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Page updated April 1, 2025. This is a highly abridged version of all the things that happened to and around The Who in April. Click for access to the full history.


April 1961

New music releases: "Stand By Me" - Ben E. King; "Travelin' Man" - Ricky Nelson; "Tossin' and Turnin'" - Bobby Lewis; "Raindrops" - Dee Clark
Kit Lambert in Brazil 1961

Future Who manager Kit Lambert joins his friend Richard Mason to film Mason's expedition searching for the source of the Iriri River in Brazil. Mason will be killed by members of the Pánara tribe and Kit will barely escape with his life.







April 1963

New records: "Ring of Fire" - Johnny Cash; Days of Wine & Roses - Andy Williams; "From Me To You" - The Beatles; "Sukiyaki" - Kyu Sakamoto
Beachcombers ad

On the 25th, the Beachcombers place an ad for a "good, reliable rock drummer" in the Harrow Observer. Despite the apparent disqualification for the "reliable" part, Keith applies and succeeds in landing the job.


April 1964

New music releases: The Beatles' Second Album - The Beatles; "Viva Las Vegas!" - Elvis Presley; The Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones; Funny Girl - Barbra Streisand, Sydney Chaplin and Various Artists
Keith Moon early 1964

Around this time, the last piece of The Who puzzle is added. Pete, Roger, John and promoter Bob Druce remember that, while The Who were playing a show, "an impudent geezer" with "his hair dyed ginger wearing a ginger suit and holding a glass of brown ale" loudly announces that he can play better than their drummer. The Who invite the upstart onstage where he plays wildly to "Roadrunner" and succeeds in breaking the old-timer's drum pedal. That impudent geezer, of course, is Keith Moon. Unfortunately, when Moon biographer Tony Fletcher researched the story, he found that the Beachcombers, the group Keith was in at the time, have no memory of his ever having dyed his hair and none of the club's regulars ever remember seeing Keith's live audition. In addition, the manager of the Oldfield Hotel at the time clearly remembers Keith stopping by on a Tuesday to see if any groups were looking for a new drummer. Told The Who were indeed so bereft and were rehearsing that night at a drill hall in Acton, Keith hurried off to meet his destiny. As with so much of The Who's history, one can get only so close to the truth and no closer. If you believe The Who's story, the date of the event was probably their performance at the Oldfield Hotel on the 30th. If you believe the Oldfield Hotel manager's story, it would be the 28th.


April 1965

New music releases: "I Can't Help Myself" - Four Tops; "Crying In the Chapel" - Elvis Presley; "Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter" - Herman's Hermits; "I've Been Loving You Too Long" - Otis Redding
65-04-17 Record Mirror Article

The Who record a new single and practically an album's worth of material on the 12th through the 14th at IBC Studios. According to Roger, he and Pete are locked into a room at 3am the night before the first session and not allowed out until a single is written. The result is their one credited co-composition, "Anyway Anyhow Anywhere". Pete later says it is based on his feelings about the performance style of jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker. On the 17th, Record Mirror reports that the extra tracks The Who recorded are destined for an LP to be released only in the U.S. and France. The listed tracks are "Please Please Please", "I Don't Mind", "Shout and Shimmy", "Heatwave", "Motorin'", "I'm a Man", and "Leaving Here". Some will make it to the eventual first album, others will sit in the vault until the 1980s.


April 1966

New music releases: Aftermath - The Rolling Stones; Live! - Lou Rawls; The Shadow of Your Smile - Andy Williams; Soul & Inspiration - The Righteous Brothers
The Who Sings My Generation

On the 26th, The Who's first album is released in the U.S. on Decca. Retitled The Who Sings My Generation, it features a different cover, drops "I'm a Man" for the Shel Talmy-produced "Instant Party," edits the instrumental break out of "The Kids Are Alright" and reverses the order of "A Legal Matter" and "The Ox." It is released in both mono and stereo although both are simply mono electronically processed as stereo. Billboard says: "the four boys from London have an ear-splitting, gut-busting and best-selling package in this program of blues-oriented rock numbers." It fails to reach the U.S. charts, but does get airplay on Detroit radio stations.


