University of Texas Who Archives

[Alan McKendree <AI.amck@mcc.com>]

    Date: Sat, 5 Nov 1994 11:03 CST
    From: Joseph Grimes <jgg@iac.net>

[re: the Who archives...]
      There's a story about 
    it in the Goldmine issue with Daltrey's interview.

Rats.  I have that issue, but didn't see a separate story.   I hate it
when that happens :-).

thewho subscribers as of last April will remember that I went to the
opening reception for the archive, which was a lot of fun (they had
selected photos blown up to about 4' x 6' and mounted in the lobby where
the roadshow of _Tommy_ would be playing soon.)  However, when I marched
over to the archive, weeks later, I was told that they are still
cataloging it and would be doing so until next September at least ...
and that until then it wasn't open to the public.  (I felt like saying,
"I'm not the _public_, I'm a Who nut!!"

The collection is in Austin, not San Antonio; nor is the phone number
you mentioned the number for the archive, it's the number for the box
office at the theatre where _Tommy_ was staged.

Just to whet your appetites, I am told that the collection holds the
original demo tape of "Behind Blue Eyes" which Pete gave Tom, and the
original tape of the May 1969 US premiere of _Tommy_.

I'm appending a press release from last April, which many of you have
already seen.

Alan

-----------------------------------------------------

Wright collection chronicles rock and roll years of the 60s and 70s

Austin, Texas--In the early 1960s, a young American named Tom Wright met
a young Englishman named Pete Townshend at Ealing Art School in England.
>From there, Wright developed not only a lasting friendship with
Townshend, who would become a household word in the world of rock and
roll, but he also developed a career photographing musicians during the
30 years that followed that meeting.

Today, Wright's collection of more than 120,000 images, which chronicles
decades of change and the rise of a pop culture, is finding a permanent
home in the University of Texas at Austin's Center for American History.

"I'm delighted that Tom Wright has decided to place his wonderful
photographic collection here at the University's Center for American
History," said Don Carleton, director of the Center.  "It greatly
enriches our photographic resources, documenting a very important aspect
of recent American popular culture."

A significant portion of the collection focuses on the rock and roll
band The Who.  Wright introduced Pete Townshend to American music during
their time in school together.  Townshend, in turn, introduced Wright to
the road.  Wright joined the group on its U.S. tours from 1968 to 1989.
It was during this time that Wright's watchful eye and ready camera
captured a phenomenal time of expansion and experimentation or the band.

"Even in the early years of The Who," said English professor Joseph
Kruppa, "Townshend focused on how things 'looked,' as well as how they
sounded.  He was concerned with 'performance' in its largest sense.
Wright's photographs were often used as immediate feedback-- developed
and printed right after performances--then shown to Townshend, who was
in the process of making a public identity for The Who."

"Townshend would want to get involved . . . it was fun for everybody,"
Wright said.  "Someone would ask, 'Well, did you get a shot of when Pete
busted the cop over the head with the guitar?'  'Well, sure.'  'Well,
let's see it.'"

In addition to traveling with the group whenever it toured the U.S.,
Wright also managed the Grande Ballroom in Detroit from 1967 to 1969.
It was at the Grande on May 9, 1969, that the rock opera *Tommy* made
its stateside debut.  Wright photographed the landmark event and these
images, along with audio tapes, document the ban's evolution.

"It's one thing to document a tour, but another to present the energy
and emotion impact of a concert photographically in a way that's
accessible to someone else who knows nothing about music but everything
about feelings," Wright said.  "My pictures are not rock and roll shots.
They are portraits of the artists in various stages of their
development.  I believe that I captured the nectar of the most recent
and significant musical Renaissance."

"The errant conscience of his (Wright's) camera has captured both the
flippancy and the passion of the times. His work is very much about
capturing the moment, "Townshend said.

Those captures moments will be hanging, in large 4 foot by 6 foot
cibachrome prints, in the Performing Arts Center form April 14 through
April 29 when the Broadway musical *Tommy* comes to campus.

While the rock opera had many working titles, "the simple title
*Tommy,*" said Kruppa, "was what Townshend finally settled on, a common
name that made the character an everyman and connected him with the
British soldiers of World War I, who were called 'Tommies.'  Tom
Wright's photograph of Townshend in a "Tommy" helmet, used as the
frontispiece for this exhibit, was taken in Los Angeles in 1968 and
proved to be an eerie foreshadowing of the final title for Townshend's
project."

Referring to one birthday shot of Keith Moon, Wright explained that Moon
was just turning 20 and wanted to be able to drink at the Holiday Inn
bar so a huge birthday party was staged and announced in the news as a
'Keith turns 21 party."  The news clips served as a fake I.D. for Moon.
During the celebration, the band was busy listening to a demo pressing
of *The Who Sell Out,* which was turned up full blast on a portable
record player.  The manager marched into the room and took the needle
off the record player.  "He was just livid because we were making too
much noise," Wright said.  "When he was about halfway through his
speech, Keith picked up his birthday cake and shoved it right in this
guy's face.  He alerted every Holiday Inn on the planet earth that we
were not allowed to stay there.  For two years, we couldn't stay at a
Holiday Inn."

Another shot shows Townshend in a cloud of smoke.

"Today, smoke machines are standard equipment," Wright said.  "In those
days, roadies were lighting little smoke bombs and rolling them under
the amps.  The progressed to flash powder poured over live wires and
throwing a switch.  Keith was constantly mixing cherry bombs in the
smoke bombs supply just to keep everyone on their toes.

"I'm excited for the *Tommy* cast to see the photographs when they come
to perform, "Wright added.  "Some may not have even been born when this
was going on."

These prints were made possible by support from Ilford Photo, Inc., and
Colour Solutions.

In addition to his work with the Who, Wright also served as road manager
and/or photographer for the Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart and the Faces,
the James Gang, J.D. Souther, the Thunderbirds, Elvis Costello, Bob
Seeger, the Eagles and others.

The Wright collection will also contain some 2,000 tape and phonograph
recording, Wright's correspondence with Townshend, memorabilia, posters,
scrapbooks and other remnants from Wright's adventures.

The exhibit, titled "Who Rocked for Ages," is jointly sponsored by the
Center for American History and the College of Fine Arts.  It will be on
display in the Bass Concert Hall of the Performing Arts Center. Gallery
hours are noon to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and during performances.
****************************************
Denise Mayorga  
The Center for American History
The University of Texas at Austin
 Phone:  512-495-4515
 Fax:    512-495-4542
 INTERNET: d.mayorga@utxvm.cc.utexas.edu
****************************************