Sad, sad news today for music film fans—Ken Russell, the man who directed The Who’s Tommy film (you know, “sure could play a mean pinball”) starring The Who, as well as Jack Nicholson, Eric Clapton, Ann-Margret, and Tina Turner, died after a series of strokes. He was 84.
No reason to not already own The Who’s Live At Leeds, one of the finest, live rock albums you’ll ever come across. But if you’re thinking about finally grabbing a copy of The Who’s classic album, or just want to update an old copy collecting dust in the collection, you’re in luck — a new Live At Leeds is on the way. It’s a deluxe package containing a new version of the original 1970 live album.
Live At Leeds: 40th Anniversary Super-Deluxe Collector’s Edition will be out on November 15 and includes a restored live album from the band’s performance in Hull on February 15, 1970 – the night after the Leeds gig was recorded.
Have we reached the end of the road for The Who? After 40 years?! Rolling Stone has word that the band might call it a career if guitarist Pete Townshend’s tinnitus becomes a problem yet again. This depressing news comes after the The Who canceled a spring tour and Coachella appearance.
Rolling Stone also reports Neil Young has put Townshend in contact with an ear specialist.
By the time Pete Townshend hit the last chords of “Won’t Get Fooled Again” it should have been perfectly clear The Who had every intention of making their 12 minutes in the Super Bowl halftime spotlight a rock n’ roll, good time for all. Just as Townshend mentioned in January, the Super Bowl set-list was a mash-up of Who classics: “Pinball Wizard,” “Baba O’Riley,” a snippet of “See Me, Feel Me” from Tommy, “Who Are You” and “Won’t Get Fooled Again.”
It was about as safe a set-list The Who could have put together. In any other situation there might be more grumbling here, but for the corporate behemoth that is the Super Bowl – it all worked out rather nicely.
Now, let’s get to the highlights….
As Super Bowl XLIV looms closer, we’re not only wondering if it’ll be the New Orleans Saints or the Indianapolis Colts who claim the championship trophy, but whether or not The Who are going to kick ass during the halftime show.
Joining The Who for Super Bowl Sunday will be Carrie Underwood, performing the “The Star Spangled Banner,” and Queen Latifah, who will sing “America The Beautiful” during the Super Bowl XLIV pregame show.
Forget the The Who’s halftime show at the Super Bowl this upcoming weekend, the big news is that the legendary rock band are planning to perform Quadrophenia in full at their Teenage Cancer Trust show at the Royal Albert Hall.
The gig is set for March 10 and will be the finale of the ten-night event, which also includes Noel Gallagher’s first solo shows since Oasis disbanded.
American Idol is on a roll! Last year, Jennifer Hudson sang the national anthem at the Super Bowl, and the year before the young Jordin Sparks wowed everyone with her incredible version of the national anthem. This year, Carrie Underwood will be singing her version at the Super Bowl — but the country singer won’t be alone, Queen Latifah will also be performing America the Beautiful.
If there are any people betting on which songs the half-time band will be playing this year at the Super Bowl, we’re not sure if there’s a point anymore. The Who‘s Pete Townshend has already revealed some of the set list to Billboard in an interview. We’re not sure if he meant to do it. We’re not sure if he’s telling the truth, but his answer is pretty predictable for a band of their era.
Most music acts who perform for half-time do their major hits so the crowd can feel comfortable enough to get crazy and sing along to songs they already know. Some have minor accidents (ahem, Janet and Justin), but some have used the highly sought spotlight to promote new material, such as Bruce Springsteen did during last year’s game.
A terrific collection of artists will honor the music of The Who on March 2nd at a tribute concert at New York’s Carnegie Hall. Among the all-star performers paying homage to the legendary band includes Frank Black, Bob Mould, Robyn Hitchcock and The Smithereens. Each artist will perform classic songs from The Who catalog, which should no doubt rock the halls of the famous concert venue. All proceeds fro the show will be distributed to six music education nonprofit organizations.
Check below for a full list of performers scheduled to play the Carnegie Hall Who tribute.
