour since 1975 and another stint in North America in the summer. Townshend played more electric guitar in these performances than in 1996, and the post-Quadrophenia set now included old favourites "I Can't Explain" and "Substitute"; additionally, "The Kids Are Alright" was performed late in the tour, the first time it had appeared in the group's act since 1966. Actor Ben Waters portrayed the Ace Face in the 1997 shows.

The success of these Quadrophenia shows would begin a Who revival, leading to a number of performances in 1999 and numerous tours in subsequent years.

Live Releases

Live material from 1996–1997 appears on the Tommy and Quadrophenia Live DVD, which also includes the show of 24 August 1989 at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. The 1996–1997 segment includes a complete performance of Quadrophenia, plus encores of "Won't Get Fooled Again", "Substitute", "I Can't Explain", "The Kids Are Alright", "Behind Blue Eyes", and "Who Are You". The date(s) of the performances are not listed, but the songs from the encore segment match those performed on the latter part of the 1997 North American tour.

Tour band

Special guests

Typical set lists

The main set was mostly the same for the duration of the entire tour, save for a concert in Oslo, Norway on 26 April 1997, where "Substitute" and "I Can't Explain" opened the show before the main Quadrophenia set. The encores usually consisted of an acoustic version of "Won't Get Fooled Again", as well as "Behind Blue Eyes", "Who Are You" (also performed acoustically for the first two verses), and as the tour progressed, two or three other songs (depending on the concert).

1. "I Am the Sea"
2. "The Real Me"
3. "Quadrophenia"
4. "Cut My Hair"
5. "The Punk and the Godfather" (with 'The Godfather' guest)
6. "I'm One"
7. "The Dirty Jobs" (Simon Townshend on vocals)
8. "Helpless Dancer"
9. "Is It in My Head?"
10. "I've Had Enough" (with all the special guests)
11. "5.15" (Entwistle extended bass solo)
12. "Sea and Sand" (with 'The Ace Face' guest)
13. "Drowned" (Townshend solo acoustic)
14. "Bell Boy" (with 'The Ace Face' guest)
15. "Doctor Jimmy"
16. "The Rock"
17. "Love, Reign o'er Me"
18. "Quadrophenia Finale (I'm The Face)" (used to introduce the characters of Jimmy, the Ace Face, and the Godfather)

Encores (variations of the following list):

There were very few set list substitutions, variations, and order switches during the tour, and when they occurred, they were mostly in the encore. A second performance of "5.15" was the lone encore of the concert on 29 June 1996 at the Hyde Park in London, England. Shows on 19 and 20 July 1997 featured versions of "Won't Get Fooled Again" with Townshend on electric guitar instead of acoustic.