"Tea & Theatre" - Long Beach

On the 7th, The Who plus guests perform for the Teenage Cancer Trust at Royal Albert Hall with supporting act The Electric Soft Parade. Pete puts in a lackluster performance telling the audience several times that he’s bored.

The following night at the same venue Pete is a bit more alert but a trifle unsteady. At one point he falls offstage. This show will be the last in John Entwistle's 37-year career with The Who.

Also on the 8th, Roger Daltrey tells The Sun that he had Mike Myers audition to play Keith Moon. Myers' publicist later denies it.

On the 9th, Roger is still on stage at the Royal Albert Hall but not with The Who. He joins Paul Weller's band to sing "I Can See For Miles."

On the 13th, Pete answers questions from fans in The Independent. He says "I don't want to go into the studio with The Who. Roger does."

On the 17th, Pete quietly updates a diary entry to say that the plan to turn Quadrophenia into an onstage musical "has ground to a halt."

On the 18th, Pete Townshend: Music From Lifehouse, a video of his 2000 concert at Sadler’s Wells, is released on DVD and VHS in the U.K. The U.S. release follows on the 26th. It is also available as a lower-res online download.

On the 23rd, Gordon Giltrap releases a two-CD best-of called Collection featuring John on bass on "Who Knows Where Tomorrow Goes."

On the same day, Oasis release their CD single "Little By Little" containing their cover of "My Generation".

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February 1997 (15 Years Ago)

On the 2nd, Pete Townshend holds a party at "LA 2" in London to celebrate the London edition of the musical Tommy getting 8 Olivier Award nominations. Pete plays a 75-minute set. John Entwistle is also there but doesn't perform. Roger Daltrey is then in Los Angeles working on the Showtime sitcom Rude Awakenings.

On the 7th, a British Airways Concorde jet carrying Pete and Elton John from London to New York makes an emergency landing in Halifax after the craft develops engine trouble. Pete says it was the second time he'd been on the supersonic jet when it developed engine trouble and he won't be flying it again.

Newspapers report that Roger will be in the cast of a movie called "The Fifth Freedom" opposite Jurgen Prochnow shooting in April in The Netherlands. The movie, if shot, is never released.

On the 14th, Glenn Tipton's CD Baptism By Fire CD is released. John plays bass on the song "The Healer." Until a CD of the sessions is released in 2006, this is the only result of a planned group, Tipton, Entwistle and [Cozy] Powell.

On the 16th, The Laurence Olivier Awards are handed out. Tommy wins for Outstanding Musical Production, Des McAnuff for Best Director, Chris Parry for Best Lighting Designer and Tim Hatley for Best Set Designer.

On the 21st, Roger appears as Colonel Rickman in the first of a two-part show on the Fox sci-fi series Sliders.

On the same day the video Message To Love: The Isle Of Wight Festival, featuring The Who's performances of "Young Man Blues" and "Naked Eye," is finally released in the U.S.

February 1992 (20 Years Ago)

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February 1982 (30 Years Ago)

UK#1 45's - "Computer Love"/"The Model" - Kraftwerk; "A Town Called Malice"/"Precious" - The Jam
US#1 45 - "Centerfold" - The J. Geils Band

February 1977 (35 Years Ago)

UK#1 45's -  "Don't Give Up on Us" - David Soul; "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" - Julie Covington; "When I Need You" - Leo Sayer

February 1972 (40 Years Ago)

UK#1 45's - "Telegram Sam" - T.Rex; "Son of My Father" - Chicory Tip
US#1 45's - "American Pie" - Don McLean; "Let's Stay Together" - Al Green; "Without You" - Nilsson

On the 10th, The Who assemble at a studio in Blackfairs for Tony McGrath to shoot a recreation of their 1966 photo for a new cover article in The Observer. Keith is late in arriving from a Disc and Music Echo party at Hatchett's Club in Piccadilly where he and John accepted The Who's award for Best Live Band. The issue is released March 19.

On the 12th, New Musical Express prints the article: "Daltrey: tea in the country with the Who singer." Roger says football is replacing rock as the major youth interest.

"I Can't Explain" is released in Sweden as a single backed with "Baba O'Riley."

On the 22nd, a production of Tommy opens at The Aquarius Theater in Hollywood. It is the first staging to seek and receive Pete's approval. The musical runs through March 26.

