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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Tommy Tour
The Tommy Tour was a concert tour by the English rock band the Who. It was in support of their fourth album, the rock opera Tommy (1969), and consisted of concerts split between North America and Europe. Following a press reception gig, the tour officially began on 9 May 1969 and ended on 20 December 1970. The set list featured the majority of the songs from Tommy, as well as originals and covers.

After multiple rehearsals and warm-up gigs, the band played a private show at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club, London in early May 1969 intended to preview Tommy to the press. Subsequently, the band toured North America playing the new album, which was well received by audiences. Following a UK tour, the band played the Tanglewood Music Shed and the Woodstock festival. After Woodstock, the band headlined the second Isle of Wight festival and played Tommy at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, one of the world's forefront opera houses. The band continued to tour North America, emphasized by eight shows done over the course of six days at the Fillmore East in New York City. The Who ended 1969 with tour of Europe that continued into 1970, including a show at the London Coliseum on 14 December, which was filmed for a possible future Tommy film.

The group began 1970 by bringing Tommy to various European opera houses. During their tour, the critically acclaimed live album Live at Leeds was recorded during a show at the University of Leeds Refectory, Leeds. After the European tour wrapped up, the band returned to the United States for a tour, starting with two shows at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York City in June. Following the tour, the band played several concerts in Europe, including a headlining appearance at the third Isle of Wight festival in August. The band ended the Tommy Tour with a benefit concert at the Roundhouse in London.

History

The Who's live set changed with the introduction of Pete Townshend's rock opera Tommy, which they had begun recording the previous autumn. After a series of rehearsals and warm-up gigs, the band gave a preview concert to the press at London's Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club on 1 May. Realising the opera's narrative was too difficult to comprehend, Townshend explained a synopsis of the story, before the Who played Tommy at roaring volume. The next day, the band flew to New York to start the North American tour, commencing on 9 May at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit. On 29 May, the band began a three-night residency at Chicago's Kinetic Playground. They noticed the audience would all stand up at the same time, and stay standing, indicating that live performances of Tommy had a positive reaction from audiences. After finishing a series of tour dates in San Francisco during June, the Who flew to London to do two shows for the Royal Albert Hall's Pop Proms concert series. The first show resulted into a fracas involving Teddy Boys who attempted to prevent the band from coming on stage, but the second show went smoothly as the Teds were satisfied with renditions of "Summertime Blues" and "Shakin' All Over". On 10 August, the band suspended their UK tour to do two contracted appearances at the Tanglewood Music Shed and the Woodstock festival.

Tommy's "world premiere" took place at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.

After playing a show at Tanglewood on 12 August, the band flew to New York to play a set at Woodstock. Due to a fourteen-hour delay, the band became reluctant to play and demanded their $12,500 fee. The Who were scheduled to perform the previous day, 16 August, but the festival ran late and they did not take to the stage until the early hours of the 17th. After playing "Pinball Wizard", Yippie founder Abbie Hoffman interrupted the show to protest the arrest of John Sinclair before getting kicked offstage by Townshend, and the sun rose almost as if on cue during "See Me, Feel Me". After returning to England, the band headlined the second Isle of Wight festival on 30 August. Though most media attention focused on Bob Dylan making his first British appearance in three years, the Who stole the show. Townshend later said, "We know that the stage act we had, with Tommy in it, would work under any circumstances, because it had worked many times on tour."

The "world premiere" of Tommy took place on 29 September at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, one of the most prestigious opera houses in the world. During the band's entrance, drummer Keith Moon suffered an injury after knocking down two speaker cabinets. The show later became a bootleg recording. The band started another North American tour on 10 October at the Commonwealth Armory in Boston, emphasized by a six-night stand at the Fillmore East in New York City. One show at the Fillmore was attended by Leonard Bernstein, who praised the band for their new music. The Who ended 1969 with a tour of Europe that continued into 1970, including a show at the London Coliseum on 14 December, which was filmed for a possible future Tommy feature.

