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The Who: 50 Years: The Official History
The only official history of The Who—created with the full cooperation of Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey, and spectacularly illustrated with rare photographs and memorabilia—published in conjunction with the fiftieth anniversary of the release of the band's first album, My Generation, and their celebratory world tour.
Three legendary bands are revered as the holy trinity of modern rock and roll: The Beatles. The Rolling Stones. The Who. This landmark publication is the first official history of The Who featuring exclusive access to never-before-published images and memorabilia from the band's own archive, and from other sources including collectors and fans.
Blending memoir, history, and music, The Who explores the influences that shaped the band and its members, from Britain’s post-war austerity to Elvis, Lonnie Donegan, and American youth counter-culture. It follows them through the Mod and Pop years and the furiously fast sixties, and charts the hit singles—"My Generation," "I’m a Boy,, "The Kids Are Alright," and "Pinball Wizard." It revels in memories of making it big in America and inspiring Jimi Hendrix to set his guitar on fire, and much more.
It records the band’s highs—their groundbreaking artistic achievements of Tommy and Quadrophenia—and the devastating lows—the loss of Keith Moon and John Entwistle. The Who documents the extraordinary story of how a tax inspector, sheet metal worker, art school stoner and maverick drummer—John Entwistle, Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend and Keith Moon—became one of the most famous and enduring musical acts of modern times and transformed the world, creating the sound of a generation.
The Who includes approximately 500 color and black-and-white photos, band and fan memorabilia, and archive material; Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey are writing the captions, providing an extra layer to the book; and there is a special pullout feature spreads providing vivid background social history and context.
Three legendary bands are revered as the holy trinity of modern rock and roll: The Beatles. The Rolling Stones. The Who. This landmark publication is the first official history of The Who featuring exclusive access to never-before-published images and memorabilia from the band's own archive, and from other sources including collectors and fans.
Blending memoir, history, and music, The Who explores the influences that shaped the band and its members, from Britain’s post-war austerity to Elvis, Lonnie Donegan, and American youth counter-culture. It follows them through the Mod and Pop years and the furiously fast sixties, and charts the hit singles—"My Generation," "I’m a Boy,, "The Kids Are Alright," and "Pinball Wizard." It revels in memories of making it big in America and inspiring Jimi Hendrix to set his guitar on fire, and much more.
It records the band’s highs—their groundbreaking artistic achievements of Tommy and Quadrophenia—and the devastating lows—the loss of Keith Moon and John Entwistle. The Who documents the extraordinary story of how a tax inspector, sheet metal worker, art school stoner and maverick drummer—John Entwistle, Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend and Keith Moon—became one of the most famous and enduring musical acts of modern times and transformed the world, creating the sound of a generation.
The Who includes approximately 500 color and black-and-white photos, band and fan memorabilia, and archive material; Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey are writing the captions, providing an extra layer to the book; and there is a special pullout feature spreads providing vivid background social history and context.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
May 27, 2016
For an "official history", this is woefully incomplete. Maybe that's the point of an "official history"; sanitize the more unsavory bits that the surviving band members would prefer to forget. However, Pete's ego comes through loud and clear. And while the objective of placing the band firmly in their time period by having essays about WWII, the Teds, the Mods, etc, sprinkled throughout the book is a noble one, it doesn't work.
Anyway Anyhow Anywhere : The Complete Chronicle of the Who is a better volume.
There are a lot of great pictures though. Fantastic pictorial history.
Anyway Anyhow Anywhere : The Complete Chronicle of the Who is a better volume.
There are a lot of great pictures though. Fantastic pictorial history.
February 10, 2025
3.5 stars rounded up
Far from perfect (some sentences just plain did not make sense. And boy was there a lot of repetition )and not full of much that I didn't already know, this was still a fun read. Especially the pictures. I always like being reminded of things that I loved 30 years ago that I still love now. And this did just that.
Far from perfect (some sentences just plain did not make sense. And boy was there a lot of repetition )and not full of much that I didn't already know, this was still a fun read. Especially the pictures. I always like being reminded of things that I loved 30 years ago that I still love now. And this did just that.
November 6, 2015
Can't recommend this enough!
April 2, 2016
A stylish collection of photographs, odds & sods but, for a more comprehensive band history, I'd go with The Who: Maximum R&B by Richard Barnes or Before I Get Old: The Story of the Who by Dave Marsh.
September 27, 2018
Great photo archive more than history itself.
April 4, 2017
Olen usein ihmetellyt the Whon asemaa kolmen suurimman rock-yhtyeen joukossa the Beatlesin ja Rolling Stonesin rinnalla. The Who julkaisi urallaan verrattavan vähän musiikkia ja listojen kärkeen orkesterilla ei juuri ollut asiaa. Puhumattakaan siitä, että Suomessa yhtye on ihmeen tuntematon.
