Few pop groups have set so many trends or caused so many sensations as the outfit known as The Who - Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle, Pete Townshend and Keith Moon.
They have smashed drum sets, thrown microphones to their doom; in fact, it is hard to think of anything The Who haven't done on stage at some time or other.
The Who all come from London's Shepherd's Bush. They were interested in a pop career and determined to make the grade no matter what stood in their way.
It all began when Roger Daltrey, the lead singer, and John Entwistle, the bass player, decided to break away from a group they were playing in and form one of their own. Things moved when they met up with Pete Townshend, the lead guitarist, but The Who were still handicapped by not having the sort of wild drummer they needed. One night when they were doing a local gig, a boy in the audience asked if he could have a go on the drum set. He said he was better than the drummer The Who already had; that boy was Keith Moon.
Although Keith is expert on breaking drumsticks and smashing kits, he has different musical tastes from the rest of the group. He digs the west coast surfing sound, while the others all go for R & B. In fact, The Who are four very different people with very different tastes. Roger Daltrey is blond and blue-eyed, and a quite different character from John Entwistle. he's the quiet, moody one. "If someone didn't act as an anchor, The Who would take off and fly," he muses.
Keith Moon holds the world record for breaking drumsticks, and Pete Townshend, the group's songwriter, covers his loudspeaker cabinets in union jacks!
But despite their quite different characters, The Who fuse together on stage into one of the most dynamic acts in the country. Their appearances at top London clubs like The Scene and The Marquee are among the highlights of London's pop programme.
The Who's first big year was 1965, when they scored a fair-sized hit with their first record, "I Can't Explain" and then soared to the number-one spot with "My Generation," a song that aroused some criticism. But with "I'm A Boy" The Who changed their style, and it's enormous success has been matched by hits like "Substitute" and "Happy Jack."
Originality has been the key to every Who release to date. It's hard to say what they are going to do next. One thing's certain, and that is that whatever they do they will find a slot high in the best-selling lists.
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