Collecting The Who

[Brian Cady]

Thanks to Pete Stachiw for sending in this link:
From CK Times, Serving the Community of Chatham-Kent, Ontario, Canada
http://www.cktimes.ca/view-article.php?section=14&type=1

Classic Vinyl with Allan Day
COLLECTING THE WHO Part 1
by PETE STACHIW

Well i am very excited this week to be presenting "THE WHO" their history from a fellow collector, like myself, who's passion for music, runs deep enough for him to invest his time, energy and money to keep the memory of another SUPER GROUP in the history of Rock n Roll alive for all of us to enjoy. Pete Stachiw, a collector in the Toronto area has met members of The Who in the past and has followed them from the beginning----I can appreciate his passion and enthusiasm for collecting memorabilia of this great 60's band, and i am pleased that he is going to present this column this week and next week---We hope you enjoy the history of The Who.

The Who burst onto the scene in the wake of the Beatles and The Rolling Stones. Their loud sound (eventually earning them a place in the Guinness Book of World Records), auto destruction of their equipment and singing for their generation, THE MODS, gained them popularity in England. Through the insightful management of Chris Stamp (brother to actor Terence Stamp) and Kit Lambert, The Who became spokespersons for the MODS.

The first generation of the band started in 1962 when they were known as the Detours, with Pete Townshend on guitar, Roger Daltrey on rhythm guitar, Colin Dawson as lead singer, John Entwistle on bass and Doug Sandom on drums. In 1963 while playing their regular Tuesday night stint at the Oldfield Tavern, a boy dressed in "ginger", as bassist John Entwistle recalls---came up to the stage and declared that he could play the drums better than the current drummer. The band gave him a try and Keith Moon became the permanent drummer. By 1964 the Detours had changed their name to "THE WHO" dismissing Colin Dawson and allowing Roger Daltrey to be the lead singer. The band them changed their name again to the "HIGH NUMBERS" in preparation for the release of their first single---I'm the Face/Zoot Suit on the Fontana label as the High Numbers. This made little impact with only 1,000 copies pressed in 1964. As one cam imagine, this is one of the rarest and most collectible Who 45's---rums around the $1,000 range and shortly after this release, they changed their name back to THE WHO.

There was no single aspect that attracted me to collecting THE WHO memorabilia---it was initially the music that caught my attention, but to go beyond the music, almost becomes an obsession. ( I know what he means by that) After being introduced to THE WHO by my 2 older brothers, i began going to record conventions and became exposed to bootleg recordings. This led me to delve further into their catalogue, that has now turned into a hobby for over 25 years. If you speak to anyone who collects something, they will tell you that what keeps them going is always looking for that elusive item, or better yet, finding an item that they did not know existed. According to different music magazines, The Who are the fourth most collected band behind the Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin. What is amazing about this is that The Who only released 11 albums of original material (9 with the original lineup). This shows the impact the band's music made around the world. One just has to look at how many countries released their records to see that THE WHO truly made a worldwide impact. From obscure countries such as Thailand and Rhodesia, to Chile and Guatemala, any record collector will tell you that these countries do not come to mind when searching for records----in fact i have found Who records/recordings from 54 different countries!

As with many groups, THE WHO recorded on several different labels. This was mainly due to the fact that different countries had different labels. In the U.K. they began recording on the Brunswick label and switched to the Reaction label shortly thereafter. THE WHO began their own label "Track Records" which signed other noted musicians such as Jimi Hendrix. In the latter part of their career, they ended up on the Polydor label. In Canada and the U.S. they began on the Decca label---which led to MCA and finally Warner Brothers. Albums and 45's on the Brunswick, Reaction and Decca labels are quite collectible. Original LP's such as My Generation, A Quick One/Happy Jack and Sell Out in mint condition can command high prices. Today an original pressing of the My GenerationLP on the U.K. Brunswick label can be worth several hundred dollars. Even rarer is a stereo copy of their third LP--The Who Sell Out on the U.K. label Track, with the limited edition psychedelic butterfly poster by Adrian George. If you were fortunate to buy a copy of the first 500 albums, that had the poster, it is worth upwards of $500. Over the years of collecting, I have come across many odd albums and singles from countries I never imagined would have Who records---for example, i have seen a copy of the album Happy Jack from China on orange vinyl---asking price was over $2000. this is a very rare album that falls into the gray area of collecting. The band would not have received royalties for their records released In probably 95% of the 54 countries their recordings have been found in---so one has to ask if this is a legitimate release, as opposed to a bootleg. It is a legitimate release within the country, but it is not recognized as legitimate outside of that country. To the serious collectors, these types of records are appealing because of the sheer nature of their rarity and the fact that they exist.

45's or 7 inch rpm records can also be highly collectible---if the 45 has its original picture sleeve and if it is a stock copy, promo/demo copy or test pressing, the value can be greatly affected depending on the country of origin. 45's from certain countries such as Japan are highly collectible due to the limited number of records pressed and released---the unique picture sleeves issued and quality of vinyl. Some pressings can be worth well over $1,000. Many countries including Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan, Denmark, Holland, Portugal and France almost always issued singles with picture sleeves. The US and the UK had a few of the 45's released with picture sleeves. In some countries, music was not released on vinyl, but on paper postcards and flexi discs/sound sheets. For example, in Poland, postcards with songs pressed in the paper were made. This was a cheap way to convey the music in a country where vinyl was quite rare or expensive. These can only be played a few times before they wear out. In Russia, music was released on very thin sheets, called flexi discs, which where very poor in musical quality---but in Poland, it was a cheap way to allow people to hear THE WHO music---these are not worth a lot of money, but can be sought after by serious collectors.

This is all a great history of THE WHO in Pete's first segment this week, and i would like to end the column with all the readers to view a few clips of the band--check out these sites for some WHO classic clips and come back next week for Part 2 of COLLECTING THE WHO----The Seeker 1970 http://youtube.com/watch?v=0KxOTr4jnNc Substitute 1966 http://youtube.com/watch?v=9NMEnrq_TVI Squeeze Box in Toronto 1982 http://youtube.com/watch?v=Ki4zE50ttKA

 
-Brian in Atlanta
The Who This Month!
http://www.thewhothismonth.com


 
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