May 2008 (5 years ago)

U.K. #1 downloads: "4 Minutes" – Madonna ft. Justin Timberlake and Timbaland; "That's Not My Name" – The Ting Tings; "Take a Bow" – Rihanna
U.S. #1 downloads: "Lollipop" – Lil Wayne ft. Static Major; "Bleeding Love" – Leona Lewis; "Take a Bow" – Rihanna

On the 1st, Roger Daltrey is featured in an article in The Times. It mostly concerns his health and use of alternative medical treatments.

On the 2nd T-Bone Burnett talks about plans for him to produce the follow-up album to Endless Wire: "Roger is a really great singer, and we've started going through material. We've picked out about five or six that we've all said, 'Yeah, let's do these' -- I'm not going to say what they are because that might take some of the fun out of it. And I'm sure we'll find more as we go on. We'll probably do about 15 [songs]." The album will ultimately be cancelled before recording begins.

On the 8th, Roger Daltrey performs with the RD Crusaders in a charity event at the Old Billingsgate fish market in London. They perform "Giving It All Away", "Squeeze Box", "Substitute", "Pinball Wizard" and "Ring of Fire". Audience attendees include Liz Hurley, Katie Price, Trinny Woodall and Mark Ronson.

On the 12th, Martha Wainwright releases her CD I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings, Too featuring Pete Townshend playing guitar on "You Cheated Me."

On the 22nd, The Radioactive Chicken Heads release their CD Music for Mutants featuring a cover of "Boris The Spider".

May 2003 (10 years ago)

U.K. #1 downloads: "Loneliness" – Tomcraft; "Ignition (Remix)" – R. Kelly
U.S. #1 downloads: "In Da Club" – 50 Cent; "Get Busy" – Sean Paul; "21 Questions" – 50 Cent ft. Nate Dogg

On the 14th, Who's Next Deluxe Edition and the stereo re-issue of A Quick One are released in the U.K.

Herbert Entwistle, John Entwistle's dad, dies after a long illness.

On the 6th, Anthrax releases their album We’ve Come For You All featuring Roger screaming on "Taking The Music Back." On the same day, The History Channel announces a new show for their fall schedule Extreme History With Roger Daltrey.

On the 7th, the details of a deal made between Pete Townshend and the authorities over accessing a site that hosted child pornography pictures is released to the press. Pete is found innocent of having downloaded any child pornography but, since he admitted to paying to access the site, he is given the option of going to trial or being placed for five years on Britain's Sex Offenders registry. Pete chooses the latter as he doubts he could remain calm under cross-examination. It is later revealed that his case would have been dismissed without trial if his celebrity had not made him a "high-profile" case. This morning he goes to Kingston police station where he is fingerprinted and a DNA sample is taken.

On the 13th, Sotheby’s auctions off 386 items from the John Entwistle estate. It is reported on the 14th that the auction raised £1,093,372. His "Frankenstein" bass sells for £62,400.

Roger thanks Time Europe for European Hero award by video at ceremony. Liam Gallagher attends to accept the award for him.

Gay musician Mark Weigle releases the CD Different And The Same featuring a cover of Pete's "And I Moved."

On the 18th, Roger tells the Los Angeles Times, "I am really pleased that Pete has been cleared of all charges...Anyone who thinks he is anything but a deeply thinking, caring, valuable member of society is sadly wrong. His honesty has shone through. Let's get back to work."

On the 20th, RollingStone.com prints an e-mail from Pete: "I intend to work my way back to normality. As a result of all this shit, I've decided to greatly formalize the structure of my charity (Double-O) and the way I work with [child abuse] 'survivors' -- so that in future my work is more well-known to everyone...Finally, I'm going out onto the street to meet people, to smile and shake hands with everyone who has been supportive of me in my hometown. But also to give those people who are 'undecided' a chance to look me in the eye and make their own decision...Roger has been a rock."

On the 21st, Roger is interviewed in Los Angeles for the forthcoming DVD of the restored The Kids Are Alright.

On the 23rd, Rich Bogovich and Cheryl Posner’s book The Who: A Who’s Who is published by McFarland Press.

May 1998 (15 years ago)

U.K. #1 CD singles: "Under the Bridge"/"Lady Marmalade" – The All Saints; "Turn Back Time" – Aqua; "Feel It" – The Tamperer ft. Maya; "C'Est La Vie" – B*witched
U.S. #1 CD singles: "Too Close" – Next; "My All" – Mariah Carey

On the 7th, the British band Sumo Rabbit And His Inescapable Trap Of Doom attempt to set a new world's record in Guinness for Most Guitars Smashed During a Concert. Their goal is to smash 30 to 50 guitars during a 45 minute set at a pub in Kingston-upon-Thames. They only manage to shatter 16.

On the 10th, Roger Daltrey reprises his role as Hugh Fitzcairn on the first of the two-part finale to Highlander: The Series. The second episode airs on the 17th.

According to Pete's later report, during this month, Roger has an extremely emotional confrontation with him. "He still had a deep conviction in the notion of The Who as a living, material and necessary force. He felt that my deliberate neglect of it had been a mistake. That it had left him and John in the cold...At one point he made his points so forcefully, and personally, that despite the fact that some of the accusations he made were inaccurate and ill-founded, I broke down and cried in front of him. He said then, softly, that it didn't matter what I decided to do, either way - he would always be there for me. Later he called to apologise for being so brutal. I told him he had done what needed to be done, and far from feeling I had been brutalised, I felt I had been offered unconditional love."

On the 19th, Pete Townshend's father-in-law, Ted Astley, who provided orchestration for the Who Are You and Scoop albums and composed the themes for the TV programmes Danger Man and The Saint, passes away.

Also on the 19th, Bernie Tormé releases his album Punk Or What containing his 1977 punk cover of "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere."

On the 31st, VH1 premieres the documentary Keith Moon: Behind The Music.

May 1993 (20 years ago)

U.K. #1 CD singles: "Five Live" – George Michael & Queen with Lisa Stansfield; "All That She Wants" – Ace of Base
U.S. #1 CD singles: "Freak Me" – Silk; "That's the Way Love Goes" – Janet Jackson

On the 17th, Roger makes his first appearance as Hugh Fitzcairn during the episode "The Hunters" of Highlander: The Series.

May 1988 (25 years ago)

U.K. #1 45's: "Theme from S-Express" – S-Express; "Perfect" – Fairground Attraction; "With a Little Help from My Friends"/"She's Leaving Home" – Wet Wet Wet, Billy Bragg and Cara Tivey
U.S. #1 cassette singles: "Wishing Well" – Terence Trent D'Arby; "Anything for You" – Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine; "One More Try" – George Michael

"Won't Get Fooled Again" backed with a live recording of "Boney Moronie" from the April 26, 1971 Young Vic concert is released as a single in Britain, Germany, Belgium and The Netherlands. The 12" and CD versions add a studio version of "Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand" and a live recording of a medley of "Dancing In The Street" and "Dance It Away" from the December 1979 Philadelphia Spectrum shows. The last track has, to date, not been re-released.

Roger is the star attraction at the opening of John Carter's Steam Fair and Penny Arcade near Maidenhead.

Rolling Stone reports that Pete had agreed to perform at the recent Atlantic Records Birthday Bash, but backed out at the last moment. They also report he is currently working on The Iron Man musical.

May 1983 (30 years ago)

U.K. #1 45's: "True" – Spandau Ballet; "Candy Girl" – New Edition
U.S. #1 45's: "Beat It" – Michael Jackson; "Let's Dance" – David Bowie; "Flashdance... What a Feeling" - Irene Cara

Rolling Stone reports that the Who have canceled plans for a final British tour.

On the 12th, John Entwistle attends U2's concert in Passaic, New Jersey.

A few days before his 38th birthday on the 19th, Pete meets with Roger to discuss future plans. In his diary, Pete notes "I said I would consider working on special projects with him – charity shows, musicals, anything but rock tours. He seemed receptive." Roger, speaking of it later remembers it quite differently. He says Pete called him up out of the blue claiming "No one's phoned me up and asked me how it's going," referring to his progress on writing songs for a new Who album. Roger offers to help, but Pete tells him "I'm going to finish the band."

On the 21st, a new compilation LP, Who's Greatest Hits, premiers on the U.S. charts. It peaks at #94.

May 1978 (35 years ago)

U.K. #1 45's: "Night Fever" – The Bee Gees; "Rivers of Babylon" – Boney M.
U.S. #1 45's: "Night Fever" – The Bee Gees; "If I Can't Have You" – Yvonne Elliman; "With a Little Luck" - Wings

On the 4th, The Who assemble at Ramport Studios to film a promotional video for "Who Are You." The Kids Are Alright's director, Jeff Stein, is behind the camera. They intend to mime to the single edit of the song but end up laying down new vocals, guitar, drums and piano overdubs. It is Keith Moon's last time in the studio with all the other members of The Who.

Pete and Jon Astley spend most of the month preparing the final mix for the Who Are You LP. A different "Olympic '78 Mix" of "Guitar And Pen" is prepared and rejected. It is later released on the 1997 CD issue of the album.

Suburban Studs release their LP Slam with a punk rock cover of "My Generation."

On the 25th, Who fans and the members of the bands Generation X, The Rich Kids, The Pretenders and The Sex Pistols assemble at Shepperton Studios in London for an impromptu Who concert. Jeff Stein films performances of "Baba O'Riley" and "Won't Get Fooled Again" for The Kids Are Alright movie but The Who give the audience an almost complete concert. At the end of "Won't Get Fooled Again," the performance reaches a dead stop and The Who walk off the stage. Stein, realizing this will make an awful ending to the movie, gets The Who to go back on stage and perform the song again. This time The Who put everything into the ending and the crowd is encouraged to go wild. This ending will be grafted onto the earlier take for the finished film.

After the show the audience is grouped in four equal lines, each with a member of The Who at the head. An overhead shot is taken, intended as a possible cover for the Who Are You album.

The next day, The Who return to Shepperton Studios for insert shots. Before going back on stage, they pose in the car park of Shepperton's I Stage amidst their gigantic stage equipment. This is the photograph that will provide the cover for Who Are You. Keith, his belly sticking way out over his tight trousers, hides his paunch by sitting backwards on a chair marked "Not To Be Taken Away." Afterwards, The Who go inside to shoot the lasers sequence for "Won't Get Fooled Again." The shoot takes some time and Keith keeps the crew and others entertained with a display of his usual manic drumming. It is to be his last performance on the drums before an audience.

May 1973 (40 years ago)

U.K. #1 45's: "Tie a Yellow Ribbon 'Round the Ole Oak Tree" – Dawn ft. Tony Orlando; "See My Baby Jive" – Wizzard
U.S. #1 45's: "Tie a Yellow Ribbon 'Round the Ole Oak Tree" – Dawn ft. Tony Orlando; "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" – Stevie Wonder; "Frankenstein" – The Edgar Winter Group

Who manager and former record producer Kit Lambert meets with The Who at Mick Jagger's mansion Stargroves to structure the story and record demo versions of the songs for Quadrophenia. Pete later recalls he showed up "smashed...he scribbled his usually incomprehensible notes on the tape boxes and stopped our engineer Ron Nevison doing his job. At the end of the second week I sacked him, coming very close to punching him." It is the last time Lambert works directly with The Who.

On the 4th, John's interview on BBC Radio 1's Scene and Heard is broadcast.

On the 5th, Sandy Denny, former lead singer for Fairport Convention and "The Nurse" on the 1972 Orchestral version of Tommy, goes into A&M Studios in Los Angeles to record her new solo album Like An Old Fashioned Waltz. One of the tracks, "Friends," tells of her unrequited feelings for Pete.

Also on the 5th, Keith Moon is interviewed in Sounds magazine. He denies he is bored waiting for The Who to start working again and rejects the idea of doing a comedy solo album: "I was a bit dubious about the idea. So much of what I do is purely visual. I just can't imagine doing eight million ways of falling over, for instance, on record. I feel that might get rather lost."

On the 11th, John's third solo album John Entwistle's Rigor Mortis Sets In is released in Britain. The album had been delayed because of planned bridges between tracks that would have featured an imitation of BBC children's show character Andy Pandy spitting and vomiting. Melody Maker finds the Pandy-less LP "ideal party music." Nevertheless, the album fails to chart in the U.K.

On the 19th, Roger's solo album Daltrey and accompanying single "Giving It All Away" backed with "The Way Of The World" are released in the U.S. Circus dubs the album "a pleasant surprise" and Rolling Stone calls it "a superbly produced and written album." The album peaks at #45, the single at #83 in the Billboard charts and #60 in Cash Box.

On the 25th, the soundtrack to That'll Be The Day is released in the U.K. by Ronco Records. It features a recording of "Long Live Rock" with Billy Fury on vocals, Keith on drums, Pete and Ron Wood on guitars and Jack Bruce on bass. Keith shares a "Music Supervisor" credit with Neil Aspinall.

Also on the 25th, John stops by on BBC Radio 1's show Roundtable.

May 1968 (45 years ago)

U.K. #1 45's: "What a Wonderful World"/"Cabaret" – Louis Armstrong; "Young Girl" – Gary Puckett & The Union Gap
U.S. #1 45's: "Honey" – Bobby Goldsboro; "Tighten Up" – Archie Bell & The Drells

On the 3rd, The Who play the Pre Rag Ball at Hull University. They are the third choice after the Jimi Hendrix Experience and then The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown canceled. Opening for The Who is the English groups The Amboy Dukes and The Circus.

On the 4th, Melody Maker prints Chris Welch's story of a recent visit to Pete's home studio. Pete plays him the demo version of "Now I'm A Farmer" and says it is part of a new opera he is writing called "The Amazing Journey" about a deaf, dumb and blind boy who has dreams and sees himself as the ruler of the cosmos. It is the first public mention of what will eventually become Tommy.

Also on the 4th, "Call Me Lightning" reaches its U.S. chart peak at #40 in Billboard, retaining it the next week. On the same day both Melody Maker and Disc report that plans to release it as an A-side in the U.K. have been shelved because "it was recorded some time ago and they don't feel it represents their current work." Apparently it is good enough for the rest of Europe as it is released in France, Germany, Spain, Italy and several other countries. On the 18th, "Call Me Lightning" enters the Dutch charts where it peaks at #38.

And on the evening of the 4th, The Who perform at Mountford Hall at Liverpool University. Attendance is light because of a bus strike.

On the 8th, Pete is filmed as a guitar-playing cowboy for the end credits of Richard Stanley's 16mm student movie Lone Ranger.

On the 11th, The Who have another school date, this one at Strathclyde University in Glasgow, Scotland.

On the same day, Keith is interviewed in Record Mirror where he gives more details of the still-planned Who TV programme "Sound and Picture City". Around the same time he is interviewed in Disc and Music Echo and admits he has been secretly married for over two years and has a baby daughter. In connection with this article Keith, his wife Kim and daughter Mandy have their first public photos taken by Ian Tyas. The family then leaves for a short vacation in Mombasa, Kenya.

A far less secret marriage ceremony is held on the 20th as Pete and his long-time girlfriend Karen Astley wed at the Didicot Registry Office in Oxfordshire. The reception is held at the in-laws' but there is no honeymoon as Pete has to stay home to work on the next Who single.

Two days later, The Who record that single, "Dogs," at Advision Studios in London. Recording continues through the 29th with The Who recording more tracks for a new album. Pete's "Melancholia" and backing tracks for "Now I'm A Farmer" and "Magic Bus" are laid down to tape; Jess Roden of The Alan Bown Set provides backing vocals on the latter track. Also recorded are covers of "Fortune Teller," an as-yet-unreleased studio version of "Shakin' All Over," and also unreleased songs "Joy" and "Facts of Life."

During the recording, Pete in interviewed on camera for a CBS documentary. Part of the interview is later featured in ABC-TV's 1979 documentary Heroes of Rock 'n Roll.

Two more university shows. On the 24th, The Who play City University in Clerkenwell, London and on the 31st they are at the University in Manchester.

May 1963 (50 years ago)

U.K. #1 45: "From Me to You" – The Beatles
U.S. #1 45's: "I Will Follow Him" – Little Peggy March; "If You Wanna Be Happy" – Jimmy Soul

On the 17th, two days before Pete's 18th birthday, his art college and music worlds collide for the first time at the Park Hotel's Carnival Ballroom in Hanwell. "…All my college chums turned out. Some pretty girls from the fashion school stood at the front of the stage, pretending to scream at me like Beatles fans; they were teasing, but everyone was impressed, especially when we played the slightly funkier R&B tunes I'd managed to sneak into our otherwise catholic repertoire."

Other nights for fans to scream at Pete and The Detours are the Douglas House in Bayswater (5th, 12th, 19th and 26th), the White Hart Hotel in Acton (5th, 9th and 26th), The Oldfield Hotel in Greenford (11th, 18th, 23rd and 28th) and the Grand Ballroom in Broadstairs on the 24th. The two performances on the 26th mark the end of "Gabby" Connolly's time with The Detours. From this point on Roger takes over lead vocals.

Also during this month, The Beachcombers take band pictures with their new drummer Keith Moon.

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