Biographic - Sunday August 19, 2007 Comic Strip Licensing and Permissions

Transcript

They were the "Enfants terrible" the pop who went on to invent the rock opera, steal the show at Woodstock, and plant a marker in the Guinness book of world records as the world's loudest rock band. Along the way, they've lost two founding members and weathered many storms- but four decades in, The Who are still universally celebrated as one of the greatest bands in the history of rock music. Having flirted with the name The High Numbers, mod pioneers The Who exploded onto the U.K music scene in 1965, Pete Townshend's windmilling guitar style, Keith Moon's manic drumming, John Entwistle's driving with the band's equipment-trashing stage antics, made them Britain's most exciting live band. The Who became a permanent fixture on the British charts. By 1967, they had begun to make inroads in the states, and brilliant performance at the Monterey pop festival was followed by the band's first top-10 U.S. hit "I Can See For Miles" Pete Townshend was regarded as one of rock's most gifted composers- but his next project saw him hailed as a visionary genius! The saga of a deaf, dumb, and blind boy who becomes a "Pinball Wizard" the ambitious 1969 rock opera "Tommy" was a huge critical and commercial success, and formed the basis of the band's stunning seat at the Woodstock festival that same year. Both "Tommy" and the band's 1973 opera"Quadrophenia" were subsequently made into movies. The Who were giants... but tragedy was looming. Keith's Moon's excessive had become the stuff of rock legend- but had taken a toll on his health. In 1978, the 32-year-old died of an overdose of the drug prescribed to combat his alcoholism. Kenney Jones, formerly of The Faces, took over drum duties for a while until The Who disbanded in 1983. They have since reconvened many times, and in recent years, Zack Starkey, son of Ringo Starr) has played drums. The group was dealt a further blow by the 2002 death of John Entwistle, leaving Daltrey, who has also carved out an acting career, and Townsend to soldier on. A 2006 world tour culminated in the headlining slot at the 2007 Glastonbury Festival.

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