April 1967

New music releases: "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell; "Respect" - Aretha Franklin; "Light My Fire" - The Doors; "Groovin'" - The Young Rascals

On the 19th, The Who appear on Beat Club to lip-sync to their upcoming single "Pictures Of Lily." While The Who are on stage, 6,000 DM are stolen from their dressing room.

Pictures Of Lily Track 45

On the 21st, "Pictures Of Lily" backed with "Doctor, Doctor" comes out in the U.K. as The Who's first release on their managers' Track Records label. Melody Maker's review calls it, "...a rollicking, rhythmic Pete Townshend composition with a beautiful lyric and his usual cynical edge...Marvelous, muscular music." Despite controversy over the song lyrics' implication of masturbation, the single reaches #4 in the U.K. charts.


April 1968

New music releases: Bookends - Simon & Garfunkel; "Mrs. Robinson" - Simon & Garfunkel; The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees - The Monkees; "This Guy's in Love with You" - Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass

On the 4th, the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. is assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. Riots erupt in several American cities. On the same day, while visiting booker Frank Barselona's house in New York, Keith goes crazy after Australia is mentioned. He goes back to the Gorham hotel, gets drunk, blows up his toilet with a cherry bomb and then climbs out on a ledge and begins throwing cherry bombs into the street at the gathering police. Incredibly, Barselona manages to keep Keith from going to jail, but The Who do get thrown out of the hotel and have to move to the Waldorf.

The Who under flag
Photo: Art Kane

The next morning The Who are photographed for Life magazine by Art Kane at the Carl Schurz Memorial in Morningside Park asleep under two sewn-together Union Jack flags prepared by Kane. They are so tired from Keith's late-night antics that they actually go to sleep.

The Who rehersal Fillmore East
Photo: Linda McCartney

Nap over, The Who report to the Fillmore East in the Village for a dress rehearsal and microphone set up for that night's show that is to be recorded on four-track. The rehearsal, as well as that night's concert, are photographed by manager Chris Stamp's then-girlfriend Linda Eastman. The Who had planned four shows over the two days (5th and 6th) but fears of violence sparked by the King assassination lead to the cancellation of the early hour shows.

The Who concert Fillmore East 1968
Photo: Linda McCartney

Supporting acts for the concert are Free Spirits and Buddy Guy with B.B. King. The Who and their management cancel plans to release the album after hearing an acetate. However, this acetate escapes as a bootleg in the early 1970's becoming one of The Who's most popular. Finally, after finding the multi-track master, the album is officially released April 2018.


April 1969

New music releases: "Bad Moon Rising" - Creedence Clearwater Revival; "Get Back" - The Beatles with Billy Preston; "In the Ghetto" - Elvis Presley; The Chicago Transit Authority - Chicago

On the 1st, The Who continue rehearsing their new Tommy-centered act at the Community Centre, Westcott Crescent in Hanwell. Other rehearsal dates are the 3rd, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 21st and 23rd. Pete recalls in his autobiography that, after the last rehearsal, Keith took him for a drink, looked him in the eye and said, "Pete, you've done it. This is gonna work."

The Who on Tom Jones show

On the 16th, The Who record their appearance on ITV's This Is...Tom Jones at Elstree Studio Centre, Borehamwood. They mime to a newly recorded instrumental track of "Pinball Wizard" with live vocals by Roger. It is first broadcast in the U.S. on the 18th and in Britain on the 20th.

















April 1970

New music releases: McCartney - Paul McCartney; Ladies of the Canyon - Joni Mitchell; "The Wonder of You" - Elvis Presley; "One Less Bell to Answer" - The 5th Dimension
70-04 Pete for RS
Photo: David Greenberg

Rolling Stone prints a lengthy interview with Pete conducted by Jonathan Cott. Pete discusses everything from the death of Brian Jones and his writing of the never-released song "A Normal Day for Brian" to his hatred of Woodstock. One of the things he mentions is his desire to make a movie with The Who, "a film which is the equivalent of a rock song, only lasting an hour or longer." On the 25th is yet another interview with Pete, this time conducted by Penny Valentine in Disc and Music Echo. He says Tommy has provided The Who with fans "...I'd be pleased to lose again, especially the American psuedo-intellectuals who kept reading things into it."


April 1971

New music releases: Sticky Fingers - The Rolling Stones; 4 Way Street - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; L.A. Woman - The Doors; "Take Me Home, Country Roads" - John Denver
Stargroves Hall

On the 6th, The Who reunite now with Glyn Johns in the producer's chair instead of Kit Lambert. Their first session takes place at Stargroves, Mick Jagger's Victorian mansion in Newbury, Berkshire, using The Rolling Stones Mobile Studio. Setting the band up in a hallway, Johns records a blistering version of "Won't Get Fooled Again" that becomes the finished release version. Recording continues through the 7th. Having had such a success with his first try, Johns easily talks The Who into continuing recording at his home studio, Olympic Sound Studios in Barnes, South West London. The first sessions run from the 9th through the 12th and include a new recording of "I Don't Even Know Myself" that will end up on the B-side of the "Won't Get Fooled Again" single, plus the release versions of "Bargain", "Time Is Passing", and "Too Much of Anything". Tracks that are known to have been recorded at Olympic sometime between these sessions and the end of May include the release versions of "Love Ain't for Keeping", "Going Mobile", "Behind Blue Eyes" and the Odds and Sods version of "Pure and Easy".


April 1972

New music releases: "Rocket Man" - Elton John; "Starman" - David Bowie; "Lean on Me" - Bill Withers; "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress" - The Hollies
Keith Moon vacation Apr 1972
Photo: David Butler

During this month, Keith vacations on Gibraltar and in Tangiers.

John Entwistle in studio April 1972
Photo: Jorgen Angel

John, meanwhile, spends this month and the next recording his second solo album Whistle Rymes at Island Studios, West London while Roger produces the Ellis Group LP Riding On The Crest Of A Slump at Olympic Studios.


April 1973

New records: 1967-1970 - The Beatles; 1962-1966 - The Beatles; Behind Closed Doors - Charlie Rich; Desperado - The Eagles

On 13th, Roger appears as a guest on BBC Radio 1's Roundtable promoting his forthcoming first solo album. More promotion follows on the 14th as Roger is interviewed in New Musical Express. "I think Pete'd be only too pleased if my album wasn't successful." The article also reports that The Who's new Ramport Studios is near completion and Pete is halfway through writing the songs for the next album, "a concept album."

Daltrey UK LP

On the 20th, Roger Daltrey releases his first solo album, Daltrey, in the U.K. Chris Charlesworth gives the album, a collection of soft-rock tunes penned by Leo Sayer and Dave Courtney, a rave review in Melody Maker. The album reaches #6 in the U.K. charts.


April 1974

New music releases: Second Helping - Lynyrd Skynyrd; "Band On The Run" - Paul McCartney & Wings; On Stage - Loggins & Messina; "Sideshow" - Blue Magic

On the 1st, Keith Moon and his chauffeur and minder Dougal Butler leave life in England behind and move to the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Los Angeles. It is Keith's intent to become a tax exile, as so many of the successful British rockers have done, but he never manages to stay out of England long enough to escape the long arm of Inland Revenue.

McCartney Moon Lennon Apr 1974
Photo: Peter Butler

On the 9th, Keith joins Ringo Starr and Jim Keltner, all playing drums during the recording of "Rock Around The Clock" and "Loop De Loop" for the John Lennon-produced Harry Nilsson album Pussycats. Keith also plays congas on "Mucho Mungo"/"Mt. Elga" and Chinese wood blocks on "All My Life." Paul McCartney drops by for the session and he and Lennon are photographed together for the last time by Dougal.

Moon Lennon Santa Monica house
Photo: Peter Butler

On the 10th Keith and Dougal move out of the Beverly Wilshire Hotel into a $5000 a month rented beachfront house on the Pacific Coast highway in Santa Monica, sharing it for a time with John Lennon and May Pang. On the 19th, Keith returns to London for the filming of Tommy.


April 1975

New music releases: Toys In The Attic - Aerosmith; Straight Shooter - Bad Company; Al Green's Greatest Hits - Al Green; Beautiful Loser - Bob Seger

Recording for The Who's next studio album was to have begun on the 18th at Shepperton Sound Studios in London but they are held up as Keith has yet to arrive from Los Angeles and Roger is still working on the movie Lisztomania. To get things started, John borrows his solo band's drummer Graham Deakin and he and Pete begin rehearsing on the 21st.

On the 25th, the ABC Interstate Theaters movie chain in the U.S. announces that Roger has been named "Best New Star of the Year" for his performance in Tommy: The Movie. It is an award previously won by Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, Dustin Hoffman, and Barbra Streisand.

75-04-29 Keith Anette Airport

On the 29th, Keith and his steady girlfriend Anette fly in from Los Angeles. The next day he joins Pete and John only to discover that, with almost two years off since he was last behind the drums in a studio, he has forgotten how to play! Nevertheless, Pete, John, Keith and guest pianist Nicky Hopkins manage to lay down the track "She Loves Everyone" that will later be retitled "They Are All in Love."


April 1976

New music releases: Live Bullet - Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band; "Play That Funky Music" - Wild Cherry; "Young Hearts Run Free" - Candi Staton; "Take the Money and Run" - The Steve Miller Band
Roger Daltrey Bill Curbishley

Pete Rudge amicably steps aside as The Who's manager and Bill Curbishley officially takes over. The former Track Records employee remains The Who's manager to the present day.











April 1977

New music releases: Go For Your Guns - The Isley Brothers; Rattus Norvegicus - The Stranglers; Celebrate Me Home - Kenny Loggins; Ol' Waylon - Waylon Jennings
Pub Bans Moon for Sex Frolic

Around the 19th, the day after Keith leaves Cedars-Sinai Hospital where he had been undergoing treatment for his alcoholism and drug abuse, he is kicked out of Ye Olde King's Head pub in Santa Monica after "simulating the act of intercourse" with a girl on the barroom floor. Prior to this he had ripped the sink out of the wall in the men's bathroom. On the 22nd, Keith checks back into Cedars-Sinai.


April 1978

New records: Grease - Original Soundtrack; Stardust - Willie Nelson; "Shadow Dancing" - Andy Gibb; "Rivers of Babylon" - Boney M

During the month and into the next, The Who continue recording overdubs and preparing mixes for the Who Are You LP. "Love Is Coming Down" and drumming overdubs for "Who Are You" are put to tape. Most of the rest of the work by The Who does not see the final LP. Alternate versions of "Guitar And Pen," "Choirboy," later to be re-titled "Empty Glass" when it appears on Pete's solo LP of the same name, and a band version of "Music Must Change" are recorded. The final track has to be abandoned when Keith Moon fails to maintain the 6/8-time necessary. According to Pete, Keith defends his inability by announcing that he is "the best Keith Moon-style drummer in the world." Everything but Roger's vocal is left behind and the rest of the track is created by Pete and producer Jon Astley.


April 1979

New music releases: Greatest Hits - Waylon Jennings; "Family Tradition" - Hank Williams, Jr.; Million Mile Reflections - The Charlie Daniels Band; Bad Girls - Donna Summer

On the 9th, The Who, now with John "Rabbit" Bundrick on keyboards and Kenney Jones on drums, begin rehearsing their stage act. Over the next two-and-a-half weeks they rehearse for a total of six days. The rehearsals are filmed by the BBC as part of a feature on the programme Nationwide.


April 1980

New music releases: Heaven and Hell - Black Sabbath; "Against the Wind" - Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band; "She's Out of My Life" - Michael Jackson; Sky 2 - Sky
Empty Glass US LP

On the 14th, Pete's first totally solo album, Empty Glass, is released in the U.K. The U.S. release follows on the 21st. Reviews are raves with Sounds magazine giving the album its highest rating and Paul Morley in New Musical Express saying the album shows Pete is still an important musician. The album peaks at #11 in the U.K., the highest chart position for a Pete solo record in that country. In the U.S. it shoots all the way to #5.


April 1981

New music releases: "You Make My Dreams Come True" - Daryl Hall & John Oates; Don't Say No - Billy Squier; Chariots Of Fire - Vangelis; Fair Warning - Van Halen
Kit Lambert Obit

Kit Lambert, The Who's former manager and producer, is by this time living on charity that he spends mostly on heroin and alcohol. On the evening of the 5th, he shows up at his mother's house bloody and broke saying he had been beaten by four men in the lavatory of a gay bar. His mother gets him to go to bed but later that night he falls downstairs suffering a brain hemorrhage. He dies on the morning of the 7th at the age of 45, nine days short of reaching exactly the same age his father, composer Constant Lambert, reached before he died. Kit is cremated on the 29th and his ashes taken to Golders Green where Keith Moon's ashes had been interred two and a half years before. Pete flies back from New York shortly after hearing the news and begins to prepare a memorial service for Kit to be held on May 11th. He will write of his reaction to Kit's death in the short story "Pancho and The Baron".


April 1982

New music releases: Time Pieces: The Best of Eric Clapton - Eric Clapton; American Fool - John Cougar; Toto IV - Toto; Diver Down - Van Halen

According to a friend of Pete and Rabbit, Pete records and assembles the demos for It's Hard at his Boathouse recording studio late in the month. Pete says he is unable to bring in Rabbit for the upcoming recording because of Rabbit's recent drug and drink problems and because the next album "is so critical for the band".


April 1984

New music releases: "I Want to Break Free" - Queen; Street Talk - Steve Perry; "West End Girls" - Pet Shop Boys; "One Love"/"People Get Ready" - Bob Marley & The Wailers
The Relay newsletter Apr. 1984

On the 7th, The Who fanzine The Relay publishes an interview with Roger about the end of The Who. Roger says Pete "made a very big mistake" breaking up The Who and adds "you can only take so much of being treated like a turd." He says he hates Dave Marsh's Who book Before I Get Old, describing it as "a great, fat book as big as a Bible mostly comprised of lies." He also says Richard Barnes' book The Who: Maximum R&B is "dreadful." Dave Marsh is interviewed in the same issue and calls the It's Hard song "I've Known No War" a "despicable piece of shit."


April 1985

New music releases: Be Yourself Tonight - Eurythmics; We Are The World - USA for Africa; Around the World in a Day - Prince & The Revolution; The Hits Album 2 - Various Artists
85-04-25 Secret Talk Of A Reunion

On the 29th, The Mirror reports that The Who are considering reuniting for a one-off show for Ethiopian relief due to the urgings of Bob Geldof. Pete: "Yes, I have talked to the others about it...At the moment we are all vacillating wildly."


April 1988

New music releases: Tracy Chapman - Tracy Chapman; "Fast Car" - Tracy Chapman; Stronger Than Pride - Sade; Crossroads - Eric Clapton
Program for Sotheby's auction

On the 7th, John auctions off a number of items at Sotheby's to raise much needed money to pay his tax bills. Included in the auction are concert contracts, John's lyric manuscripts and many instruments, drawings and items of clothing.

The Who Observer 1988
Photo: Colin Jones

On the 24th, Pete writes a long piece on his, John's and Roger's boyhoods and hints that a Who reunion is not entirely out of the question. It is printed in The Observer and is called "The Who, Why and Wherefore."


April 1989

New music releases: Garth Brooks - Garth Brooks; Full Moon Fever - Tom Petty; Skynyrd's Innyrds: Their Greatest Hits - Lynyrd Skynyrd; Repeat Offender - Richard Marx
The Who 1989 press conference

On the 24th, Pete, Roger and John Entwistle appear together at a press conference at Radio City Music Hall in New York City to announce they will again tour as The Who that summer. Pete tells the press that he still experiences hearing problems and gets a laugh when he says, "we will play very, very quietly."
















