History Trivia / TheWho

* AbsenteeActor: Keith Moon on "Music Must Change" (track 5 from ''Who Are You''). Keith's drum playing had deteriorated so much, the drums from that song [[note]] mostly in [[UncommonTime 6/8 time]] [[/note]] were removed and replaced by footsteps and crash cymbals.

* TropeNamer:
** For MeetTheNewBoss, MagicBus, PowerPop, UsefulNotes/GoingMobile and TeenageWasteland.
** Rarities compilations have been called "Odds N' Sods" albums, after the 1974 album.

** The third occurred after the death of Keith Moon and the Who's breakup in 1982 after running on auto-pilot for years. Townshend wrote the contemplative, [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible abstract]], synth-heavy solo album ''All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes''.

** The third occurred after the death of Keith Moon and the Who's breakup in 1982 after running on autopilot for years. Townshend wrote the contemplative, [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible abstract]], synth-heavy solo album ''All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes''.

* DevelopmentHell: Since at least the early 1990s, Roger Daltrey has been attempting to put a Keith Moon biopic on the big screen. Creator/RobertDowneyJr. was once considered for the lead role before, in Daltrey's words, he "read the script and did everything in it." Creator/MikeMyers was teased all throughout the 2000s to be playing the man himself, but after its intended release day in 2007 passed, nothing has come of it. Currently, IMDB lists the film as "Untitled Keith Moon Project", with Myers still attached to the title role.

** Several of the lines in "Behind Blue Eyes" about violent outbursts reflect on Roger Daltrey's own history of violence. In the early days of the band, Daltrey would often solve disputes by letting the other person {{talk to the fist}}.

** A band whose image was largely built around [[RockersSmashGuitars their at-the-time-shocking and revolutionary act of wrecking their equipment onstage]] and for wrecking hotel rooms and causing havoc on tour[[note]]The Holiday Inn chain banned them for life from their hotels in the 1960's[[/note]] had the misfortune of being in constant debt for much of that decade, until ''Music/{{Tommy}}'' became a success in 1969. This, and whatever "legal matters" the band went through over this behavior became a constant source of pressure for the band, and the group was very close to breaking up many times. It can easily be said, then, that any attempts by the band of, erm, "sell(ing) out", affixing a quirky pop song like "Pinball Wizard" onto ''Tommy'' to help sales, or playing Woodstock [[MoneyDearBoy for the money]] would be [[JustifiedTrope very well justified and understandable]]. The inside fold out of ''Live At Leeds'' shows bills sent to the band for their antics and instrument destruction.

* SavedFromDevelopmentHell: ''Endless Wire'' languished here for most of the early 2000s, simply because 20 years had already passed since the release of ''It's Hard'', and each passing year meant that the expectations of new Who material would be nigh-insurmountable, not helped by John Entwisle's sudden death in 2002. It was finally released in 2006, 24 years after ''It's Hard.''

** This is how instrument smashing became part of the band's live sets. Pete Townshend accidentally broke his guitar neck on a club's low ceiling and decided to smash his guitar both out of frustration and [[IMeantToDoThat to make it look like he'd done it on purpose]]. The band's manager Kit Lambert loved it and asked Townshend to keep doing it as [[NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity the stunt got the band a lot of attention]].

** The band also don't look back fondly on their debut ''Music/MyGeneration''. They dismissed it as a rush job (it was recorded in only a week) that didn't accurately represent their stage performances of that point in their career

** The third occurred after the death of Keith Moon and the Who's breakup in 1982 after years running on autopilot. Townshend wrote the contemplative, [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible abstract]], synth-heavy solo album ''All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes''.

** The band as a whole did not have a good opinion of ''Face Dances'', John being dissatisfied with the increasing use of keyboards and synthesizers crowding out the guitars (he commented that the only "strong guitar songs" on the album were his), and Roger commenting that Pete's material was strong but "the band failed him for the first time". Roger Daltrey has also been vocally displeased about ''It's Hard'', deriding it as a poor-quality contractual obligation album, and saying in 1994 that it "should have never been released".

** A second abandoned ConceptAlbum, ''Rock Is Dead--Long Live Rock'' chronicling the Who's history, was worked on in 1972. According to Wiki/TheOtherWiki, tracks salvaged from the piece included the singles-only tracks, "Join Together", "Relay" and "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Long Live Rock]]", "Put the Money Down" from ''Odds And Sods'', and early versions of the ''Music/{{Quadrophenia}}'' tracks, "Is It In My Head", "The Punk and the Godfather" and "Love Reign O'er Me", among other tracks.

** Several of the lines in "Behind Blue Eyes" about violent outbursts reflect on Roger Daltrey's own history of violence. In the early days of the band, Daltrey would often solve disputes by letting the other person {{talk to the fist}}. In one instance, he actually K.O.'d Pete and was immediately fired, only to be let back in (under the proviso that he clean up his act) when "My Generation" became a hit.

* RoleEndingMisdemeanor: This very nearly happened to Roger Daltrey. He'd regularly fist-fight with other members of the band and was fired after knocking Townshend unconscious during one rehearsal. He was rehired after "My Generation" became a hit, on the condition that he'd control his temper.

** This is how instrument smashing became part of the band's live sets. Pete Townshend accidentally broke his guitar neck on a club's low ceiling and decided to smash his guitar both out of frustration and [[IMeantToDoThat to make it look like he'd done it on purpose]]. The band's manager Keith Lambert loved it and asked Townshend to keep doing it as [[NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity the stunt got the band a lot of attention]].

* FanNickname: Some band member nicknames are sometimes used by the group as well (usually onstage).
** John Entwistle: The Ox, Thunderfingers, The Eye of the Hurricane.
** Moon: Moonie, Moon the Loon.
** The 1989 ''Music/{{Tommy}}'' anniversary tour: "The Who on Ice".
** The 1975 album ''The Who by Numbers'': "Pete Townshend's suicide note".

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* QuoteSource:
** TheQuietOne

** The third occurred after the death of Keith Moon and the Who's breakup in 1982 after years running on autopilot. Townshend wrote the contemplative, [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible abstract]], synth-heavy solo album "All The Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes".