Updated Aug. 22, 2021
April 1915 New music: "I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier" - Morton Harvey; "I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier" - Peerless Quartet; "The Little House Upon the Hill" - James F. Harrison & James Reed Courtesy: Chris Entwistle On the 25th, John Entwistle's father, Herbert Entwistle, is born.
January 1916 New music releases: "Somewhere a Voice Is Calling" - John McCormack; "Along the Rocky Road to Dublin" - American Quartet On the 28th, Pete's father, Cliff Townshend is born.
November 1919 New music releases: "Carolina Sunshine" - Sterling Trio; "Dear Heart" - John Steel; "I've Got My Captain Working For Me Now" - Billy Murray; "Mandy" - Shannon Four On the 30th. Keith Moon's father Alfred is born.
November 1920 New music releases: "Avalon" - Al Jolson; "I'll Be With You In Apple Blossom Time" - Charles Harrison; "My Little Bimbo Down On The Bimbo Isle" - Frank Crumit; "The Girls of My Dreams" - John Steel Photo: Hayley Madden On the 4th, Kathleen Hopley, later to be known as Kit Moon and mother to Keith Moon, is born.
November 1922 New music releases: "Three O'Clock in the Morning" - Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra; "My Buddy" - Henry Burr; "I Dream Of Jeanie With The Light Brown Hair" - Lambert Murphy; "I'm Just Wild About Harry" - Vincent Lopez & His Orchestra On the 22nd, Queenie Maud Lee, later Queenie Entwistle and mother to John, is born.
November 1923 New music Releases: "No, No, Nora" / "I've Got the Yes! We Have No Bananas Blues" - Eddie Cantor; "St. Louis Blues" - Handy's Orchestra; "Georgia Blues" - Ethel Waters On the 3rd, Betty Dennis, future mother of Pete, is born.
May 1935 New music releases: "Rhythm Is Our Business" - Jimmie Lunceford and His Orchestra; "In The Middle Of A Kiss" - Hal Kemp and His Orchestra; "In A Little Gypsy Tea Room" - Jan Garber and His Orchestra; "The Lady In Red" - Xavier Cugat and His Orchestra On the 11st, future Who manager Christopher "Kit" Lambert is born to British composer Constant Lambert and his wife Flo.
December 1941 New music releases: "Someone's Rocking My Dreamboat" - The Ink Spots; "Blues in the Night (My Mama Done Tol' Me)" - Woody Herman and His Orchestra; "Shepherd Serenade" - Bing Crosby; "(There'll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs Of Dover" - Kay Kyser and His Orchestra John's parents, Herbert and Queenie Entwistle, begin their war-time marriage.
July 1942 New music releases: "Jingle Jangle Jingle"/"He Wears A Pair Of Silver Wings" - Kay Kyser and His Orchestra; "(I've Got A Gal) In Kalamazoo" - Glenn Miller and His Orchestra; "Just as Though You Were Here" - Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra Photo: Chris Morphet On the 7th, future Who manager and brother of actor Terence Stamp, Christopher Thomas Stamp is born.
March 1944 New music releases: "San Fernando Valley" - Bing Crosby; "It's Love-Love-Love" - Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians; "MacNamara's Band" - Geraldo and His Orchestra; "Cow Cow Boogie" - Joe Loss and His Orchestra On the 1st, Roger Harry Daltrey is born at Hammersmith Hospital in West London. His mother, in labor, walks to the hospital from the Shepherd's Bush underground train station during a World War II Nazi aerial bombardment.
June 1944 New music releases: "You Always Hurt the One You Love"/"Till Then" - Mills Brothers; "Amor" - Andy Russell; "It Had To Be You" - Betty Hutton Two-months old Roger and his mother are evacuated to a farm in Stranraer, Scotland. They remain there for the duration of the war. Roger later wonders whether his lack of height came from malnourishment during this period.
October 1944 New music releases: "Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral (That's An Irish Lullaby)" - Bing Crosby; "The Trolley Song" - The Pied Pipers; "I'll Be Seeing You" - Anne Shelton; "Together" - Helen Forrest & Dick Haymes On the 9th, John Alec Entwistle is born at Hammersmith Hospital in Acton.
May 1945 New music releases: "June Comes Around Every Year" - Bing Crosby; "Bell Bottom Trousers" - Tony Pastor and His Orchestra; "Caldonia" - Woody Herman and His Orchestra; "Leave Us Leap" - Gene Krupa and His Orchestra On the 19th, Pete Dennis Blanford Townshend is born ten days after V-E (Victory in Europe) Day at the Central Middlesex Hospital Annexe in Chiswick, London to parents Cliff and Betty Townshend.
April 1946 New music releases: "The Gypsy" - Dinah Shore; "Sioux City Sue" - Bing Crosby and The Jesters; "Pedro, The Fisherman" - Richard Tauber; "Her Bathing Suit Never Got Wet" - The Andrews Sisters Courtesy: Chris Entwistle The parents of year-and-a-half old John Entwistle, Herbert and Queenie, separate, ending their four-year marriage. Queenie and John move to Chiswick, London.
August 1946 New music releases: "Five Minutes More"/"Try A Little Tenderness" - Frank Sinatra; "South America, Take It Away" - Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters; "Laughing On The Outside (Crying on the Inside)" - Dorothy Squires On the 23rd, Keith John Moon is released on an unsuspecting world by Kathleen and Alfred Moon of 224 Tokyngton Avenue, Wembley.