Kirja toi esille bändin tarinan lisäksi paljon ajankuvaa sekä Britannian nuorisokulttuuria kuusikymmentäluvulta. Samalla selvisi kuinka yhtye toi julki nuorten tunteita, turhautumista ja puhutteli etenkin aikuistuvia miehiä. Muut aikalaiset tekivät kivoja lauluja yleisölleen, mutta the Who puhui yleisönsä kieltä. Yhtye toimi edelläkävijänä kovaäänisyydessä, konseptialbumeissa, soitinten rikkomisessa, elektronisessa musiikissa, keppostelemisessa... Kuin ohimennen yhtye tuli luoneeksi useita rock ´n rollin tavaramerkeistä. Paikka kolmen suuren joukossa on kiistaton.
Luin kirjan rinnakkain Pete Townshendin omaelämänkerran kanssa ja aika paljon the Who: Virallinen tarina on lainannut materiaalia kirjasta. Siitäkin huolimatta kyseessä on itsenäinen teos. Oikestaan tällaisia bändikirjoja lukee mieluummin näin komeasti kuvitettuna, mukavasti taitettuna ja tiukkaan tiivistettynä, kuin perinteisen kirjan muodossa.
Kirja toi esille bändin tarinan lisäksi paljon ajankuvaa sekä Britannian nuorisokulttuuria kuusikymmentäluvulta. Samalla selvisi kuinka yhtye toi julki nuorten tunteita, turhautumista ja puhutteli etenkin aikuistuvia miehiä. Muut aikalaiset tekivät kivoja lauluja yleisölleen, mutta the Who puhui yleisönsä kieltä. Yhtye toimi edelläkävijänä kovaäänisyydessä, konseptialbumeissa, soitinten rikkomisessa, elektronisessa musiikissa, keppostelemisessa... Kuin ohimennen yhtye tuli luoneeksi useita rock ´n rollin tavaramerkeistä. Paikka kolmen suuren joukossa on kiistaton.
Luin kirjan rinnakkain Pete Townshendin omaelämänkerran kanssa ja aika paljon the Who: Virallinen tarina on lainannut materiaalia kirjasta. Siitäkin huolimatta kyseessä on itsenäinen teos. Oikestaan tällaisia bändikirjoja lukee mieluummin näin komeasti kuvitettuna, mukavasti taitettuna ja tiukkaan tiivistettynä, kuin perinteisen kirjan muodossa.
July 16, 2018
Great documented history with many pictures I have never seen before.
March 13, 2016
A bit disappointed in this coffee-table book. It just skimmed the surface of The Who. I guess all I can do is hope that Roger Daltry writes a book.
January 22, 2019
With a band as contentious as The Who, getting Ben Marshall to guide us with the straight dope seems a stretch. It has literally taken 50 years for the band to come to terms with their explosive selves. Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey being the iconic remaining members leaves us with more of Townshend's side of the story than Daltrey. Even though both appear as authors on the cover, we only ever see Townshend's asides in the photo captions. With the November 2018 release of Daltrey's autobiography, now we have a second viewpoint to contest Townshend's version of things. This is important, given the band disagreed and fought a lot over big ambitions, procrastination, and showing up sober to concerts. This book makes no attempt at unbiased fairness through its photographs and monographs for various stages of the band's journey, but needs reading other sources, non-Townshend sources, for clarity. Another reason I mention this is the ending of this book: Pete snarks at further embellishment of The Who's mythology, as though anyone else's telling would be yet more obfuscation. Daltrey gave artistic control to Pete from the start, and Pete's penchant for story took over until decades later, when Daltrey again stood with a guitar on stage, and had input on songs. Their tug of war, which also played out among the now deceased members - drummer Keith Moon and bassist John Entwhistle - can be felt in this book. I'm chuffed to see, toward the last chapter, Marshall's inclusion of the event that could have decoupled those two from The Who, when Jeff Beck used them to record "Beck's Bolero", inadvertently creating the conditions for the founding of Led Zeppelin. This story, in its various flavors, has been retold so often one can believe in an unadorned myth. Again, the good that Marshall brings is cultural background to inform the band's growth, even if he leans too heavily on superlatives to describe their 'firsts'. But then every fan does that.
February 5, 2025
Overall I enjoyed reading this, lots of interesting bits and nice photos.
The 'with Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey' is odd. There are lots of little quotes about photos labelled 'Pete' but other than that it isn't clear what their input was or who did what.
Unfortunately one of the most memorable bits will probably be the short essay on the hippy movement. 16 paragraphs, of which 1 makes a very tenuous link between the origins of the movement and the nazis, 3-4 deal with the Manson murders, and 3-4 deal with Altamont. With limited space it seems odd that the author used so much of it to emphasize some of the darker episodes of the sixties. What did that have to do with The Who? Not much, unless it was written by Pete or Roger.
