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The Who

Speed King

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Mar 27, 2018
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2,130
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58
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Rockford, IL
#1

Official Website: https://www.thewho.com/

Members:

Roger Daltrey
Pete Townsend
John Entwhistle
Keith Moon


Albums: (The album name is a link to the album thread with album video)

My Generation (1965)
A Quick One (1966)
The Who Sell Out (1967)
Tommy (1968)
Who's Next (1971)
Quadrophenia (1973)
The Who By The Numbers (1975)
Who Are You (1978)
Face Dances (1981)
It's Hard (1982)
Endless Wire (2006)

The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey (lead vocals, harmonica and guitar), Pete Townshend (guitar, keyboards and vocals), John Entwistle (bass guitar, brass and vocals) and Keith Moon (drums and percussion). They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction. The Who have sold about 100 million records, and have charted 27 top forty singles in the United Kingdom and United States, as well as 17 top ten albums, with 18 Gold, 12 Platinum and 5 Multi-Platinum album awards in the United States alone.
The Who rose to fame in the UK with a series of top ten hit singles, boosted in part by pirate radio stations such as Radio Caroline, beginning in January 1965 with "I Can't Explain". The albums My Generation (1965), A Quick One (1966) and The Who Sell Out (1967) followed, with the first two reaching the UK top five. They first hit the US Top 40 in 1967 with "Happy Jack" and hit the top ten later that year with "I Can See for Miles". Their fame grew with memorable performances at the Monterey Pop, Woodstock and Isle of Wight music festivals. The 1969 release of Tommy was the first in a series of top ten albums in the US, followed by Live at Leeds (1970), Who's Next (1971), Quadrophenia (1973), The Who by Numbers (1975), Who Are You (1978) and The Kids Are Alright (1979).
Moon died at the age of 32 in 1978, after which the band released two studio albums, the UK and US top five Face Dances (1981) and the US top ten It's Hard (1982), with drummer Kenney Jones, before disbanding in 1983. They re-formed at events such as Live Aid and for reunion tours such as their 25th anniversary tour (1989) and the Quadrophenia tours of 1996 and 1997. In 2000, the three surviving original members discussed recording an album of new material, but their plans temporarily stalled upon Entwistle's death at the age of 57 in 2002. Townshend and Daltrey continue to perform as The Who, and in 2006 they released the studio album Endless Wire, which reached the top ten in the UK and US.
 
Last edited:

Magic

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Staff member
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Mar 27, 2018
Messages
3,967
Location
USA
#2
December 3,1979. I will never forget that night. I can still feel the panic, hear the screams, and remember how it felt to be trapped.....unable to move.

image.jpeg


Back then, there were no assigned seats for concerts. Everyone would line up waiting for the doors to open and run for the best seats.

I had been to several concerts at the Coliseum before The Who and there was never too much problems with pushing and shoving to get in the doors. But December 3, 1979 was a different story.

I have read quite a few accounts and "official" explanations for what happened but none of them are truly what I remember. What I recall is being outside, and it was very crowded. You have to realize that the Coliseum was huge and had many entrance doors so the crowds were all around the building. There were thousands of people waiting to get inside.

The doors were suppose to open at a certain time. It would give people plenty of time to find seats, however, there was a delay in opening the doors. People began pushing and shoving their way close to the doors. We were packed in like sheep.

For some reason, the Coliseum decided they were not going to open all the doors. Of course, the crowds waiting didn't know this.....and in the past, all doors would open with ticket takers at each door. (Later learned they didn't have enough ticket takers for all the doors)

I wasn't real close to the doors but close enough to hear music....live music....and it was The Who. People started going crazy. Pushing, yelling, banging on the glass doors and windows. The doors on the side of the building where I was were not opening. Here is where the stampede started. The crowd began pushing towards the doors that were opened. People were being knocked down, dragged, and trampled on. Just imagine a mosh pit on steroids!

Thank god one of the people I was with was 6'3" and a big husky guy. He basically held on to me like a sack of potatoes and and plowed forward with the crowd. I couldn't see much of what was going on but I remember being terrified. My friend later told me he stepped on someone but there was no way to stop and actually see what or who he stepped on. Once we got inside, it was still pandemonium. You couldn't go out to see what was happening outside but word travelled fast that people were trampled to death.

I remember feeling sick, and shaking for the longest time after we found seats. We didn't know if there was still going to be a concert, however, The Who, unaware of the chaos, performed as planned.


The live music we heard was a late sound check by the Who.


Officials blamed the incident on "first come, first serve seating". My opinion is different. I blame the Coliseum management for not having better crowd control and opening doors at a scheduled time.
 

Slow Poke

Active member
Joined
May 6, 2018
Messages
58
Age
48
Location
BFE
#7
I didn't remember this happening because I was too young, but I do remember an episode (a rerun) of WKRP in Cincinnati featuring this tragic event.
December 3,1979. I will never forget that night. I can still feel the panic, hear the screams, and remember how it felt to be trapped.....unable to move.

View attachment 110

Back then, there were no assigned seats for concerts. Everyone would line up waiting for the doors to open and run for the best seats.

I had been to several concerts at the Coliseum before The Who and there was never too much problems with pushing and shoving to get in the doors. But December 3, 1979 was a different story.

I have read quite a few accounts and "official" explanations for what happened but none of them are truly what I remember. What I recall is being outside, and it was very crowded. You have to realize that the Coliseum was huge and had many entrance doors so the crowds were all around the building. There were thousands of people waiting to get inside.

The doors were suppose to open at a certain time. It would give people plenty of time to find seats, however, there was a delay in opening the doors. People began pushing and shoving their way close to the doors. We were packed in like sheep.

For some reason, the Coliseum decided they were not going to open all the doors. Of course, the crowds waiting didn't know this.....and in the past, all doors would open with ticket takers at each door. (Later learned they didn't have enough ticket takers for all the doors)

I wasn't real close to the doors but close enough to hear music....live music....and it was The Who. People started going crazy. Pushing, yelling, banging on the glass doors and windows. The doors on the side of the building where I was were not opening. Here is where the stampede started. The crowd began pushing towards the doors that were opened. People were being knocked down, dragged, and trampled on. Just imagine a mosh pit on steroids!

Thank god one of the people I was with was 6'3" and a big husky guy. He basically held on to me like a sack of potatoes and and plowed forward with the crowd. I couldn't see much of what was going on but I remember being terrified. My friend later told me he stepped on someone but there was no way to stop and actually see what or who he stepped on. Once we got inside, it was still pandemonium. You couldn't go out to see what was happening outside but word travelled fast that people were trampled to death.

I remember feeling sick, and shaking for the longest time after we found seats. We didn't know if there was still going to be a concert, however, The Who, unaware of the chaos, performed as planned.


The live music we heard was a late sound check by the Who.


Officials blamed the incident on "first come, first serve seating". My opinion is different. I blame the Coliseum management for not having better crowd control and opening doors at a scheduled time.
 

Pat Catalano

Active member
Joined
May 24, 2018
Messages
47
Age
53
Location
Chicago
#8
Truth be told when I first heard The Who I was at a school carnival and one of the rides kept playing "You Better You Bet" I was blown away and every time I hear this song it takes me back to being a little kid standing in front of that ride listening to that song and that turned me on to a whole new world of music!!