The Who Tour 1974

The Who Tour 1974

Tour by The Who
Associated album	"Quadrophenia"
Start date	8 February 1974
End date	14 June 1974
Legs	2
No. of shows	14
The Who concert chronology

The Who Tour 1974 was The Who's second concert tour supporting their latest album, Quadrophenia.

History

After beginning work in January on the soundtrack for the Tommy film, the band played a mini-tour of France in February, continuing to feature Quadrophenia as the centerpiece of their shows as in 1973. In May, the group took breaks amidst more work on the film to play three shows, including a large outdoor concert at The Valley in Charlton, London, headlining an event that also featured such acts as Bad Company, Humble Pie, Montrose, and Lindisfarne. The set was altered considerably for these shows, with less Quadrophenia material featured and the return of several older numbers that had fallen out of their act of late. Another break on the film saw the band play four shows in New York City, where the band had not played during their 12-date North American tour in late 1973. These would be their last shows until October 1975, after the recording of The Who by Numbers.

Material from the 18 May Charlton performance was frequently aired on BBC radio broadcasts following the event.

Live releases

Live material from 1974 that has seen release all comes from the group's performance at The Valley in Charlton, London on 18 May and has appeared on the following:

• A medley including "Naked Eye", "Let's See Action", and "My Generation Blues" appears on the Greatest Hits Live compilation album.
• The "Naked Eye" medley also appears, along with "Young Man Blues," "Tattoo," and "Boris the Spider," on the 2007 compilation album View from a Backstage Pass.
• "Substitute", "Drowned", "Bell Boy", and "My Generation Blues" appear on the Thirty Years of Maximum R&B Live video and DVD.

Tour band

• Roger Daltrey – lead vocals, harmonica
• Pete Townshend – lead guitar, vocals, tambourine
• John Entwistle – bass guitar, vocals
• Keith Moon – drums, percussion, vocals

Typical set lists

French tour

A short French tour started from 8 February in Lille and ended on 24 February in Lyon. This was considered the second leg of the previous year's tour in support of the Quadrophenia album. The final concert of this leg would be the last Quadrophenia-centric concert by The Who until the Hyde Park concert in 1996. Here is a fairly typical set list from this tour (all songs written by Pete Townshend unless specified otherwise).

1. "I Can't Explain"
2. "Summertime Blues" (Eddie Cochran, Jerry Capehart)
3. "My Wife" (John Entwistle)
4. "My Generation"
5. "The Real Me"
6. "The Punk and the Godfather"
7. "I'm One" (not performed on 10 February)
8. "5.15"
9. "Sea and Sand"
10. "Drowned"
11. "Bell Boy"
12. "Doctor Jimmy"
13. "Love, Reign o'er Me"
14. "Won't Get Fooled Again"
15. "Pinball Wizard"
16. "See Me, Feel Me"

Encores (variations of the following list):

• "Substitute"
  • Performed on 10 and 24 February.
• "Let's See Action"
  • Performed on 8 and 10 February.
• "Naked Eye"
  • Performed on 8, 9 and 10 February.
• "Magic Bus"
  • Performed on 9 and 10 February.
• "Spoonful" (Willie Dixon)
  • Performed on 8 and 9 February.

There were some set list substitutions, variations, and order switches during the tour. "I'm One" was not performed on 10 February following a power outage; in the same concert, "My Generation" was played twice, as both the fourth and final songs. In Lyon, on 24 February, "Bell Boy" and "Drowned" switched places.

UK/US performances

The band played three shows in May, beginning on 6 May at New Theatre Oxford. These shows saw a shorter selection of Quadrophenia material and the return of songs like "Young Man Blues", "Baba O'Riley", and "Boris the Spider", among others. A four night stand at Madison Square Garden in New York City ended on 14 June with a triple-guitar-smash by Townshend and Moon (although some reports have Daltrey joining in). That was the last The Who concert until 1975. Here is a fairly typical set list from this leg (actual setlist taken from the 18 May Charlton show). All songs written by Pete Townshend unless specified otherwise.

1. "I Can't Explain"
2. "Summertime Blues" (Eddie Cochran, Jerry Capehart)
3. "Young Man Blues" (Mose Allison)
4. "Baba O'Riley"
5. "Behind Blue Eyes"
6. "Substitute"
7. "I'm a Boy" (dropped after 10 June)
8. "Tattoo"
9. "Boris the Spider" (John Entwistle)
10. "Drowned"
11. "Bell Boy"
12. "Doctor Jimmy"
13. "Won't Get Fooled Again"
14. "Pinball Wizard"
15. "See Me, Feel Me"

Encores (variations of the following list):

• "5.15"
  • Performed on 18 and 22 May; and 10, 11 and 13 June (not as encores).
• "Magic Bus"
  • Performed on 18 and 22 May; and 10 and 14 June (not as encores).
• "My Generation"
  • Performed on 18 and 22 May and 13 June; and 10, 11 and 14 June (not as encores).
• "Naked Eye"
  • Performed on 18 and 22 May and 14 June; and 10 June (not as encore).
• "Let's See Action"
  • Performed on 18 and 22 May.
• "My Generation Blues"
  • Performed on 18 and 22 May (twice); and 10, 11 and 14 June (not as encores).
• "Eyesight to the Blind (The Hawker)" (Sonny Boy Williamson II)
  • Performed on 22 May.
• "Feel So Fine" (Johnny Preston)
  • Performed on 22 May.
• "The Punk and the Godfather"
  • Performed on 11, 13 and 14 June.
• "You Really Got Me" (Ray Davies)
  • Performed on 13 June.
• "Gloria" (Van Morrison)
  • Performed on 13 June.
• "Big Boss Man" (Al Smith, Luther Dixon)
  • Performed on 13 June.
• "I'm One"
  • Performed on 14 June.

There were some set list substitutions, variations, and order switches during the tour. Many songs from the encore were sometimes played in the regular set, and vice versa. Also, some other songs were played which are not in the above list:

• "Wasp Man" (Keith Moon)
  • Performed on 10 June.
• "My Wife" (Entwistle)
  • Performed on 14 June.

Tour dates

See also

• List of The Who tours and performances

References

• Neill, Andy; Matt Kent (2002). Anyway Anyhow Anywhere: The Complete Chronicles of The Who 1958–1978. Barnes & Noble. ISBN 1-58663-133-0. 

External links

• The Who Online Concert Guide
• Quadrophenia.net: Website devoted to Quadrophenia and its tours