When The Who first hit the United States, Billboard reported in its April 30, 1966, issue that “four boys from London have an ear-splitting, gut-busting” debut album. The band was infamously wild onstage during its initial run, which ended with a 1982 farewell tour, recorded for the Who’s Last live album.
Forty-three years later, and 26 after the band reunited full time in 1999, the duo of Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend is embarking on what it says is its final North American trek, The Song Is Over, which will begin Aug. 16 in Sunrise, Fla., near Miami. From the band’s early stateside gigs to its 2010 Super Bowl halftime show performance, Billboard has tracked The Who’s what, when, where and why.
Who’s Paying
According to an article in the April 8, 1967, issue, “The Who says they have come to the U.S. to familiarize the public with what they are contributing to contemporary music.” Townshend quickly became familiar with the “far better” American concert grosses: “Most younger people in Europe can’t pay $3 to $4 to see us,” he said. In the Aug. 14, 1971, issue, Billboard hailed the group’s “high energy display that had microphones twirling and guitars being broken” on the Tommy tour.
Who’s to Blame?
“See Concert Changes After 11 Die” ran the top headline of the Dec. 15, 1979, Billboard after a crowd stampede claimed 11 lives at The Who’s Dec. 3 Cincinnati show. The issue reported on the accident, as well as the ensuing investigation. “People are talking about blame on this,” Frank Barsalona, president of the agency that booked the band at the time, told Billboard. “Has anyone asked the parents why the kids acted like they did?”
Who’s Done
“The Who’s dissipated youth is behind it, which may be why this is the group’s farewell tour,” said the Oct. 30, 1982, Billboard. “Not that the Who put on a bad show. At this point, they would really have to work to do that.” When the so-called last tour came, four years after drummer Keith Moon’s death, the reviewer noted, “It was still sad to see the end. After all, they still have the stamina.”
Who’s Back
When Townshend, Daltrey and John Entwistle played a series of reunion gigs in 1989, Billboard’s reviewer did not see sparks. “For listeners who sought rock’n’roll spontaneity, change and creativity — as the Who themselves once had — the concert was like tuning in to classic rock radio,” according to the July 8, 1989, issue. “It was a performance that both exposed the power of its musical history and the perils of tampering with the same.”
Who’s on TV
Billboard featured The Who on the cover of its Feb. 6, 2010, issue, tied to the band’s Super Bowl performance. “I’ve felt a bit peeved that everybody’s talking about the Super Bowl and not talking about the Who’s next show, so for once we get the benefit of both,” Townshend told Billboard. Still, he had one tiny gripe: “I wish it was a soccer match.” When the Feb. 20 issue reported a 102% sales bump for the band’s Greatest Hits, though, no one was complaining.
This story appears in the June 21, 2025, issue of Billboard.