Music

The Who defiantly stand the test of time with emotional Wembley performance

The Who
The Who put on an emotional performance (Picture: EPA)

The glamour is gone, the youth is gone, but the music is better than ever, a defiant Roger Daltrey belted out to the crowds at The Whos Wembley gig last night.

The 75-year-old teamed up with Pete Townshend for an epic revival of Tommy, after bringing the 1972 record back to life by blending their angry vocals to the back drop of an orchestra.

And what a show they put on at Wembley Stadium, as they blasted out a number of iconic hits, proving they have clearly stood the test of time.

The Whos surviving members attempted to fill the void of Keith Moon and John Entwistle with an array of violins, cellos and trombones.

But for some reason the juxtaposition of Townshends ferocious riffs mixed in with the classical arrangement fell heavy on the ears, with the size of the open top stadium allowing little sound to reverberate around the building.

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Having said that, they still managed to capture their iconic sound, with Daltreys vocals still as fresh as ever more than 50 years since they broke onto the scene – especially with reworking some of their hits.

The Who
Rogers vocals were sounding as fresh as ever (Picture: Rex)

Playing a mix of tracks from their latest album, including an unexpected rendition of Sparks, the boys decided to switch things up with Pinball Wizard, Behind Blue Eyes and Substitute.

They even stopped to pay tribute to their guitar technician Alan Rogan, who passed away just two days prior to their concert.

Shouting down his microphone, Pete spat: Cancer is a big issue and we try to help out when we can.

When it happens to your family and they get told they have so and so days to live, or so and so years to live, or so and so weeks to live, its so weird, f**king weird, its so strange.

We get so used to being alive, in a building as big as this, and we are all alive, that is a f**king miracle.

The Who
They remembered their late guitar technician (Picture: PA)
The Who
Townshed blended his angry riffs with the orchestra (Picture: EPA)

The crowd erupted into cheers as a photo of Rogan faded to black on the screen before turning into a clip from the cult movie Quadrophenia.

Taking a break part way through the set, the orchestra left the stage and thats when things finally took off.

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Stripping it right back, Pete and Roger played a stunning acoustic version of We Wont Get Fooled Again after dedicating the number to modern-day activists.

As a musician, our job is to play along, Pete told his doting fans as he laughed: You do the activism well provide the soundtrack.

More: Pete Townshend

After an ambitious evening, the night was pulled to a close with Baba ORiley as Townshend thanked his fRead More – Source

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