The Who: Quadrophenia and More

Not long now till The Who’s North American arena tour where the band will perform their iconic 1973 double album QUADROPHENIA in its entirety, along with a selection of WHO classics. The critically acclaimed QUADROPHENIA marked the British band’s second rock opera (after Tommy), raised the bar for rock albums as an art form and hit #2 on the U.S. Billboard album chart. Founding members ROGER DALTREY and PETE TOWNSHEND will be joined by Zak Starkey (drums), Pino Palladino (bass), Simon Townshend (guitar/backing vocals), Chris Stainton (keyboards), Loren Gold (keyboards/backing vocals) and Frank Simes (musical director, keyboards/backing vocals). **See a Q&A with Pete Townshend near the end of the release.

The AEG-promoted 37-date tour, the band’s first North American tour in four years, kicks off November 1 in Sunrise, FL with an initial six-week run. THE WHO will return in late January with more dates commencing January 28 in Anaheim, CA. Tickets and VIP packages for the tour are now available at www.aeglive.com

In a four-and-a-half star (out of five) review, Rolling Stone’s David Fricke said: “Quadrophenia, released in 1973, was a superior tale with more-taut songwriting; it was grounded in Townshend’s memories of growing up angry, anguished and mod in the early Sixties, and produced with the panoramic tension of ‘Who’s Next.’”

The Who is an English rock band formed in 1964. Quadrophenia marked the band’s sixth album. The album’s title is a variation on the popular usage of the medical diagnostic term schizophrenia and exemplifies the four varying personalities of the band members who created the album. IGN placed Quadrophenia at No. 1 on its list of the greatest classic rock albums of all time and Q magazine placed Quadrophenia on its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever, It features such classic WHO songs as “The Real Me,” “5:15” and “Love Reign o’er Me.”