The Who In November

Well, here’s the monthly dose of nostalgia:

1 Year Ago This Month:
On the 7th, a remastered CD of "Who’s Next" with 7 bonus tracks is released

On the 11th,  Roger and John were supposed to perform a concert in
Offenbach, Germany but the show was canceled.

5 Years Ago This Month:
Pete, nursing the badly broken wrist he received in his September bicycle
accident, is sitting around the house bored out of his mind.  Unable to
make demos, he decides to work on his autobiography and begins talking to relatives about his childhood.  He is shocked to discover some sordid
details (his mother had lovers, he was left with nasty relatives) which oddly resemble the plot of Tommy.  As if on cue, Des McAnuff of the PACE Theatrical Group shows up wanting to work with Pete on a new stage
musical of Tommy.  Pete throws himself into it with gusto, rewriting Tommy along autobiographical lines.

The California punk band Green Day releases an EP with a cover of "My
Generation"

15 Years Ago This Month:
John's "Too Late The Hero" LP is released in Britain

Pete, terrified by his attack of DT’s the previous month, spends 5 days at an alcoholism clinic where he is treated with hypnotherapy.  His mother, who had just come out of a similar clinic, accompanies him.
Pete goes to New York where he indulges in freebasing coke and smoking
heroin.
On his return to London, a doctor prescribes the then little-understood
tranquilizer Ativan.  Soon Pete has added Ativan to his growing list of
addictions, consuming 8 to 10 pills a day.

25 Years Ago This Month:
Peter Rudge takes over The Who's management for U.S. concerts

On the 4th, the Who give a concert to open the Rainbow Theatre in London.
 At the end of the show they do line kicks with chorus girls.

U.S. Decca finally releases John’s 1st solo single switching the A and B
sides so that it’s "My Size" backed with "I Believe In Everything."

The Who begin their tour of the United States.  Dates that I have on record are Charlotte, NC (20th), Atlanta (23rd), Memphis (28th) and New
Orleans (29th).

30 Years Ago This Month:
The Who’s European tour continues with concerts in Frankfurt (1st),
Bremen (2nd), Kassel (4th), Cologne (6th) and Dusseldorf (7th).  On the
2nd they appear on the German TV show "Beat Club." 

On the 10th, The Who record "Happy Jack" and "I’ve Been Away" at CBS
Studios, London.

On the 11th, the "Ready Steady Who" EP is released in Britain.  Even
though the suit was settled 2 weeks before, Brunswick releases on the
very same day the last of its "Getting Back At The Who" singles "La La
La Lies" backed with "The Good’s Gone."  Neither disk makes it to the
NME charts.
On the 12th, The Who are filmed running around Carnaby Street and the
King’s Road for a special on "Swingin’ London" that airs on the 15th on
the U.S. television show "Today" (NBC).  They wear their pop-art and
British flag clothing and are seen riding around in a minimoke.

During the month, The Who also record "Whiskey Man," "Don't Look Away," "See My Way," "So Sad About Us," and "Happy Jack (Acoustic version)" at
IBC Studios, London

On the 17th, The Who perform in Glasgow and on the 18th in Perth.

On the 22nd, Dick Clark’s U.S. TV series "Where The Action Is" shows film
of six Who performances and also contains an interview with Pete filmed
at his London flat

Late in the month, it becomes apparent that there isn’t enough material
to make a full-length album.  Pete writes the mini-opera "A Quick One
While He’s Away" and The Who record it in pieces at IBC, Pye and Regent
Sound Studios, London.

				-Brian