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Re: Calling it the Who without Pete...



Ian, Re:

> Honestly I'm shocked that so many list members are so desperate to see a
> fraud.

The list members you are talking about want to see two things:

   - life performances of Roger, John, and/or Pete with some good additional
   musicians,

   - Who songs (or Who members' solo songs) being played at the concerts of the
   above.

These list members are all well aware that they won't ever see anything like
The Who pre-'78 again.  They know that

   a) a lot of drummers have tried to imitate Keith, but no one has really
   proven to be able to replace him,

   b) though they have artistically improved since '78, Roger, John, and Pete
   cannot hide their age and cannot create such vehement stage shows like in
   those good old days anymore.

So, where's the fraud?  We know what we can expect, and we know what we cannot
expect anymore.

As for the name:  Of course, something like `The New Who cover The Who' would
be a formally more correct name for Roger and John on tour, even if they took
Pete along with them.  But a band's name is like a trademark:  It can stay the
same even if the product changes.  It is the band who have to name themselves,
not the fans.

And I think that there is one good reason why they should use the name `The
Who' on tour:  A lot of people out there in the world have no clue what kind of
guys Daltrey, Entwistle, or even Townshend are, but they know and like a couple
of Who songs and would certainly go and see any nearby concert where these are
performed.  They would not care whether the original band or some cover group
were on stage as long as they can sing along with some tunes.  For those people
(who outnumber us Who fans by far) it is essential that the band is named `The
Who' for otherwise the concert in their home town might not attract their
attention (a fact that THEY might call a `fraud':  `If only I had known that
these guys were The Who, I would certainly have seen the show...')

So - even if it hurts your purism and is incompatible with your recollections
of The Who pre-'78 - accept `The Who' as a trademark necessary to attract
sufficiently large audiences.  As Fang already said:  The band's profit is - in
the long run - also the fans' profit.

Cheers,

Bernd