February 1967 (45 Years Ago)

On the 1st, The Who appear on Scene on Granada television. Also on the show is politician Quintin Hogg who had represented Shel Talmy in the previous year's lawsuit.

Also on the 1st, Swedish Television airs part one of a Popside special showing The Who recording "Bucket T." On the 5th, "Bucket T" backed with "So Sad About Us" is released in Sweden and the popularity of the Popside program sends the single to #1. It is The Who's biggest hit in that country. "Bucket T" is also released as a single backed with "Run Run Run" in Norway and Denmark.

Meanwhile The Who hit the ballrooms and other venues of England. The 2nd sees them at the Locarno Ballroom in Coventry, the 4th at The Birdcage in Portsmouth and the 5th at The Waterfront in Southampton.

On the 4th, in Melody Maker, John now has his chance to do blind ratings of singles. Without knowing the artists he rates new records by Donovan, Petula Clark and Herman's Hermits. On the same day New Musical Express prints the article: "Who are mellower fellows now". It's an interview with Keith.

Also on the 4th, Billboard notes The Rovin’ Kind’s cover of "My Generation" as a new release it picks for the Top 100 (it does not chart).

The next day (5th), the tabloid News Of The World runs an exposé called "Pop Stars and Drugs - Facts That Will Shock You." The article claims that The Moody Blues hosted parties at which Pete and Ginger Baker openly took LSD. Mick Jagger, also named in the article, says he will bring a libel suit against the newspaper.

On the 7th, "La La La Lies" enters Sweden’s Kvällstoppen sales chart, peaking at #17.

On the 10th, Roger not only misses The Who's show at the Gaiety Ballroom in Grimsby but also part of the ballroom's glass ceiling falling on the band during their set. On the 11th, the reunited band plays the Royal Links Pavillion in Cromer with The Money Spiders and Alex Wilson's Sect opening.

On the 12th, at The Who's performance of the Starlite Ballroom in Greenford, Who soundman Bob Pridden is approached by Peter Butler looking for work with the band. He will later be redubbed "Dougal" by Pete after the dog puppet on The Magic Roundabout and become Keith's "minder" and majordomo until the mid-1970's.

That same evening the police, at the instigation of News Of The World, raid Keith Richard's home. He and Mick Jagger are arrested under the Dangerous Drugs Act. Throughtout the raid, Richard's stereo is playing The Who's A Quick One LP.

On the 13th is the publication of the first half of an interview with Pete in International Times. The second half is published on the 27th. In it he discusses the art of auto-destruction and his ability to make social comments through pop songs.

Who manager Chris Stamp moves The Who's New York business office into the same building housing Premier Talent on the 17th. The head of the agency, Frank Barsalona, had turned down The Who the year before, mistakenly thinking they were the clients of lawyer Allen Klein. Stamp takes advantage of Barsalona's absence on vacation to get his partner, Dick Freedberg to sign The Who. Barsalona, on his return, finds local disc jockey Murray The K desperate to book his lead client, Mitch Ryder, for his upcoming Easter extravaganza. Barsalona, hoping to either get rid of Murray or find a booking for this British band with which he is now saddled, demands he take The Who as well. Murray agrees to the price.

On the 18th, Billboard reports that "Happy Jack" has hit #4 on the Norway charts.

On the 23rd, The Who begin a tour of Italy performing at the Palazzetto dello Sport in Turin. This is followed by two shows on the 24th at the Palazzetto dello Sport in Bologna. On the 25th, they proceed to the Palalido in Milan for two shows and end at a music fest with eight other acts at the Palazzo dello Sport in Rome where the second show is cancelled due to poor ticket sales. A 10:30pm show at The Piper Club in Rome is squeezed in. The opening act through the tour is the English expatriate group The Primitives. The Who will not return to Italy for over five years.

On the 25th, Melody Maker reports that The Who will make their first trip to the United States on March 23rd to play the Murray The K shows in New York.The Who's return to the U.K. on the 27th and rehearsals at the Saville Theatre in London are shot by a German television crew for the documentary Die jungen Nachtwandler – London Unter 21. Just before this they filmed Pete in his Wardour Street apartment performing his new song "Glittering Girl" for Who managers Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp.