Why did Kenney Jones leave the Who?

I looked on Wikipedia to find out why Kenney Jones left the Who, but there was no mention of the reason for his departure. Did he leave on his on decision, or was he forced out of the band?

 

I've never heard that he was actively "kicked out" ... but he wasn't asked back in 1989 when they did the 20th anniversary tour for Tommy.

Did he play at Live Aid?

 

For one thing, Roger wanted him out. Roger didn't think his style was right for The Who, and he was also apparently against Kenney being made a full partner in the band, rather than just a hired hand.

He really wasn't so much thrown out, as when the whole Tommy tour came about, he just wasn't asked to participate.

He did play Live Aid.

 

I remember once reading it was because of back problems. Don't know if there's truth to that or not.

 

Or to put it in sportspeak....they waived his option!

 

From what I've read it was a combination of both. Realizing that Keith Moon could never be replaced, the Who decided on a more song based approach, with a steadier, less flashy drum style. Unfortunately, it did not click with hardcore Who fans. Townshend was going through a personal identity crisis, having lost his best friend. This affected the song writing. And for some reason, the band chose Eagles producer Bill Symczyck. Live, although an excellent drummer in his own idiom, Jones could not match the dynamics that Moon had in his heyday on the classic Who material. This was a rough period for the Who. After 2 fairly forgettable albums they called it a day. And when they reformed, Jones was not included.

 

http://www.contactmusic.com:80/news.nsf/article/daltrey salutes brave drummer jones_1049324

ROGER DALTREY - DALTREY SALUTES BRAVE DRUMMER JONES
ROGER DALTREY has poured praise on former bandmate KENNEY JONES for having the guts to talk about his tempestuous time as THE WHO's drummer in a new documentary. The rocker forced Jones, who replaced Keith Moon in the lineup, out of the band in the late 1980s - after he'd provided beats for Daltrey and Pete Townshend for a decade. And the "My Generation" singer was pleasantly surprised when Jones agreed to talk about his time with The Who for new documentary Amazing Journey: The Story Of The Who. He says, "It took a lot of courage for Kenney to do that... I'm sure it's still painful for him to have to revisit. "The great thing is we're still all friends out of all this and we respect each other and we love each other."

 

Roger was really getting down on Kenney Jones in an interview I read a couple of years ago in MOJO or somewhere. Basically saying that the whole period with Jones in the band was a mistake.

 

KJ did not help his cause much when during the recording of Face Dances, he accused Pete of saving his best songs for his solo efforts...

 

That's kind of like saying Syd Barrett wasn't kicked out of Pink Floyd -- they just stopped inviting him along to gigs and recording sessions.

To answer your question, yes, he played at Live Aid. However, his last performance with The Who was in February 1988, when the band received the BPI Lifetime Achievement Award.

 

When he accused, or when he told it like it is?

At least Face Dances wasn't all Jones' fault.

 

It's no secret that Roger gave Pete and John an ultimatum for the 1989 tour "it's either him or me."

TheOx

 

REALLY? wow - I never knew that! I didn't love Kenney's style, however I thought he played VERY well at the famous Toronto farewell in 1982. Zak is the natural fit in my mind, don't you all think? I enjoyed Simon Phillips much better as well, but he's no Zak.

 

I recall reading comments from Pete saying that Zak had really revitalized the live performances of the band to a level they had not achieved in many years.
Quite a legacy of percussion in the Starkey family.

 

Kenny was what I call a AL JARDINE move. He was never fired so much as he read that the Who were going out on tour and he knew nothing about it. lol

Its a shame but the day Keith died, my buddies and I got together, turned up the stereo as loud as we could and got so drunk. I remember turning to my friend George and in a very drunkin stupor saying "There is only one man who can fill those shoes..KENNY JONES" I was a majot Faces fan and they has bit the dust. At the time I also thought Ian Mcgladen (?) should have joined on keyboards instead of Rabbit. As I said we were really REALLY drunk at the time. In fact I think I broke George's Mothers broom when I "windmilled" it during Won't Get Fooled Again" lol

 

Well, I find Jones' statement to be pretty accurate. Compare the songs on Empty Glass to what came on Face Dances. Or compare Face Dances to what came out a year later on Chinese Eyes. The best stuff was saved for his solo albums.

 

I found a interview with Pete from a few years ago and he now admits that EMPTY GLASS should have been a Who album and he did hold back he best stuff. He also thinks Face Dances would have made a better solo lp.

 

Maybe it's cause he is a entry level drummer at best. With Pete Townshend using Mark Brzickie (sp?) who is a great drummer, why use a lame one like Kenny.

I know 20 amateur drummers that could kick his ***.

 

Kenney wasn't a weak or bad drummer. Listen to his work with The Small Faces. He really pushed Steve Marriott musically. He deserves his props.

The problem many have with Kenney is that he wasn't Keith. I wonder how fans would've reacted if Kenney or some other drummer had tried to play in Keith's style. I imagine they'd have been screaming "copycat".

I'll take Kenney over Simon Phillips anyday.

 

I agree. Kenney was not a bad drummer at all and the fact that he was a "mate" was very important. Similar to the addition of Ron Wood to the Stones.

 

I don't want to highjack this threat but no too many people know that after Keith's death The Who asked Cesar Zuiderwijk first to join the band. Remember: Golden Earring and The Who were labelmates (Track), toured together in the early '70's and had at one time their business affairs being taken care of by Dutch producer, manager and record co. exec. Freddie Haayen.

Cesar Zuiderwijk declined the offer. Het would have been a MUCH better substitute (no pun intended) than Kenney Jones. He decided to stay loyal to his band though. A good decision, I think. The Who remained inactive for many years while Golden Earring continued to tour and bring out albums.

BTW, on an even more unrelated note: Jimi Hendrix once saw Golden Earring play in NY - it must have been around '69 - and asked their manager (Haayen) if he could get their bass player Rinus Gerritsen.

These guys were in demand back then...

 

Kenny just wasn't good enough for the WHO. I saw them during their UK tour with him on the sticks. It was like the band were being strangled. Power and dynamics were lost.

 

I remember hearing once that The Who either was considering asking or actually did ask Phil Collins to join as drummer, ca. 1985 - anything to that?

 

Yup. No disagreement there - I still listen to EG a lot, probably even a bit more than my Canadian CD of Oo's Next.

However, it's hard (pun intended ) for me to imagine the Kenny Jones-era 'Oo bettering Pete's renditions of the Empty Glass tunes.

 

My God...Roger singing In The Air Tonight.....lol