September 1948 New music releases: "Buttons and Bows" - Dinah Shore and Her Happy Valley Boys; "Until" - Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra On the 16th, Kenney Jones is born in London.
November 1948 New music releases: "A Little Bird Told Me" - Evelyn Knight; "Mule Train" - Tennessee Ernie Ford; "My Darling, My Darling" - Jo Stafford and Gordon MacRae with The Starlighters; "So Tired" - Russ Morgan and His Orchestra Photo courtesy John Bundrick On the 21st, Who keyboardist John "Rabbit" Bundrick is born in Baytown, Texas.
September 1949 New music releases: "Slipping Around" - Margaret Whiting and Jimmy Wakely; "I Can Dream, Can't I?" - The Andrews Sisters; "The Last Mile Home" - Donald Peers; "Don't Cry Joe (Let Her Go, Let Her Go, Let Her Go)" - Gordon Jenkins and His Orchestra 4-year old Pete attends Silverdale Nursery in Birch Grove, Acton.
September 1950 New music releases: "Harbor Lights" - Sammy Kaye; "Thinking of You" - Don Cherry; "Harbor Lights" - Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians; "Harbor Lights" - Ken Griffin Betty Townshend sends 5-year old Pete to the private Beacon House School.
February 1951 New music releases: "Good Luck, Good Health, God Bless You" - Steve Conway; "Mockin' Bird Hill" - Les Paul & Mary Ford; "Mockin' Bird Hill" - Patti Page; "If" - Dean Martin Sonny Boy Williamson releases his first recording of his song "Eyesight To The Blind" on 78rpm. The Who will cover it eighteen years later for their album Tommy.
September 1951 New music releases: "Sin (It's No Sin)" - Eddy Howard & His Orchestra; "Sin" - Four Aces featuring Al Alberts; "Down Yonder" - Del Wood; "Love's Roundabout" - Teddy Johnson Six-year old Pete, unhappy at his school in Acton, moves to St. Saviours in Westgate where his poor reading abilities put him at the bottom of the class. It is around this time that Pete's parents go on tour and put Pete in the care of his grandmother, a woman Pete later discovered was "clinically insane". Pete believes he suffered abuse at her hands which he subsequently blacked out of his memory but which subsequently influenced his writing of Tommy and other works as well as his path in life.
June 1952 New music releases: "Auf Widerseh'n Sweetheart" - Vera Lynn; "Botch-a-Me" - Rosemary Clooney; "Take My Heart" - Al Martino Pete's father Cliff Townshend begins a ten-year summer residency playing with The Squadronaires at The Palace Ballroom in Douglas, Isle of Man. This introduces a bit of stability to the Townshend marriage allowing them more time to raise young Pete without having to rely on relatives. 1946 film. Cliff is saxophonist to far right.
July 1952 New music releases: "Wish You Were Here" - Eddie Fisher and Hugo Winterhalter; "High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me)" - Frankie Laine Pete escapes the clutches of his crazy, abusive grandmother Denny as his mother brings him back to live full time at their home in Acton.
September 1952 New music releases: "Because You're Mine" - Mario Lanza; "Glow Worm" - The Mills Brothers; "Faith Can Move Mountains" - Nat "King" Cole Pete starts school at Berrymede Junior School in Osborne Road, South Acton.
June 1953 New music releases: "Vaya Con Dios" - Les Paul & Mary Ford; "The Moulin Rouge Theme (Where Is Your Heart)" - Mantovani and His Orchetra; "You, You, You" - The Ames Brothers; "No Other Love" - Perry Como Pete's family purchases their first TV to watch the coronation of Queen Elizabeth.
July 1953 New music releases: "Oh!" - Pee Wee Hunt; "Let's Walk That-a-way" - Doris Day and Johnnie Ray; "With These Hands" - Eddie Fisher; "C'est Si Bon" - Eartha Kitt Eight-year old Pete is photographed with his dog. The photo appears in the Acton Gazette.
May 1955 New music releases: "Unchained Melody" - Jimmy Young; "Unchained Melody" - Al Hibbler; "A Blossom Fell" - Nat "King" Cole; "Learnin' the Blues" - Frank Sinatra On the 8th, Cliff Townshend, Pete's father, receives a telegram from Norrie Parmor of Parlaphone Records offering him a solo record deal.
February 1956 New music releases: Carousel - Original Soundtrack; Belafonte - Harry Belafonte; "The Poor People of Paris" - Winifred Atwell; "Hot Diggity (Dog Ziggity Boom)" - Perry Como James Brown releases his first single "Please Please Please." It reaches #5 on the U.S. R&B charts and is later covered by The Who on their My Generation LP.
June 1956 New music releases: The King & I - Original Soundtrack; "Born to Be With You" - The Chordettes; "The Fool" - Sanford Clark; "Walk Hand in Hand" - Ronnie Carroll Eleven-year old Pete spends the summer on the Isle of Man where his dad is playing with The Squadronaires at the Palace Ballroom.