April 1990

New music releases: Johnny Gill - Johnny Gill; Behind the Mask - Fleetwood Mac; Fear of a Black Planet - Public Enemy; "Love Without End, Amen" - George Strait

On the 1st, Pete writes a letter to Who manager Bill Curbishley stating: "I want to take this opportunity to say that I will remember 1989 as one of the happiest of my life and career. There are lots of factors, but the most important element was the friendship I felt enhanced every aspect of the tour: front of the stage, in the band, in the management team, in the crew, and in the audiences...Good luck in 1990."

On the 21st, Billboard reports on how what is considered "classic rock" has solidified into the same 500-700 songs and efforts by radio stations to increase that number have failed. The article's title is "'Won't Get Fooled' Has Not Burned Out... Yet".


April 1992

New music releases: Diva - Annie Lennox; Greatest Hits - ZZ Top; Check Your Head - The Beastie Boys; Confederate Railroad - Confederate Railroad

On the 20th, Roger performs "I Want It All" with the surviving members of Queen at the Freddie Mercury Memorial Concert at Wembley Stadium.


Roger Daltrey & Queen - I Want It All 1992 by IvorTheEngineDriver

April 1993

New music releases: Get a Grip - Aerosmith; "Weak" - SWV; Undertow - Tool; "That's the Way Love Goes" - Janet Jackson
The Who's Tommy handbill

On the 22nd, The Who's Tommy opens on Broadway at the St. James Theater. Pete, Roger and John attend along with a large number of celebrities. Frank Rich raves about it in the next day's New York Times calling it "the authentic rock musical that has eluded Broadway for two generations."

















April 1996

New music releases: Crash - Dave Matthews Band; "Don't Speak" - No Doubt; "You've Got a Friend in Me" - Randy Newman; Fairweather Johnson - Hootie & The Blowfish
The Who press conference London 1996

On the 23rd, Roger and Pete hold a press conference in London to announce that, after a hiatus of over six years, Pete, Roger and John will perform together in a band at Hyde Park for a performance of Quadrophenia at the Prince's Trust Concert. They will not be listed as The Who but rather under their individual names.


April 1997

New music releases: "Barbie Girl" - Aqua; Third Eye Blind - Third Eye Blind; Share My World - Mary J. Blige; "Song 2" - Blur
John Entwistle Stockholm 1997

On the 23rd, The Who take their multi-media Quadrophenia show to the Continent, playing the Forum in Copenhagen, Denmark on the 23rd, the Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden on the 25th, the Oslo Spektrum in Oslo, Norway on the 26th, the Ostseehalle in Kiel, Germany on the 28th and the Deutschlandhalle in Berlin on the 29th.


April 2000

New music releases: "The Real Slim Shady" - Eminem; Infest - Papa Roach; "Oops!... I Did It Again" - Britney Spears; "Big Pimpin'" - Jay-Z featuring UGK
00-04-10 NY Press Conf
Photo: Peter Morgan

On the 10th, Pete, Roger and John hold a press conference at The Supper Club in New York City to announce their summer North American tour and the internet release of a live album from their 1999 shows.


April 2005

New music releases: "Sugar, We're Goin' Down" - Fall Out Boy; The Emancipation of Mimi - Mariah Carey; "Mockingbird" - Eminem; "Don't Cha" - The Pussycat Dolls featuring Busta Rhymes
05-04-21 John Auction

On the 2nd, John Entwistle's family announces that they will be auctioning off the entire contents of his £3 million mansion. The auction on the 21st nets £123,000 with a model of Henry VIII's armour raising £900, a leather art sculpture of a male torso £2,200, a snakeskin tambourine £160 and a microphone presented to The Who at an awards poll in 1975 £480.


April 2006

New music releases: "Promiscuous" - Nelly Furtado featuring Timbaland; "Dani California" - Red Hot Chili Peppers; I'm Not Dead - P!nk; Me and My Gang - Rascal Flatts
2006 London Who Convention

On the 1st, a Who Convention is held at Bush Hall in London. Roger shows up to join Simon Townshend for versions of "Substitute" and "Behind Blue Eyes."


















April 2007

New music releases: "What I've Done" - Linkin Park; "Back to Black" - Amy Winehouse; Shock Value - Timbaland; "Home" - Daughtry
Pete Townshend 2007 Method launch

On the 25th, Pete Townshend holds a media event at his Oceanic Studios in London to unveil a computer software program that will enable fans to compose personalized music tracks at the click of a button. "You can put data in and get a piece of music out. It's as simple as that." Based on an idea Pete had in 1970 that was the partial basis of his Life House concept, the "Method" software was developed by mathematician/composer Lawrence Ball and software developer Dave Snowdon.




April 2008

New music releases: "Just Dance" - Lady Gaga; "I Kissed a Girl" - Katy Perry; "Forever" - Chris Brown; "Take a Bow" - Rihanna

On the 13th, Pete and Roger close the week of Teenage Cancer Trust concerts at Royal Albert Hall with a short acoustic set. The duo perform "Let's See Action", "Behind Blue Eyes", "Two Thousand Years", "Mike Post Theme", "Won't Get Fooled Again" and "Tea & Theatre".


April 2009

New music releases: "You Belong with Me" - Taylor Swift; "Knock You Down" - Keri Hilson featuring Kanye West and Ne-Yo; "Fire Burning" - Sean Kingston; "Alright" - Darius Rucker
2009 Perth poster

The Who conclude their third tour down under at the Equity Stadium in Perth (4th).


















April 2012

New music releases: "Payphone" - Maroon 5 featuring Wiz Khalifa; "Whistle" - Flo Rida; "Mercy" - Kanye West, Big Sean, Pusha T and 2 Chainz; "Where Have You Been" - Rihanna

On the 8th, Who manager Bill Curbishley tells the Sunday Times that he had been approached by organizers of the 2012 London Olympics to see if The Who would play at the end of the Games. They also specifically asked if Keith Moon could appear with them. Curbishley's response: "If they have a round table, some glasses and candles, we might contact him."


April 2014

New music releases: "Stay with Me" - Sam Smith; "Trap Queen" - Fetty Wap; "Problem" - Ariana Grande featuring Iggy Azalea; "Sing" - Ed Sheeran
Roger Daltrey Paul Weller 2014 Music Week award

On the 24th, Roger is honored for his charity work at the Music Week Awards. Pauls Weller and McCartney both praise him with Sir Paul saying, "I've been watching the progress for years now and you're doing a fantastic job. I know the kids appreciate it so much. So, Mr Daltrey - Roger - Sir, well done."


April 2015

New music releases: "Stressed Out" - Twenty One Pilots; "Wet Dreamz" - J. Cole; "Here" - Alessia Cara; "This Could Be Us" - Rae Sremmurd
The Who Duluth 2015
Photo: David Welker

On the 15th, The Who open their North American tour at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. The show is followed by appearances at American Airlines Arena in Miami (17th), Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena (19th), PNC Arena in Raleigh (21st), Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Georgia (23rd), the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans (25th), Frank Erwin Center in Austin (27th), and Toyota Center in Houston (29th).
















April 2016

New Music Releases: "One Dance" - Drake featuring Wizkid and Kyla; "This Is What You Came For" - Calvin Harris featuring Rihanna; "Ride" - Twenty One Pilots; Views - Drake
The Who Toronto 2016

The Who return to their The Who Hits 50! tour on the 27th at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. The show had been bumped from the 26th by the Raptors playoff.

















April 2017

New Music Releases: "Despacito (Remix)" - Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber; "Unforgettable" - French Montana featuring Swae Lee; "Thunder" - Imagine Dragons; "I'm the One" - DJ Khaled featuring Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper, and Lil Wayne

The Who perform a second night at the Royal Albert Hall for the Teenage Cancer Trust on the 1st, then head out for a U.K. tour at the Echo Arena in Liverpool (3rd), Manchester Arena (5th), The SSE Hydro in Glasgow (7th), Sheffield Arena (10th), and Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham (12th).


