The best of The Who 50 years after My Generation

They had a chemistry to match the very best a manic drummer, roaring singer, solid bassist and guitarist like no other.

The Who were always going to be big, but even the band had no idea just how big.

With a dad who played saxophone and a mum who sang in the RAF’s Second World War entertainment division, Pete Townshend was that rare thing a kid who wanted to be a pop star and had his parents’ backing!

Pete adored Cliff Richard’s Move It the song John Lennon reckoned was Britain’s first rock ’n’ roll song but his pals would do a lot of swapping around before The Who eventually became a proper band.

For instance, Roger Daltrey was a lead guitarist, and John Entwistle a rhythm guitarist whose fingers were too big for the guitar but ideal for French horn.

In the end, Roger took the singing, Pete the guitar, John the bass and horn, and a certain Keith Moon sat in as drummer extraordinaire. Sadly, only Roger and Pete are still with us.

However, The Who would come up with incredible songs over the years, and in concert were one of the greatest bands on Earth.

Loved and much-copied to this day, across the world, they are another of Britain’s Greatest Music Exports, and here are the stories behind 10 of their best songs.

1. My Generation (1965)

The Queen Mother was fond of her daily drive through Belgravia, but the hearse always parked there made her feel a bit sad.

It was a 1935 Packard, belonging to Townshend, and the story goes that she simply had it removed, or the pair agreed a financial deal and it was removed.

Even if Pete actually was recompensed, the incident angered the star, who took out his frustration by writing a classic teenage pop anthem!

Today, Pete says the “Hope I die before I get old” line really meant “Before I get rich”.

Daltrey’s stuttering vocals and the wild guitar sound have inspired groups ever since, though we doubt the Queen Mother liked it!

2. Won’t Get Fooled Again (1971)

Many a fan’s favourite Who song, this one shows why they were called The Greatest Rock ’n’ Roll Band In The World.

Keith Moon is in majestic form, thundering across his drum kit, and Daltrey’s singing is magnificent, but it’s Townshend’s song.

It was supposed to be part of another “rock opera”, about Meher Baba, an Indian spiritual master who inspired some of the group, much like The Beatles had found something in that part of the world.

Although the opera never saw the light of day, this raging, angry song did, and there was absolutely nothing quiet or spiritual about it!

3. 5.15 (1973)

The Quadrophenia album was a sprawling two-disc set, the story of a young Mod leaving home and heading to Brighton in 1965.

As happened to many British kids at that time, he gets caught up in poorly-paid work, beach battles with Rockers, drugs, scooters, parkas, and wondering what life is all about.

It’s fair to say nobody wrote these self-doubting, teenage songs quite like Pete Townshend!

The 5.15 in question is the time of the train to Brighton, and a lot of the lyrics are about the kids’ struggle in post-war Britain.

Forty years on, today’s confused kids still love it.

4. Boris The Spider (1966)

IF you have kids or grandkids who’ve never heard The Who, play them this bizarre little tune and you can guarantee they will be enchanted!

It was written by John Entwistle, following a night on the beer with another famous bass player, the Stones’ Bill Wyman.

What do rock gods talk about while boozing? They make up daft names for animals.

When he sobered up in the morning, he wrote this “horror song” with a big, deep voice repeating the phrase Boris The Spider, and lyrics all about creepy-crawlies.

5. Pinball Wizard (1969)

THE story of the deaf, dumb and blind kid, who was nevertheless a wizard at pinball, the world loved it.

Townshend thought differently. “The clumsiest thing I ever wrote,” he groaned.

However, it was a massive hit, as was Elton John’s version.

In fact, it wasn’t even written when Pete let a respected music reporter hear their next album. Seeing he was unimpressed, and knowing he loved pinball, Townshend went off with pen and paper to write this classic.

6. Tattoo (1967)

Songs like this one demonstrate how The Who can be enjoyed by today’s kids, just as much as they were in the 1960s.

It’s the tale of two brothers, who feel forced to get tattoos because all the other lads are getting them. How topical is that?

The singer has decided that having a tattoo is what will make him a real man, but he and his brother get a hiding from Dad after doing it.

Mum, on the other hand, likes it, especially as it says simply Mother! The lyrics end with one brother “tattooed all over, and his wife is, too.”

As we say, could be a story that happened today!

7. Cousin Kevin (1969)

Another song from the underrated Entwistle, he came up with this number after Pete asked him to “write something horrible”.

It duly arrived, in the shape of this bitter song Entwistle revealed that Cousin Kevin was based on a real boy he had grown up with.

“He lived across the street,” John would reveal, “and our parents thought we should play together, but he was sadistic!”

The idea was to have a sound both childish and sinister, and the man who’d brought us Boris The Spider was just the chap to do it.

8. However Much I Booze (1975)

Townshend is often a painfully honest man, and has written plenty of confessional-type songs over the years.

None more so than this one, said to be based round the night he gave up the demon drink, something that has caused him trouble off and on.

He had written another song, in which a London bobby wakes him up, asleep in a Soho street, recognises him and tells him to scarper or be nicked, and this was just as emotional.

It was so personal, in fact, that when he asked Daltrey to sing it, Roger refused, saying Pete was the only guy who could.

9. Sister Disco (1978)

There can be few Who songs that have caused such disagreement over the years.

Many assumed it was Pete’s way of putting down trendy disco, but he says he likes that kind of music and it is actually about getting too old to attend dance halls any more.

He also said of all their songs, it’s the one he hated playing live most Entwistle said it was the one he enjoyed most!

As for Roger, he said he loved singing it but didn’t have a clue what it’s all about!

Pete had the last word “Maybe it’s about saying goodbye to disco poseurs.”

10. I’ve Known No War (1982)

You don’t find many rock superstars saying they’ve had a safe, easy life compared to previous generations, but that’s what Townshend did here.

At least, that’s one theory.

It seems to be all about looking back at his parents, grandparents and further, and realising he’s the first generation who will never have to fight in a war.

For some, it was about a conscientious objector, for others it’s about the threat of a nuclear war.

We prefer the first idea, but that’s what makes great songs great they mean whatever you want them to mean, especially those by the magnificent Who!