July 1956 New music releases: "Don't Be Cruel"/"Hound Dog" - Elvis Presley; "My Prayer" - The Platters; "Canadian Sunset" - Eddie Haywood and Hugo Winterhalter; "Honky Tonk" - Bill Doggett On the 28th, Cliff Townshend takes his son Pete to a showing of a movie featuring the rock 'n roll music of Bill Haley and His Comets at the Gaiety Theatre, Douglas. Pete remembers the movie as being Rock Around The Clock although, given the date, it is almost certainly Blackboard Jungle. In any case, swing band member Cliff declares the music "not bad" but young Pete finds the new style "amazing."
October 1956 New music releases: Elvis - Elvis Presley; s marvelous - Ray Conniff and His Orchestra; "Singing the Blues" - Guy Mitchell; "The Green Door" - Frankie Vaughan Photo: Brian Cady Pete and John enter Form 1 at Acton County Grammar. Within a few months they meet, become friends and start up the first of several after-school bands.
December 1956 New music releases: Hymns - Tennessee Ernie Ford; "Young Love" - Tab Hunter; "The Garden of Eden" - Frankie Vaughan; "Day O (The Banana Boat Song)" - Harry Belafonte On Christmas Day, Pete's Grandmother Denny gives him a guitar. Pete later describes it as the sort of cheap guitar one would see decorating the wall of an Italian restaurant. Despite calling this his first guitar early in his career, he will reveal in 2007 that his mother had earlier given him a 1936 Radiotone guitar (left) that belonged to his Uncle Jack. He will give this guitar to Rachel Fuller (later Mrs. Townshend) to auction for charity and then provide its backstory in 2007.
February 1957 New music releases: "Little Darlin'" - The Diamonds; "Butterfly" - Andy Williams; "Gone" - Ferlin Husky; "Knee Deep in the Blues" - Guy Mitchell On the 6th, Bill Haley and His Comets bring their rock 'n' roll sound to the Dominion in London for a four-night stand. Cliff Townshend accompanies his 11-year old son Pete to one of these shows.
March 1957 New music releases: "All Shook Up" - Elvis Presley; The Fabulous Fifties - Roger Williams; An Evening with Belafonte - Harry Belafonte; "Yes Tonight Josephine" - Johnnie Ray On the 7th, Mose Allison records "Blues", a short number for his album Back Country Suite. Redubbed "Young Man Blues", it will become one of The Who's most powerful covers.
May 1957 New music releases: "That'll Be the Day" - The Crickets; Film Encores - Mantovani; "Gamblin' Man" - Lonnie Donegan; "Island in the Sun" - Harry Belafonte Keith fails his 11-plus exam.
July 1957 New music releases: Loving You - Elvis Presley; "Diana" - Paul Anka; "Honeycomb" - Jimmie Rodgers; "Water Water" - Tommy Steele & The Steelmen Around this time, Roger's mother discovers her son playing guitar to a crowd while they are on holiday.
December 1957 New music releases: "Catch a Falling Star" - Perry Como; Christmas Hymns and Carols - The Robert Shaw Chorale; "The Story of My Life" - Michael Holliday; "Stood Up" - Ricky Nelson On the 6th, Pete's first sibling Paul is born.
June 1958 New music releases: "Hard Headed Woman" - Elvis Presley; The Kingston Trio - The Kingston Trio; Sing Along with Mitch - Mitch Miller & The Gang; "Stupid Cupid" - Connie Francis On the 27th, Roger, as "D. Altrey" appears in the Hammersmith & Shepherds Bush Gazette with his skiffle band The Sulgrave Rebels. They had just won a talent competition held at Wormholt Park School in Shepherd's Bush. It is their only performance although some members of the band will follow Roger into The Detours.
July 1958 New music releases: Tchaikovsky Concerto No. 1 - Van Cliburn; "It's Only Make Believe" - Conway Twitty; Swing Softly - Johnny Mathis; "It's All in the Game" - Tommy Edwards On the 21st, Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues" is released. It will peak at #8 on the U.S. charts and #18 on the British charts and become a staple in The Who's live act from at least 1967.
December 1958 New music releases: The Star Carol - Tennessee Ernie Ford; Flower Drum Song - Original Cast; "Petite Fleur" - Chris Barber's Jazz Band; "Donna" - Ritchie Valens Pete with banjo, John with back to camera On the 6th, John and Pete's trad jazz band The Confederates (so named because the official school band was called The Union) have their first paying gig at the Congo Club at the Congregational Church in Acton. The audience is about ten people. Form Master Parkinson describes the 12-year old Keith Moon on his report card: "His behavior is rather young for his age. His air of perky spriteliness, while refreshing for a time, is, I feel, largely put on for effect. It is time he adopted a different line."
March 1959 New music releases: "(Now and Then There's) A Fool Such As I" - Elvis Presley; Still More! Sing Along with Mitch - Mitch Miller & The Gang; "Quiet Village" - Martin Denny; "A Teenager in Love" - Dion and the Belmonts Around this time, Acton County Grammar School officials write to the parents of Roger suggesting they take the fifteen year-old out of school because he refuses to wear his school uniform. Roger leaves, ultimately gets a day job as a sheet-metal worker, and spends his nights putting a band together he calls The Detours.
December 1959 New music releases: Time Out - The Dave Brubeck Quartet; Christmas with Conniff - The Ray Conniff Singers; Persuasive Percussion - Enoch Light and His Orchestra; Faithfully - Johnny Mathis On Keith's end-of-term report card, one teacher warns he has "great ability but must guard against tendency to show off."
June 1960 New music releases: Sentimental Sing Along with Mitch - Mitch Miller & His Gang; "Please Don't Leave" - Cliff Richard; "The Twist" - Chubby Checker; "Shakin' All Over" - Johnny Kidd & The Pirates On the 16th, Johnny Kidd and The Pirates, probably the first British group to eliminate the rhythm guitarist and perform with just a guitarist, bassist, drummer and singer, hit the U.K. charts with "Shakin' All Over" which goes to #1. The Detours will later open for them, be influenced by their lineup and as The Who, record "Shakin' All Over" for Live At Leeds.
October 1960 New music releases: G.I. Blues - Elvis Presley; The Ray Conniff Hi-Fi Companion - Ray Conniff and His Orchestra and Chorus; Joan Baez - Joan Baez; Memories Sing Along with Mitch - Mitch Miller & The Gang On the 10th, 15-year old Pete gets another baby brother. Simon Townshend will go on to be a recording artist in his own right and will join The Who as additional guitarist and vocalist from 1996 to the present day.
March 1961 New music releases: My Favorite Things - John Coltrane; "Running Scared" - Roy Orbison; "You're Driving Me Crazy" - The Temperance Seven; "Daddy's Home" - Shep and the Limelites Fourteen-year old Keith Moon decides he has had enough of school before school decides it has had enough of Keith Moon.
April 1961 New music releases: "Stand By Me" - Ben E. King; "Travelin' Man" - Ricky Nelson; "Tossin' and Turnin'" - Bobby Lewis; "Raindrops" - Dee Clark 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.
May 1961 New music releases: "I Feel So Bad" - Elvis Presley; "Well I Ask You" - Eden Kane; "Wooden Heart" - Joe Dowell; "Temptation" - The Everly Brothers On the 4th, John receives his first musical review in the Acton Post and Gazette for his performance at the annual music festival for Acton Secondary Schools' choirs and musical ensembles. "John Entwistle was the only soloist of the evening. He played the finale from the Horn Concerto No. 4, by Mozart. It's a popular horn solo which calls for nimble fingering. John could have given it a little more volume without any injustice to Mozart." On the 15th, James Brown and The Famous Flames release the original version of "I Don't Mind." The Who later record it for the My Generation LP. On the same date The Regents' "Barbara Ann," originally recorded in 1958, hits the U.S. charts where it peaks at #13. The Who will record it for the Ready Steady Who EP and The Kids Are Alright movie. Around this month, Pete and John finish their time at Acton County Grammar School. Pete heads on to art school while John's mom gets him a job working for Inland Revenue. He will keep this day job for more than three years.
August 1961 New music releases: "Please Mr. Postman" - The Marvelettes; "(Marie's the Name) His Latest Flame" - Elvis Presley; Jump Up Calypso - Harry Belafonte; Halfway to Paradise - Billy Fury On the 23rd, the avant-garde artist Gustav Metzger releases his third Auto-Destructive Art manifesto "Auto-Destructive Art Machine Art Auto Creative Art": "The immediate objective is the creation, with the aid of computers, of works of art whose movements are programmed and include 'self-regulation'. The spectator, by means of electronic devices can have a direct bearing on the action of these works." Metzger will soon lecture at Pete's art college and his ideas will become a major influence on Pete's, and by extension The Who's, future artistic path.
September 1961 New music releases: The Highwaymen - The Highwaymen; "Big Bad John" - Jimmy Dean; Breakfast at Tiffany's - Henry Mancini; Joan Baez, Vol. 2 - Joan Baez Pete starts a 2-year introductory course at Ealing Technical College and School of Art. Around this time, John runs into Roger who recruits him as bass player in his group The Detours. Meanwhile, Keith takes night classes in electronics at Harrow Technical College. Their future manager Kit Lambert returns to England after the disastrous Brazilian expedition that led to his friend's death. On the 16th, James Brown's single "Just You and Me Darling," later covered by The Who, hits the Billboard charts.
November 1961 New music releases: "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" - The Tokens; "Let Me In" - The Sensations; "The Wanderer" - Dion; "Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen" - Neil Sedaka On the 5th, Guy Fawkes Night, Keith and Gerry Evens of The Escorts go to a bonfire party on an old dump behind Evans' house in Queensbury. "Of course, he was the guy who ran through the bonfire," recalled Gerry, "and he was the guy who let off all the bangers behind the girls. And the next week, all my neighbours said, 'Who's that little bloke? He's a complete nutcase, did you see what he did?'"
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Updated Aug. 22, 2021

April 1915

New music: "I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier" - Morton Harvey; "I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier" - Peerless Quartet; "The Little House Upon the Hill" - James F. Harrison & James Reed

On the 25th, John Entwistle's father, Herbert Entwistle, is born.

January 1916

New music releases: "Somewhere a Voice Is Calling" - John McCormack; "Along the Rocky Road to Dublin" - American Quartet

On the 28th, Pete's father, Cliff Townshend is born.

November 1919

New music releases: "Carolina Sunshine" - Sterling Trio; "Dear Heart" - John Steel; "I've Got My Captain Working For Me Now" - Billy Murray; "Mandy" - Shannon Four

On the 30th. Keith Moon's father Alfred is born.

November 1920

New music releases: "Avalon" - Al Jolson; "I'll Be With You In Apple Blossom Time" - Charles Harrison; "My Little Bimbo Down On The Bimbo Isle" - Frank Crumit; "The Girls of My Dreams" - John Steel

On the 4th, Kathleen Hopley, later to be known as Kit Moon and mother to Keith Moon, is born.

November 1922

New music releases: "Three O'Clock in the Morning" - Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra; "My Buddy" - Henry Burr; "I Dream Of Jeanie With The Light Brown Hair" - Lambert Murphy; "I'm Just Wild About Harry" - Vincent Lopez & His Orchestra

On the 22nd, Queenie Maud Lee, later Queenie Entwistle and mother to John, is born.

November 1923

New music Releases: "No, No, Nora" / "I've Got the Yes! We Have No Bananas Blues" - Eddie Cantor; "St. Louis Blues" - Handy's Orchestra; "Georgia Blues" - Ethel Waters

On the 3rd, Betty Dennis, future mother of Pete, is born.

May 1935

New music releases: "Rhythm Is Our Business" - Jimmie Lunceford and His Orchestra; "In The Middle Of A Kiss" - Hal Kemp and His Orchestra; "In A Little Gypsy Tea Room" - Jan Garber and His Orchestra; "The Lady In Red" - Xavier Cugat and His Orchestra

On the 11st, future Who manager Christopher "Kit" Lambert is born to British composer Constant Lambert and his wife Flo.

December 1941

New music releases: "Someone's Rocking My Dreamboat" - The Ink Spots; "Blues in the Night (My Mama Done Tol' Me)" - Woody Herman and His Orchestra; "Shepherd Serenade" - Bing Crosby; "(There'll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs Of Dover" - Kay Kyser and His Orchestra

John's parents, Herbert and Queenie Entwistle, begin their war-time marriage.

July 1942

New music releases: "Jingle Jangle Jingle"/"He Wears A Pair Of Silver Wings" - Kay Kyser and His Orchestra; "(I've Got A Gal) In Kalamazoo" - Glenn Miller and His Orchestra; "Just as Though You Were Here" - Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra

Chris Stamp 12 Nov 1966 — Photo: Chris Morphet

On the 7th, future Who manager and brother of actor Terence Stamp, Christopher Thomas Stamp is born.

March 1944

New music releases: "San Fernando Valley" - Bing Crosby; "It's Love-Love-Love" - Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians; "MacNamara's Band" - Geraldo and His Orchestra; "Cow Cow Boogie" - Joe Loss and His Orchestra

On the 1st, Roger Harry Daltrey is born at Hammersmith Hospital in West London. His mother, in labor, walks to the hospital from the Shepherd's Bush underground train station during a World War II Nazi aerial bombardment.

June 1944

New music releases: "You Always Hurt the One You Love"/"Till Then" - Mills Brothers; "Amor" - Andy Russell; "It Had To Be You" - Betty Hutton

Two-months old Roger and his mother are evacuated to a farm in Stranraer, Scotland. They remain there for the duration of the war. Roger later wonders whether his lack of height came from malnourishment during this period.

October 1944

New music releases: "Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral (That's An Irish Lullaby)" - Bing Crosby; "The Trolley Song" - The Pied Pipers; "I'll Be Seeing You" - Anne Shelton; "Together" - Helen Forrest & Dick Haymes

On the 9th, John Alec Entwistle is born at Hammersmith Hospital in Acton.

May 1945

New music releases: "June Comes Around Every Year" - Bing Crosby; "Bell Bottom Trousers" - Tony Pastor and His Orchestra; "Caldonia" - Woody Herman and His Orchestra; "Leave Us Leap" - Gene Krupa and His Orchestra

On the 19th, Pete Dennis Blanford Townshend is born ten days after V-E (Victory in Europe) Day at the Central Middlesex Hospital Annexe in Chiswick, London to parents Cliff and Betty Townshend.

April 1946

New music releases: "The Gypsy" - Dinah Shore; "Sioux City Sue" - Bing Crosby and The Jesters; "Pedro, The Fisherman" - Richard Tauber; "Her Bathing Suit Never Got Wet" - The Andrews Sisters

Baby John Entwistle and Mom — Courtesy: Chris Entwistle

The parents of year-and-a-half old John Entwistle, Herbert and Queenie, separate, ending their four-year marriage. Queenie and John move to Chiswick, London.

August 1946

New music releases: "Five Minutes More"/"Try A Little Tenderness" - Frank Sinatra; "South America, Take It Away" - Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters; "Laughing On The Outside (Crying on the Inside)" - Dorothy Squires

On the 23rd, Keith John Moon is released on an unsuspecting world by Kathleen and Alfred Moon of 224 Tokyngton Avenue, Wembley.

September 1948

New music releases: "Buttons and Bows" - Dinah Shore and Her Happy Valley Boys; "Until" - Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra

On the 16th, Kenney Jones is born in London.

November 1948

New music releases: "A Little Bird Told Me" - Evelyn Knight; "Mule Train" - Tennessee Ernie Ford; "My Darling, My Darling" - Jo Stafford and Gordon MacRae with The Starlighters; "So Tired" - Russ Morgan and His Orchestra

Baby Rabbit — Photo courtesy John Bundrick

On the 21st, Who keyboardist John "Rabbit" Bundrick is born in Baytown, Texas.

September 1949

New music releases: "Slipping Around" - Margaret Whiting and Jimmy Wakely; "I Can Dream, Can't I?" - The Andrews Sisters; "The Last Mile Home" - Donald Peers; "Don't Cry Joe (Let Her Go, Let Her Go, Let Her Go)" - Gordon Jenkins and His Orchestra

4-year old Pete attends Silverdale Nursery in Birch Grove, Acton.

September 1950

New music releases: "Harbor Lights" - Sammy Kaye; "Thinking of You" - Don Cherry; "Harbor Lights" - Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians; "Harbor Lights" - Ken Griffin

Betty Townshend sends 5-year old Pete to the private Beacon House School.

February 1951

New music releases: "Good Luck, Good Health, God Bless You" - Steve Conway; "Mockin' Bird Hill" - Les Paul & Mary Ford; "Mockin' Bird Hill" - Patti Page; "If" - Dean Martin

Sonny Boy Williamson releases his first recording of his song "Eyesight To The Blind" on 78rpm. The Who will cover it eighteen years later for their album Tommy.

September 1951

New music releases: "Sin (It's No Sin)" - Eddy Howard & His Orchestra; "Sin" - Four Aces featuring Al Alberts; "Down Yonder" - Del Wood; "Love's Roundabout" - Teddy Johnson

Six-year old Pete, unhappy at his school in Acton, moves to St. Saviours in Westgate where his poor reading abilities put him at the bottom of the class.

It is around this time that Pete's parents go on tour and put Pete in the care of his grandmother, a woman Pete later discovered was "clinically insane". Pete believes he suffered abuse at her hands which he subsequently blacked out of his memory but which subsequently influenced his writing of Tommy and other works as well as his path in life.

June 1952

New music releases: "Auf Widerseh'n Sweetheart" - Vera Lynn; "Botch-a-Me" - Rosemary Clooney; "Take My Heart" - Al Martino

Pete's father Cliff Townshend begins a ten-year summer residency playing with The Squadronaires at The Palace Ballroom in Douglas, Isle of Man. This introduces a bit of stability to the Townshend marriage allowing them more time to raise young Pete without having to rely on relatives.

1946 film. Cliff is saxophonist to far right.

July 1952

New music releases: "Wish You Were Here" - Eddie Fisher and Hugo Winterhalter; "High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me)" - Frankie Laine

Pete escapes the clutches of his crazy, abusive grandmother Denny as his mother brings him back to live full time at their home in Acton.

September 1952

New music releases: "Because You're Mine" - Mario Lanza; "Glow Worm" - The Mills Brothers; "Faith Can Move Mountains" - Nat "King" Cole

Pete starts school at Berrymede Junior School in Osborne Road, South Acton.

June 1953

New music releases: "Vaya Con Dios" - Les Paul & Mary Ford; "The Moulin Rouge Theme (Where Is Your Heart)" - Mantovani and His Orchetra; "You, You, You" - The Ames Brothers; "No Other Love" - Perry Como

British family watches Queen Elizabeth coronation

Pete's family purchases their first TV to watch the coronation of Queen Elizabeth.

July 1953

New music releases: "Oh!" - Pee Wee Hunt; "Let's Walk That-a-way" - Doris Day and Johnnie Ray; "With These Hands" - Eddie Fisher; "C'est Si Bon" - Eartha Kitt

Eight-year old Pete is photographed with his dog. The photo appears in the Acton Gazette.

May 1955

New music releases: "Unchained Melody" - Jimmy Young; "Unchained Melody" - Al Hibbler; "A Blossom Fell" - Nat "King" Cole; "Learnin' the Blues" - Frank Sinatra

On the 8th, Cliff Townshend, Pete's father, receives a telegram from Norrie Parmor of Parlaphone Records offering him a solo record deal.

February 1956

New music releases: Carousel - Original Soundtrack; Belafonte - Harry Belafonte; "The Poor People of Paris" - Winifred Atwell; "Hot Diggity (Dog Ziggity Boom)" - Perry Como

James Brown releases his first single "Please Please Please." It reaches #5 on the U.S. R&B charts and is later covered by The Who on their My Generation LP.

June 1956

New music releases: The King & I - Original Soundtrack; "Born to Be With You" - The Chordettes; "The Fool" - Sanford Clark; "Walk Hand in Hand" - Ronnie Carroll

Eleven-year old Pete spends the summer on the Isle of Man where his dad is playing with The Squadronaires at the Palace Ballroom.

July 1956

New music releases: "Don't Be Cruel"/"Hound Dog" - Elvis Presley; "My Prayer" - The Platters; "Canadian Sunset" - Eddie Haywood and Hugo Winterhalter; "Honky Tonk" - Bill Doggett

On the 28th, Cliff Townshend takes his son Pete to a showing of a movie featuring the rock 'n roll music of Bill Haley and His Comets at the Gaiety Theatre, Douglas. Pete remembers the movie as being Rock Around The Clock although, given the date, it is almost certainly Blackboard Jungle. In any case, swing band member Cliff declares the music "not bad" but young Pete finds the new style "amazing."

October 1956

New music releases: Elvis - Elvis Presley; s marvelous - Ray Conniff and His Orchestra; "Singing the Blues" - Guy Mitchell; "The Green Door" - Frankie Vaughan

Acton County Grammar 1998 — Photo: Brian Cady

Pete and John enter Form 1 at Acton County Grammar. Within a few months they meet, become friends and start up the first of several after-school bands.

December 1956

New music releases: Hymns - Tennessee Ernie Ford; "Young Love" - Tab Hunter; "The Garden of Eden" - Frankie Vaughan; "Day O (The Banana Boat Song)" - Harry Belafonte

On Christmas Day, Pete's Grandmother Denny gives him a guitar. Pete later describes it as the sort of cheap guitar one would see decorating the wall of an Italian restaurant. Despite calling this his first guitar early in his career, he will reveal in 2007 that his mother had earlier given him a 1936 Radiotone guitar (left) that belonged to his Uncle Jack. He will give this guitar to Rachel Fuller (later Mrs. Townshend) to auction for charity and then provide its backstory in 2007.

February 1957

New music releases: "Little Darlin'" - The Diamonds; "Butterfly" - Andy Williams; "Gone" - Ferlin Husky; "Knee Deep in the Blues" - Guy Mitchell

On the 6th, Bill Haley and His Comets bring their rock 'n' roll sound to the Dominion in London for a four-night stand. Cliff Townshend accompanies his 11-year old son Pete to one of these shows.

March 1957

New music releases: "All Shook Up" - Elvis Presley; The Fabulous Fifties - Roger Williams; An Evening with Belafonte - Harry Belafonte; "Yes Tonight Josephine" - Johnnie Ray

On the 7th, Mose Allison records "Blues", a short number for his album Back Country Suite. Redubbed "Young Man Blues", it will become one of The Who's most powerful covers.

May 1957

New music releases: "That'll Be the Day" - The Crickets; Film Encores - Mantovani; "Gamblin' Man" - Lonnie Donegan; "Island in the Sun" - Harry Belafonte

Keith fails his 11-plus exam.

July 1957

New music releases: Loving You - Elvis Presley; "Diana" - Paul Anka; "Honeycomb" - Jimmie Rodgers; "Water Water" - Tommy Steele & The Steelmen

Around this time, Roger's mother discovers her son playing guitar to a crowd while they are on holiday.

December 1957

New music releases: "Catch a Falling Star" - Perry Como; Christmas Hymns and Carols - The Robert Shaw Chorale; "The Story of My Life" - Michael Holliday; "Stood Up" - Ricky Nelson

On the 6th, Pete's first sibling Paul is born.

June 1958

New music releases: "Hard Headed Woman" - Elvis Presley; The Kingston Trio - The Kingston Trio; Sing Along with Mitch - Mitch Miller & The Gang; "Stupid Cupid" - Connie Francis

On the 27th, Roger, as "D. Altrey" appears in the Hammersmith & Shepherds Bush Gazette with his skiffle band The Sulgrave Rebels. They had just won a talent competition held at Wormholt Park School in Shepherd's Bush. It is their only performance although some members of the band will follow Roger into The Detours.

July 1958

New music releases: Tchaikovsky Concerto No. 1 - Van Cliburn; "It's Only Make Believe" - Conway Twitty; Swing Softly - Johnny Mathis; "It's All in the Game" - Tommy Edwards

On the 21st, Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues" is released. It will peak at #8 on the U.S. charts and #18 on the British charts and become a staple in The Who's live act from at least 1967.

December 1958

New music releases: The Star Carol - Tennessee Ernie Ford; Flower Drum Song - Original Cast; "Petite Fleur" - Chris Barber's Jazz Band; "Donna" - Ritchie Valens

The Confederates 1958 — Pete with banjo, John with back to camera

On the 6th, John and Pete's trad jazz band The Confederates (so named because the official school band was called The Union) have their first paying gig at the Congo Club at the Congregational Church in Acton. The audience is about ten people.

Form Master Parkinson describes the 12-year old Keith Moon on his report card: "His behavior is rather young for his age. His air of perky spriteliness, while refreshing for a time, is, I feel, largely put on for effect. It is time he adopted a different line."

March 1959

New music releases: "(Now and Then There's) A Fool Such As I" - Elvis Presley; Still More! Sing Along with Mitch - Mitch Miller & The Gang; "Quiet Village" - Martin Denny; "A Teenager in Love" - Dion and the Belmonts

Around this time, Acton County Grammar School officials write to the parents of Roger suggesting they take the fifteen year-old out of school because he refuses to wear his school uniform. Roger leaves, ultimately gets a day job as a sheet-metal worker, and spends his nights putting a band together he calls The Detours.

December 1959

New music releases: Time Out - The Dave Brubeck Quartet; Christmas with Conniff - The Ray Conniff Singers; Persuasive Percussion - Enoch Light and His Orchestra; Faithfully - Johnny Mathis

On Keith's end-of-term report card, one teacher warns he has "great ability but must guard against tendency to show off."

June 1960

New music releases: Sentimental Sing Along with Mitch - Mitch Miller & His Gang; "Please Don't Leave" - Cliff Richard; "The Twist" - Chubby Checker; "Shakin' All Over" - Johnny Kidd & The Pirates

On the 16th, Johnny Kidd and The Pirates, probably the first British group to eliminate the rhythm guitarist and perform with just a guitarist, bassist, drummer and singer, hit the U.K. charts with "Shakin' All Over" which goes to #1. The Detours will later open for them, be influenced by their lineup and as The Who, record "Shakin' All Over" for Live At Leeds.

October 1960

New music releases: G.I. Blues - Elvis Presley; The Ray Conniff Hi-Fi Companion - Ray Conniff and His Orchestra and Chorus; Joan Baez - Joan Baez; Memories Sing Along with Mitch - Mitch Miller & The Gang

On the 10th, 15-year old Pete gets another baby brother. Simon Townshend will go on to be a recording artist in his own right and will join The Who as additional guitarist and vocalist from 1996 to the present day.

March 1961

New music releases: My Favorite Things - John Coltrane; "Running Scared" - Roy Orbison; "You're Driving Me Crazy" - The Temperance Seven; "Daddy's Home" - Shep and the Limelites

Fourteen-year old Keith Moon decides he has had enough of school before school decides it has had enough of Keith Moon.

April 1961

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

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.

May 1961

New music releases: "I Feel So Bad" - Elvis Presley; "Well I Ask You" - Eden Kane; "Wooden Heart" - Joe Dowell; "Temptation" - The Everly Brothers

On the 4th, John receives his first musical review in the Acton Post and Gazette for his performance at the annual music festival for Acton Secondary Schools' choirs and musical ensembles. "John Entwistle was the only soloist of the evening. He played the finale from the Horn Concerto No. 4, by Mozart. It's a popular horn solo which calls for nimble fingering. John could have given it a little more volume without any injustice to Mozart."

On the 15th, James Brown and The Famous Flames release the original version of "I Don't Mind." The Who later record it for the My Generation LP.

On the same date The Regents' "Barbara Ann," originally recorded in 1958, hits the U.S. charts where it peaks at #13. The Who will record it for the Ready Steady Who EP and The Kids Are Alright movie.

Around this month, Pete and John finish their time at Acton County Grammar School. Pete heads on to art school while John's mom gets him a job working for Inland Revenue. He will keep this day job for more than three years.

August 1961

New music releases: "Please Mr. Postman" - The Marvelettes; "(Marie's the Name) His Latest Flame" - Elvis Presley; Jump Up Calypso - Harry Belafonte; Halfway to Paradise - Billy Fury

On the 23rd, the avant-garde artist Gustav Metzger releases his third Auto-Destructive Art manifesto "Auto-Destructive Art Machine Art Auto Creative Art": "The immediate objective is the creation, with the aid of computers, of works of art whose movements are programmed and include 'self-regulation'. The spectator, by means of electronic devices can have a direct bearing on the action of these works." Metzger will soon lecture at Pete's art college and his ideas will become a major influence on Pete's, and by extension The Who's, future artistic path.

September 1961

New music releases: The Highwaymen - The Highwaymen; "Big Bad John" - Jimmy Dean; Breakfast at Tiffany's - Henry Mancini; Joan Baez, Vol. 2 - Joan Baez

Pete starts a 2-year introductory course at Ealing Technical College and School of Art. Around this time, John runs into Roger who recruits him as bass player in his group The Detours. Meanwhile, Keith takes night classes in electronics at Harrow Technical College. Their future manager Kit Lambert returns to England after the disastrous Brazilian expedition that led to his friend's death.

On the 16th, James Brown's single "Just You and Me Darling," later covered by The Who, hits the Billboard charts.

November 1961

New music releases: "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" - The Tokens; "Let Me In" - The Sensations; "The Wanderer" - Dion; "Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen" - Neil Sedaka

On the 5th, Guy Fawkes Night, Keith and Gerry Evens of The Escorts go to a bonfire party on an old dump behind Evans' house in Queensbury. "Of course, he was the guy who ran through the bonfire," recalled Gerry, "and he was the guy who let off all the bangers behind the girls. And the next week, all my neighbours said, 'Who's that little bloke? He's a complete nutcase, did you see what he did?'"