1970 began with the group bringing Tommy to various European opera houses, a trend they had begun in December 1969 when they performed at the London Coliseum. Included were January stops at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen, and three opera houses in West Germany. The band then focused again on recording a live album. While performances on 14 February at the University of Leeds Refectory and 15 February at Hull City Hall were both recorded, only the Leeds recording was deemed suitable for release, as the bass track was inadvertently not captured during the first few songs at the Hull show. The result was the legendary Live at Leeds, which became a hallmark live rock album.

After beginning recording sessions for a planned new album, the group returned to the United States for a 30-day tour in June and July to support Tommy. In the year since the release of Tommy, the group had become rock superstars and now commanded considerably larger venues than on previous stints in the country, when they played mostly in theatres and colleges. The tour began with the band's final opera house date, as they performed two shows at New York City's Metropolitan Opera House. Following the American tour, the band was one of the headlining acts at the third Isle of Wight festival and embarked on a short European tour shortly afterward. A series of concerts in the United Kingdom followed, the last being a Christmas benefit concert at the Roundhouse in London where they included what was intended to be the last complete performance of Tommy, although it would be played again a few times in 1989. Townshend would lead the group into his Lifehouse vision when they began performing in 1971.

Personnel

Repertoire

The band performed the entirety of Tommy, with the exception of "Cousin Kevin", "Underture", "Sensation" and "Welcome" because they weren't considered suitable for live performance. Aside from the new material, songs such as "Happy Jack", "A Quick One, While He's Away", "Young Man Blues", "Summertime Blues", "My Generation", and "Magic Bus" were featured heavily in the group's stage show, among others. In the autumn, they elected to expand the stage presentation of Tommy further, adding songs like "Overture" and "Sally Simpson" that had been skipped in earlier performances; additionally, show-ending performances of "My Generation" were stretched out to reprise certain parts of the rock opera along with other instrumental passages, such as the chord progression that eventually evolved into "Naked Eye".

While the rock opera remained the focal point of the set into 1970, the band also featured their latest single, "The Seeker" on the 1970 U.S. tour, although it was dropped after two weeks. They also added some material from their in-progress album (eventually abandoned in favour of Townshend's Lifehouse project), performing "Water" and "I Don't Even Know Myself" regularly; "Naked Eye", although unfinished in the studio, was performed in various arrangements on the tour as well, generally during the long show-ending jams during "My Generation".

During the final leg, the set list was the same as on the previous leg, with the exception of "Shakin' All Over" now segueing into the rock standard "Twist and Shout"; the band also stopped including Tommy themes in their long versions of "My Generation" and often moved it into "Naked Eye" and "Magic Bus". They continued to play the same basic set as in August and September, occasionally adding loose versions of Free's "All Right Now" towards the end of the show.

Films and albums

Over the years, several films and albums have been released of the band's concert performances during the Tommy Tour (all are albums, except where noted).

Additionally, songs recorded during the tour have been released along with other live and/or studio material:

Tour dates

Preview concert in the U.K. and North American leg (1 May – 19 June 1969)

List of tour dates with date, city, country, venue, references
Date City Country Venue Ref(s)
1 May 1969 London England Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club
9 May 1969 Detroit United States Grande Ballroom
10 May 1969
11 May 1969
13 May 1969 Boston Boston Tea Party
14 May 1969
15 May 1969
16 May 1969 New York City Fillmore East
17 May 1969
18 May 1969
19 May 1969 Toronto Canada The Rockpile
23 May 1969 Philadelphia United States Electric Factory
24 May 1969
25 May 1969 Columbia Merriweather Post Pavilion
29 May 1969 Chicago Kinetic Playground
30 May 1969
31 May 1969
1 June 1969 St. Louis Kiel Auditorium
5 June 1969 New York City Fillmore East
6 June 1969
7 June 1969 Lake Geneva Majestic Hills Theater
8 June 1969 Minneapolis Guthrie Theater
13 June 1969 Los Angeles Hollywood Palladium
17 June 1969 San Francisco Fillmore West
18 June 1969
19 June 1969

U.K. leg, U.S. contracted appearances, and European tour (5 July – 29 September 1969)

List of tour dates with date, city, country, venue, references
Date City Country Venue Ref(s)
5 July 1969 London England Royal Albert Hall
19 July 1969 Birmingham Mothers
20 July 1969 Hastings Pier Ballroom
27 July 1969 Redcar Redcar Jazz Club
28 July 1969 Sunderland Fillmore North
2 August 1969 Eastbourne Winter Garden
3 August 1969 Carlisle Cosmopolitan
4 August 1969 Bath Bath Pavilion
7 August 1969 Worthing Assembly Hall
9 August 1969 Plumpton Plumpton Racecourse
12 August 1969 Lenox United States Tanglewood Music Shed
17 August 1969 Bethel Yasgur Farms
22 August 1969 Shrewsbury England Music Hall
29 August 1969 Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre
30 August 1969 Isle of Wight Woodside Bay
6 September 1969 Dunfermline Scotland Kinema Ballroom
7 September 1969 Carlisle England Cosmopolitan
13 September 1969 Sutton Coldfield The Belfry
21 September 1969 Croydon Fairfield Halls
29 September 1969 Amsterdam Netherlands Concertgebouw

North American leg (10 October – 16 November 1969)

List of tour dates with date, city, country, venue, references
Date City Country Venue Ref(s)
10 October 1969 Boston United States Commonwealth Armory
11 October 1969 Detroit Grande Ballroom
12 October 1969
14 October 1969 Toronto Canada CNE Coliseum
15 October 1969 Ottawa Capitol Theatre
17 October 1969 Worcester United States Holy Cross Field House
18 October 1969 Stony Brook Pritchard Gymnasium
19 October 1969 Philadelphia Electric Factory
20 October 1969 New York City Fillmore East
21 October 1969
22 October 1969
23 October 1969
24 October 1969
25 October 1969
26 October 1969 Pittsburgh Syria Mosque
31 October 1969 Chicago Kinetic Playground
1 November 1969 Columbus Veterans Memorial Auditorium
2 November 1969 Washington, D.C. McDonough Gymnasium
3 November 1969 White Plains Westchester County Center
4 November 1969 Hartford Bushnell Memorial Hall
6 November 1969 Granville Livingston Gymnasium Indoor Track
7 November 1969 Athens Convocation Center
8 November 1969 St. Louis Kiel Opera House
10 November 1969 Albany Palace Theatre
11 November 1969 Boston Boston Tea Party
12 November 1969
13 November 1969 New Paltz Elting Gymnasium
14 November 1969 Cleveland Music Hall
15 November 1969 Buffalo Kleinhans Music Hall
16 November 1969 Syracuse Onondaga County War Memorial

European leg (4 December 1969 – 16 May 1970)

List of tour dates with date, city, country, venue, references
Date City Country Venue Ref(s)
4 December 1969 Bristol England Bristol Hippodrome
5 December 1969 Manchester Palace Theatre
12 December 1969 Liverpool Liverpool Empire Theatre
14 December 1969 London London Coliseum
19 December 1969 Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle City Hall
16 January 1970 Paris France Théâtre des Champs-Élysées
17 January 1970
24 January 1970 Copenhagen Denmark Royal Danish Theatre
26 January 1970 Cologne West Germany Opernhaus
27 January 1970 Hamburg Opernhaus
28 January 1970 West Berlin Deutschland Stadt Opera House
30 January 1970 Amsterdam Netherlands Concertgebouw
14 February 1970 Leeds England University of Leeds Refectory
15 February 1970 Kingston upon Hull Hull City Hall
18 April 1970 Leicester University of Leicester
25 April 1970 Nottingham Portland Building
27 April 1970 Dunstable Dunstable Civic Hall
1 May 1970 Exeter Great Hall
2 May 1970 Sheffield University of Sheffield
8 May 1970 Kent Eliot College
9 May 1970 Manchester Manchester University
15 May 1970 Lancaster Lancaster University
16 May 1970 York Derwent College

U.S. leg (7 June – 7 July 1970)

List of tour dates with date, city, country, venue, references
Date City Country Venue Ref(s)
7 June 1970 New York City United States Metropolitan Opera House
9 June 1970 Denver Mammoth Gardens
10 June 1970
13 June 1970 San Diego Golden Hall
14 June 1970 Anaheim Anaheim Stadium
15 June 1970 Berkeley Berkeley Community Theatre
16 June 1970
19 June 1970 Dallas Dallas Memorial Auditorium
20 June 1970 Houston Hofheinz Pavilion
21 June 1970 Memphis Ellis Auditorium
22 June 1970 Atlanta Municipal Auditorium
24 June 1970 Philadelphia Spectrum
25 June 1970 Cincinnati Cincinnati Music Hall
26 June 1970
27 June 1970 Cleveland Public Auditorium
29 June 1970 Columbia Merriweather Post Pavilion
1 July 1970 Chicago Auditorium Theatre
2 July 1970 Kansas City Freedom Palace
3 July 1970 Minneapolis Minneapolis Auditorium
4 July 1970 Chicago Auditorium Theatre
5 July 1970 Detroit Cobo Arena
7 July 1970 Lenox Tanglewood Music Shed

European leg (25 July – 20 December 1970)

List of tour dates with date, city, country, venue, references
Date City Country Venue Ref(s)
25 July 1970 Dunstable England Dunstable Civic Hall
8 August 1970 Sutton Coldfield The Belfry
24 August 1970 Wolverhampton Wolverhampton Civic Hall
29 August 1970 Isle of Wight East Afton Farm
12 September 1970 Münster West Germany Halle Münsterland
13 September 1970 Offenbach am Main Stadthalle Offenbach
16 September 1970 Rotterdam Netherlands De Doelen
17 September 1970 Amsterdam Concertgebouw
18 September 1970 Rotterdam De Doelen
20 August 1970 Copenhagen Denmark Falkoner Teatret
21 August 1970 Aarhus Vejlby-Risskov Hallen
6 October 1970 Cardiff Wales Sophia Gardens Pavilion
7 October 1970 Manchester England Free Trade Hall
8 October 1970 London Orchid Ballroom
10 October 1970 Brighton Old Refectory
11 October 1970 Birmingham Birmingham Odeon
13 October 1970 Leeds Locarno Ballroom
18 October 1970 London Lewisham Odeon
22 October 1970 Stockton-on-Tees ABC Cinemas
23 October 1970 Glasgow Scotland Green's Playhouse
24 October 1970 Sheffield England University of Sheffield
25 October 1970 Liverpool Liverpool Empire Theatre
26 October 1970 Stoke-on-Trent Trentham Ballroom
27 October 1970 Norwich University of East Anglia
29 October 1970 London Hammersmith Palais
21 November 1970 Leeds University of Leeds Refectory
28 November 1970 Coventry Lanchester Polytechnic
5 December 1970 Norwich Lads' Club
15 December 1970 Newcastle upon Tyne Mayfair Ballroom
16 December 1970 Scarborough Futurist Theatre
20 December 1970 London Roundhouse

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The concert on 1 May 1969 was a private event intended to preview Tommy to the press and is not included in the total number of shows for the tour.
  2. ^ The "Abbie Hoffman Incident" is dialogue of Townshend removing Hoffman from the stage when he attempted an impromptu speech during the middle of the band's set.
  3. ^ 2 shows have been played.
  4. ^ The concert on 13 June 1969 was a part of Magic Circus.
  5. ^ The concerts on 5 July 1969 were a part of Pop Proms.
  6. ^ The concert on 9 August 1969 was a part of the National Jazz and Blues Festival.
  7. ^ The concert on 17 August 1969 was a part of the Woodstock festival. The band was scheduled to perform Saturday night, 16 August. However, due to the festival running late, they actually performed Sunday morning, 17 August.
  8. ^ The concert on 30 August 1969 was a part of the Isle of Wight Festival 1969.
  9. ^ The concert on 6 November 1969 was a part of the Raccoon Creek Rock Festival.
  10. ^ The concert on 29 August 1970 was a part of the Isle of Wight Festival 1970.

Footnotes

  1. ^ Neill & Kent 2002, pp. 156–157
  2. ^ Neill & Kent 2002, p. 135
  3. ^ Neill & Kent 2002, pp. 160–161
  4. ^ Marsh 1983, p. 340
  5. ^ Neill & Kent 2002, pp. 163–164
  6. ^ Neill & Kent 2002, p. 165
  7. ^ Neill & Kent 2002, pp. 166–167
  8. ^ Marsh 1983, p. 348
  9. ^ Marsh 1983, p. 350
  10. ^ Neill & Kent 2002, p. 168
  11. ^ Neill & Kent 2002, p. 169
  12. ^ Erlewine
  13. ^ Neill & Kent 2002, p. 170
  14. ^ McMichael & Lyons 1997, pp. 96–97
  15. ^ Neill & Kent 2002, pp. 176–178
  16. ^ Neill & Kent 2002, p. 179
  17. ^ McMichael & Lyons 1997, p. 101
  18. ^ Neill & Kent 2002, p. 174
  19. ^ McMichael & Lyons 1997, p. 110
  20. ^ Atkins 2000, p. 136
  21. ^ McMichael & Lyons 1997, pp. 82–83
  22. ^ McMichael & Lyons 1997, pp. 88–92
  23. ^ McMichael & Lyons 1997, pp. 102–103
  24. ^ McMichael & Lyons 1997, p. 106
  25. ^ McMichael & Lyons 1997, p. 109
  26. ^ Neill & Kent 2002, p. 171
  27. ^ Marshall, Townshend & Daltrey 2015, p. 314
  28. ^ The Story of The Who (liner notes)
  29. ^ The Kids Are Alright (liner notes)
  30. ^ Hooligans (liner notes)
  31. ^ Thirty Years of Maximum R&B (liner notes)
  32. ^ Neill & Kent 2002, pp. 186
  33. ^ Neill & Kent 2002, pp. 187–188
  34. ^ View from a Backstage Pass (liner notes)
  35. ^ Marshall, Townshend & Daltrey 2015, p. 315
  36. ^ McMichael & Lyons 1997, p. 85
  37. ^ McMichael & Lyons 1997, p. 86
  38. ^ McMichael & Lyons 1997, p. 87
  39. ^ McMichael & Lyons 1997, p. 93
  40. ^ McMichael & Lyons 1997, p. 94
  41. ^ McMichael & Lyons 1997, p. 95
  42. ^ McMichael & Lyons 1997, pp. 98–99
  43. ^ McMichael & Lyons 1997, p. 100
  44. ^ McMichael & Lyons 1997, pp. 104–105
  45. ^ McMichael & Lyons 1997, p. 107
  46. ^ McMichael & Lyons 1997, p. 108
  47. ^ Neill & Kent 2002, pp. 189
  48. ^ Neill & Kent 2002, pp. 191

References

  • Neill, Andy; Kent, Matt (2002). Anyway Anyhow Anywhere: The Complete Chronicle of The Who 1958–1978. Barnes & Noble. ISBN 978-1-40276-691-6.
  • Marsh, Dave (1983). Before I Get Old: The Story of The Who. Plexus. ISBN 978-0-8596-5083-0.
  • Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Live in Amsterdam – The Who". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  • McMichael, Joe; Lyons, "Irish" Jack (1997). The Who Concert File. Omnibus. ISBN 0-7119-6316-9.
  • Atkins, John (2000). The Who on Record: A Critical History, 1963–1998. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-0609-8.
  • Marshall, Ben; Townshend, Pete; Daltrey, Roger (2015). The Who: 50 Years: The Official History. Harper Design. ISBN 978-0-06-239636-5.
  • The Story of The Who (liner notes). The Who. Polydor. 1976.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  • The Kids Are Alright (liner notes). The Who. Polydor. 1979.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  • Hooligans (liner notes). The Who. MCA. 1981.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  • Thirty Years of Maximum R&B (liner notes). The Who. 1994.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  • View from a Backstage Pass (liner notes). The Who. 2007.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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