Funny how this book left me wondering whose voice it was telling the story in different places - a distinct 'who are you?' sort of feeling. I wonder if that was intentional.
The 'with Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey' is odd. There are lots of little quotes about photos labelled 'Pete' but other than that it isn't clear what their input was or who did what.
Unfortunately one of the most memorable bits will probably be the short essay on the hippy movement. 16 paragraphs, of which 1 makes a very tenuous link between the origins of the movement and the nazis, 3-4 deal with the Manson murders, and 3-4 deal with Altamont. With limited space it seems odd that the author used so much of it to emphasize some of the darker episodes of the sixties. What did that have to do with The Who? Not much, unless it was written by Pete or Roger.
Funny how this book left me wondering whose voice it was telling the story in different places - a distinct 'who are you?' sort of feeling. I wonder if that was intentional.
March 1, 2024
Quindi eravamo in quattro e ora siamo
due. Chi avrà l'ultima parola? Chi
riuscirà a rivedere l'intera storia
degli Who e raccontarla di nuovo senza alcuna smentita? O sono io,
o Rog.
Chiunque di noi rimarrà, sarà molto divertente, storie da raccontare con finali nuovi, nuovi contesti e nuovi significati. Perchè per ognuno di noi il viaggio, a volte sorprendente e talvolta addirittura definitivo umiliante, è stato visto attraverso un diverso paio di occhi. Preparatevi per il rielaborazione del mito!
Pete Townshend
❤️😭
due. Chi avrà l'ultima parola? Chi
riuscirà a rivedere l'intera storia
degli Who e raccontarla di nuovo senza alcuna smentita? O sono io,
o Rog.
Chiunque di noi rimarrà, sarà molto divertente, storie da raccontare con finali nuovi, nuovi contesti e nuovi significati. Perchè per ognuno di noi il viaggio, a volte sorprendente e talvolta addirittura definitivo umiliante, è stato visto attraverso un diverso paio di occhi. Preparatevi per il rielaborazione del mito!
Pete Townshend
❤️😭
January 30, 2023
Ben Marshallin "The Who - virallinen tarina" (Like, 2015) on yhtyeen 50-vuotista taivalta juhlistava historiikki, joka on laadittu yhteistyössä elossa olevien alkuperäisjäsenten Pete Townshendin ja Roger Daltreyn kanssa. Pidin lukemastani, vaikka syvällisin yhtyeestä kirjoitettu teos tämä tuskin on.
Pidin kovasti lukemastani. The Whon tarina käydään läpi tiukasti musiikkiin keskittyen, yhtyeen jäsenten henkilökohtainen elämä jää sivurooliin. Päihdeongelmia tai muita sekoiluja ei pysähdytä repostelemaan.
Tekijät pysähtyvät kuitenkin välillä käsittelemään joitakin yhtyeen vaikutuspiiriin kuuluvia juttuja kuten vaikkapa poptaidetta, englantilaista nuorisokulttuuria ja Brightonin rannoilla käytyjä nahisteluja modien ja rokkareiden välillä.
Valokuvia teokseen oli mahdutettu paljon ja ne olivat toinen toistaan komeampia.
Pidin kovasti lukemastani. The Whon tarina käydään läpi tiukasti musiikkiin keskittyen, yhtyeen jäsenten henkilökohtainen elämä jää sivurooliin. Päihdeongelmia tai muita sekoiluja ei pysähdytä repostelemaan.
Tekijät pysähtyvät kuitenkin välillä käsittelemään joitakin yhtyeen vaikutuspiiriin kuuluvia juttuja kuten vaikkapa poptaidetta, englantilaista nuorisokulttuuria ja Brightonin rannoilla käytyjä nahisteluja modien ja rokkareiden välillä.
Valokuvia teokseen oli mahdutettu paljon ja ne olivat toinen toistaan komeampia.
July 13, 2019
The book is promoted as the definitive account by the band's two surviving members, Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey. Well illustrated though it may be, in fact, it's pretty thin on fresh quotes and fresh insight. For The Who's cultural impact, I recommend Dave Marsh's Before I Get Old. For the most detailed accounting of facts and history, Richard Barnes' Maximum R&B is superior.
March 24, 2025
The Who is the definitive, visually striking history of the legendary band—created with Townshend and Daltrey’s full cooperation. Packed with rare photos, memorabilia, and personal reflections, it charts their rise from post-war Britain to global fame. A powerful blend of music, memory, and cultural history, this official tribute is essential for any fan.
March 13, 2019
Not enough detail about the albums.
February 18, 2025
A must for any fan of the Who.
November 28, 2020
Not what I expected. This only summary of the band. Wanted read more about all the members of The Who.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews