Why did The Who break up?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Baba Oh Really, Dec 18, 2014.

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  1. keifspoon

    keifspoon Senior Member

    Location:
    New Jersey, USA
    They were still good....but they used to be the best.
     
  2. PacificOceanBlue

    PacificOceanBlue Senior Member

    Location:
    The Southwest
    When Pete decided to end working with The Who in 1982, Daltrey had no other choice but to comply. When Pete agreed to perform at Live Aid and tour for the band's 25th Anniversary, Roger was happy to go along with it. In the case of the 25th Anniversary tour, Roger complied with Pete's wishes of an expansive touring band even though he didn't want it. When Pete wanted to put together a Quadrophenia project in '96, Roger was more than happy join. When Pete decided he wanted to relaunch The Who in '99/'00, Roger came aboard. Roger never balked at these opportunities; when Pete called, Roger came running. Yes, Roger was an aggressive personality and even punched out Pete in '73, but in the end, Pete was the one in control (and still is).
     
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  3. keifspoon

    keifspoon Senior Member

    Location:
    New Jersey, USA
    It's all Pete, unless you don't like the setlists.....than you can blame Roger. :)
     
  4. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    ...Pete is a great writer, Roger is a great singer and performer...There would be no WHO without Roger...Just The Pete Townsend Band...and that would pale against THE WHO.
    ...see how much control when he doesn't have Roger as a front man...
     
  5. PacificOceanBlue

    PacificOceanBlue Senior Member

    Location:
    The Southwest
    No one has suggested that there would be a Who without Roger. That is not what our exchange was about; our exchange started when I said Pete calls the shots. And he does. Pete won't have to worry about a scenario where he has no control due to Roger not being there, because whenever he wants Roger to record and perform with The Who, Roger is there.
     
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  6. wildstar

    wildstar Senior Member

    Location:
    ontario, canada
    According to Townshend, at the time of Empty Glass, either Daltrey or Jones complained that he was keeping all his best compositions for himself, rather than giving the band first refusal to pick through everything, and using the best of the leftovers for his solo albums as he had prior to Empty Glass. Townshend said his reply was something akin to 'Too bad, the band's over' (I'm assuming he meant the band's irrelevant since they obviously weren't 'over' since they continued for another 2 albums).

    Face Dances was a pretty decent "son of Empty Glass" album, as it probably consisted of the best of his leftover EG compositions at the time.

    It's Hard (To Listen To) on the other hand.....
     
  7. reb

    reb Money Beats Soul

    Location:
    Long Island
    Interesting to think back to Woodstock '98. Entwistle and Townshend both performed with their own bands. Then out of nowhere, in 1999 the band reforms with Pete sporting the electric guitar. That I'm most grateful for as the 2000 tour was pretty darn good.
     
  8. PhoffiFozz

    PhoffiFozz Forum Resident

    This is so true. So many people think it has so much to do with Moon dying. But I feel like had they all lived they still would have broken up or fallen apart around then. This was a long time coming, from the mid-70's Townshend not wanting to tour, Keith struggling from not touring, living in different countries, all doing solo projects.

    It was a hard period to have a band and keep it going. Had Moon lived it still wouldn't have been 'the same' band.

    They were burned out. - Personally, I like all of their output and I don't feel that comments like "Townshend couldn't write anymore" are 'real reasons'. Those are our speculations, and our own feelings, which the band has helped create and support over the years with their own comments.

    For instance, many of the band members dislike for the Face Dances material makes it an easier for us to say "yeah, it's not good enough" if we happen to not like it. But the reality is, there is some wonderful music in that period. Some of my favorites in fact. But the band were having tough times internally, they were not all on the same wavelength.

    And what I got from Townshend's book and other interviews is that Roger didn't want Kenney in the band, not because he didn't like Kenney or his drumming, but because he wasn't sure that Kenney was the right fit for the band. Making him a permanent member was going to solidify him before it was justified if he should be there. It's not a talent thing, it's not even a personal thing, it's a chemistry thing. But Pete & John seemed to love playing with Kenney and I can see why. So, they won. But, you know, Roger was probably right in the end.

    I personally love Kenney and I do love a LOT of what he brought to the new material he played on. And I feel he probably even would have brought some great ideas to Who Are You had he been on that album. I know I liked what he did with those songs on stage.

    He didn't however always feel right on the old material. And I get why people don't like to hear some of that stuff with Kenney. But I do feel it was important for Kenney to be Kenney and not 'Keith part 2'. So what was going to be right for them at the time?

    Outside of the Who, I love a lot of what Kenney did. Or even on things such as "I'm Free" from the Tommy Soundtrack.

    I think Roger started realizing after 1979 that Kenney wasn't setting the right feel for the songs... for Roger anyway. Obviously John & Pete felt differently. And then, like Rabbit, like Pete and probably even John to some degree, Kenney started having his own personal problems.