April 2018

New Music Releases: "Nice for What" - Drake; "Lovely" - Billie Eilish and Khalid; "One Kiss" - Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa; "All Girls Are the Same" - Juice Wrld
Roger Daltrey Stepanek Peacemaker Award
Photo: Shahar Azran

On the 27th, Roger receives the Mattie J.T. Stepanek Peacemaker Award at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York, given for his charity work through the Teenage Cancer Trust and Teen Cancer America. Joined by LL Cool J and Nile Rodgers with Chic, Roger performs "Who Are You" and "Behind Blue Eyes".
















April 2020

New Music Releases: "Rockstar" - DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch; "You Broke Me First" - Tate McRae; "Savage" - Megan Thee Stallion; "Party Girl" - StaySolidRocky
The Ox bio U.S. cover

On the 7th, Paul Rees' authorized biography of John is published in the U.S. under the title The Ox: The Authorized Biography of The Who's John Entwistle.

Quarantinia movie poster

On the 14th, artist Dave Pearce sells Covid-19 movie posters to raise money for NHS Charities.














All Days My Generation U.S. re-issue

On the 24th, All Days Records in Japan re-issues The Who Sings My Generation in stereo and mono as part of their "US Version" series.

On the 27th, The Who were to have returned to the U.S. for make-up shows in Dallas, Houston, and Denver but Covid-19 has cancelled everything.





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Page updated April 1, 2025. This is a highly abridged version of all the things that happened to and around The Who in April. Click for access to the full history.


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Their Generation book

Their Generation: The Who in America 1967-69
Photographs by Tom Wright. Text by Andy Neill. Forward by Pete Townshend. Coming May 2025.


The Seeker musical

The Seeker by Rachel Fuller
A musical version of "Siddhartha" by Hermann Hesse. Includes several tracks by Pete Townshend plus his own performance as The Ferryman.


Lifehouse Who's Next

Who's Next / Life House Super Deluxe
10 CD's, Blu-ray with 5.1 mix, 89 unreleased tracks, 2 live concerts, a 100-page book and a graphic novel. Expensive but the final word on The Who's Lifehouse work.


A People's History of The Who

Richard Houghton's The Guitar Has Seconds to Live: A People's History of The Who
Hardback, published by Spenwood Books Limited.


The Who & Quadrophenia

Martin Popoff's The Who & Quadrophenia
Hardback, in folio jacket, published by Motorbooks


The Who Live at Wembley

The Who: with Orchestra Live from Wembley
#1 on the Classical Music Charts! Available now!


The Who Concert Memories Book

The Who: Concert Memories from the Classic Years, 1964 to 1976
Fans ecall the glory days of the greatest live act in rock music. By Edoardo Genzolini. Check out my entry on Page 260!


PeteTownshend.net

PeteTownshend.net
THE home for all things Townshend!


THEWHO.COM and
Teenage Cancer Trust have
launched a new fund-raising
initiative.
For more information,
click the logo.


The Who's Official Website
Go here for exclusive tour
Pre-show sales and VIP
Packages



As always, thanks to
John Atkins,
Richard Barnes,
Kevin Berger,
Chris Charlesworth,
Alan Clayson,
Tony Fletcher,
Ed Hanel,
Gary Herman,
Joe Giorgianni,
Bruce Kawakami,
Matt Kent,
Max Ker-Seymer,
Karen Kimber,
Olle Lundin,
"Irish Jack" Lyons,
Dave Marsh,
Alan McKendree,
Joe McMichael,
Andrew Motion,
Andy Neill,
Paul Rees
Scott Smith,
Christian Suchatzki,
John Swenson,
George Tremlett,
Richie Unterberger,
Dave van Staveren,
Mark Ian Wilkerson,
Stephen Wolter and all
the others who did
the original research
and provided the aid
that led to this page.


A note about photographs:
None of the photographs used
on this site are by
purchase agreement with
the original photographer.
I try to credit when I can
discover the name of the
original photographer but, in
most cases, sources in
newspapers, old copies of
Creem Magazine, and even some
Who books, do not credit
photographers. If you are the
photographer or represent the
photographer and you do not
want your photograph posted,
please get in touch
and I will remove it immediately.
This is a wholly non-profit site
(if you could see my bank account,
you'd know it's quite the opposite!)
established to provide an historical
overview of The Who.