[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

The Who In December



5 Years Ago This Month:
On the 20th, the British press reports that Pete has sold the Anchorage,
his Thames-side mansion for £595,000

15 Years Ago This Month:
John's solo single "Talk Dirty" backed with "Try Me" is released.

Pete visits his parents as the Christmas holiday approaches to celebrate
his overcoming his alcohol problem.  When they see him, they know he is
seriously ill on drugs and advise him to seek help immediatley.  Pete
calls his wife Karen who had seperated from him over a year before.  He
begs her to let him return and help him clean up.  She agrees and Pete
is back home by Christmas.

25 Years Ago This Month:
The Who continue their tour of the United States with shows (I know of)
in Houston (1st), Los Angeles (8th and 9th), Long Beach, CA (10th), San
Francisco (12th), and Seattle (15th).  The San Francisco show is
recorded for a partially live album intended for the following year.  To
date, four tracks from this concert have been officially released.  The
Long Beach show is later bootlegged as "Closer To Queen Mary."

On the 3rd, "Meaty, Beaty, Big & Bouncy" is finally released in Britain. 
The delay was caused by Kit Lambert’s opposition to the song selection
and sequencing.  Apparently the album was released in the U.S. without
his knowledge or consent.  His attempt failed as too many copies had
already been pressed.  After The Who’s turning to Lambert’s old foe Glyn
Johns to produce "Who’s Next," this represents a further increase in
friction between the band and their management.

On the 9th, Rolling Stone prints a lengthy review, written by Pete
Townshend, of "Meaty, Beaty, Big & Bouncy."

30 Years Ago This Month:
On the 3rd, the "A Quick One" LP and the single "Happy Jack" backed with
"I’ve Been Away" are released in Britain.  The LP reaches #4 and the
single #3.  For the ad campaign for "Happy Jack,"  Ralph Steadman, later
to become famous as illustrator of Hunter S. Thompson’s Rolling Stone
pieces, draws The Who as intertwining snakes.  It is later used for the
U.S. 45 picture sleeve.

On the 10th, "I’m A Boy" backed with "In The City" is released in the
U.S., 3 ½ months after its release in Europe.  With little promotion, it
fails to reach the U.S. charts.

On the 23rd, The Who appear on the last episode of ITV’s "Ready Steady
Go!"

The Who perform on New Year’s Eve at The Roundhouse in London

40 Years Ago This Month:
Pete has been bugging his parents some time for a a gutiar.  He’s rather
disappointed when for Christmas his Granny Denny gives him a terrible,
cheap guitar, "one like you see on the wall of a Spanish restaurant." 
He struggles to play it for the next 2 years, ultimately smashing it.

			-Brian in Atlanta