    It was a mess. And by that time in a career, it's very complicated. There is never one reason, one answer or one perspective that tells the whole story.

    It's different now, it is acceptable now for a band to take years off between albums and projects. To get space. To be human. No one has to say 'we've broken up'.
     
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  9. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    excellent post my friend...summed it up well.
    I find it annoying how ppl will dismiss Roger who IMO was so important to their success.. Pete a great writer and musician but wasn't as good of a front man something that is extremely important in a BAND...
     
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  10. PacificOceanBlue

    PacificOceanBlue Senior Member

    Location:
    The Southwest
    Roger claims he complained about not liking It's Hard and telling Pete that they should re-record it and start over. Pete said that was the album and that was what was coming out. Pete calls the shots.
     
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  11. keifspoon

    keifspoon Senior Member

    Location:
    New Jersey, USA
    Correct me if I'm wrong, (it was over 30 years ago) but I don't remember The Who announcing anything. At the time, Pete just had enough and left. While Roger and John wanted to continue.
     
  12. O Don Piano

    O Don Piano Senior Member

    Don't mind that guy. That's what he does!
     
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  13. BadJack

    BadJack doorman who always high-fives children of divorce

    Location:
    Boston, MA
    Roger and John should've kept going without Pete, so that fans could spend three decades arguing over whether their version of "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" should be considered a true Who album.
     
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  14. O Don Piano

    O Don Piano Senior Member

    :edthumbs:
    Great post!
    Only The Who know exactly what went down. All we know is what we've read. And sometimes the story changes ever so slightly or completely! It has to be a lot more complicated than we can imagine.
    I've seen them 6-7 times since 1980. They were great each time! I'm glad they decided to keep going. Why not? Performing is what they do.
    I hope to see them next year, but Daltrey needs to stay well.
     
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  15. keifspoon

    keifspoon Senior Member

    Location:
    New Jersey, USA
    Maybe a little semantics here, but Pete played in '98 as part of A Day in the Garden Festival. John played the next year at Woodstock. What I find interesting, is, how they came to meet in the middle in '99. Pete set was fairly light, while John's band, as usual was blasting away. I'm sure there were some compromises there.
     
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  16. reb

    reb Money Beats Soul

    Location:
    Long Island
    Iirc, there was a contractual obligation to Warners for two more albums. Entwistle worked on compiling Who's Last which was released in 1984. Shortly after, Pete got together with his buddy David Gilmour. White City was released which in turn spawned the new band Deep End.
     
  17. keifspoon

    keifspoon Senior Member

    Location:
    New Jersey, USA
    Yes, that I do remember. He intended to turn the Who into a purely studio recording group, but after spending part of 1983 trying to write material for that contractually obligated album, the frustrated guitarist declared that he could no longer generate music appropriate for the Who.
     
  18. Fullbug

    Fullbug Forum Resident

    Location:
    Seattle
    Pete/alcohol/jealousy/burnout
     
  19. Muzyck

    Muzyck Pardon my scruffy hospitality

    Location:
    Long Island
    Because breaking up makes it that much easier to go on the "Final Tour" and subsequent the "reunion" tours. ;)
     
  20. Fullbug

    Fullbug Forum Resident

    Location:
    Seattle
    Wrong. That's the Van Halen story, but Pete doesn't think that way.
     
  21. keifspoon

    keifspoon Senior Member

    Location:
    New Jersey, USA
    I had that Deep End show on VHS. Lent it to a guy at work, who quit so I never saw it again.:mad: Though he did give me The Doors Live at the Hollywood Bowl which I still have. :pleased:
     
  22. vinyldreams

    vinyldreams Forum Resident

    Location:
    Main St.
    The '82 tour was announced as their "final" tour.
     
  23. reb

    reb Money Beats Soul

    Location:
    Long Island
    I recently picked that up on DVD from an online grey area vendor. It's obvious the source is the VHS tape, but the quality is decent enough.
     
  24. Rfreeman

    Rfreeman Senior Member

    Location:
    Lawrenceville, NJ
    Obviously to sell more tickets to one tour by billing it as a final tour, and then to sell more tickets to the next tour by billing it as a reunion. Two decades later they are playing the same game touting this tour as the beginningof the long farewell, trusting that their fans are senile enough to forget past farewell tours.

    They stand out as one of the most cynical $ motivated bandsthere is. Right around the time of that first farewell Pete did an interview with Musician mag almost boasting about how nicely he was cashing in by licensing his tunes to ads, so maybe he thought announcing a farewell tour would also enhance that revenue stream.
     
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  25. keifspoon

    keifspoon Senior Member

    Location:
    New Jersey, USA
    I meant the breakup in 1983.
     
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