History YMMV / TheWho

* CrazyAwesome: Keith Moon. According to Music/AliceCooper, only a fraction of the rumors about rockers like Ozzy, Iggy Pop, and Alice Cooper are actually true. ''All'' the stories about Keith Moon are true... and you've only heard a '''fraction''' of them.

* HarsherInHindsight: The cover for ''Who Are You'' has a photo of the band with Keith Moon sitting in a chair with the words "Not to be taken away" on the back. Sadly, he died of a drug overdose one month after the album was released. (The reason he was sitting on the chair in the first place was to hide the effects of his alcohol and drug abuse.)

* SignatureSong: Obviously "My Generation".

* FandomEnragingMisconception: Don't call into a classic rock station and request [[RefrainFromAssuming "The Who's Teenage Wasteland"]]. Not only will they not play it, but they may come to your house and work you over. [[NonAppearingSongTitle The title is "Baba O'Riley."]]

* FandomEnragingMisconception: Don't call into a classic rock station and request "The Who's Teenage Wasteland". Not only will they not play it, but they may come to your house and work you over. The title is "Baba O'Riley."

* SophomoreSlump: ''A Quick One,'' from 1966, is pretty much universally regarded by the fanbase as being this, lacking both the raw power and live-in-the-studio feel of ''My Generation'' and the clever concept and psych-rock sheen of ''The Who Sell Out.'' Additionally, it was the only album on which each member contributed songs, a practice that was quickly abandoned when it became clear that the writing skills of Moon and Daltrey weren't up to par. It doesn't help that the most readily available release of the album features an odd blend of songs in mono, stereo, and crude "fake stereo" (made by panning the bass frequencies of the mono mix to one side of the stereo image and the treble frequencies to the other).

%%* JerkassWoobie: "No one knows what it's like, to be the bad man..."

** Pete Townshend (supposedly) getting caught with child pornography while researching sexual child abuse in the early 2000s[[note]]"Supposedly" in that he was suspected of buying child pornography with his credit card over the internet when in reality he was just on a normal porn site and the charge got mixed up with a pedophilia site.[[/note]]. It doesn't help that it came about just as several noteworthy members of Creator/TheBBC were being outed for years of sexual misconduct with minors, making Pete's "research" claim seem flimsy to some.

** "A Quick One, While He's Away" is this for Pete Townshend. He initially wrote it on a whim as a light-hearted story about affairs and a love triangle. But years later, he started seeing it as a metaphor for the sexual abuse and other bad experiences he suffered while living with this grandmother as a child. In his autobiography, he claims that he might have subconsciously written the song as a way to cope. As a result, it is not played live anymore.

* EarWorm: ''A lot'' of their songs. Particular examples are "Who Are You" and "Pinball Wizard".

* HypeBacklash: Moon gets some of this from listeners who find him to be all flash but lacking in fundamentals such as time keeping.

** Pete Townshend (supposedly) getting caught with child pornography while researching sexual child abuse in the early 2000s[[note]]"Supposedly" in that he was suspected of buying child pornography with his credit card over the internet when in reality he was just on a normal porn site and the charge got mixed up with a pedophilia site.[[/note]]. It doesn't help that it came about just as several noteworthy members of Creator/TheBBC were being outed for years of sexual misconduct with minors, making Pete's "research" claim seem flimsy to some. [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment And that's all we're going to say about it]].

* AntiHero: Jimmy in ''Quadrophenia.'' He's actually quite an unpleasant person, being somewhat racist and homophobic (though this may be a case of FairForItsDay, particularly as the album's storyline is set in the early to mid '60s), and at one point he makes comments about desiring to rape a girl. However, the fact that he is likely saying these things because of his depression and drug addiction keep him from being a CompleteMonster for most fans.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic:
** The version of "A Quick One" from ''Music/TheRollingStones' Rock and Roll Circus'' featured in ''The Kids Are Alright'' stands out. Part of the reason the Stones sat on the footage for several years was because they couldn't take being upstaged by a rival band in their own film.
*** The accuracy of this claim has been disputed, as some say that the real reason was that Brian Jones looked so horrendously drug-addled and out of it that the band didn't feel right releasing the program.
** "See Me, Feel Me", "Won't Get Fooled Again", "The Real Me", etc.
** Oh hell, just take your pick! "My Generation", ''Music/TheWhoSellOut'', ''Music/{{Tommy}}'', ''Music/WhosNext'', ''Music/{{Quadrophenia}}'', and so on...
** Their performance of "Who Are You" at The Concert For New York City with John Cusack giving an awesome spoken-word lead in.
---> "The next act is so big and so legendary, it takes all of these heroes [of the September 11th attacks] to introduce one of the greatest bands in the world! A band that loves New York and they are loved by New York!! You ready?? FROM ENGLAND, THE WHO!!!"

* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: An interesting RealLife example. During the Who's "pop period" (roughly 1965 to early 1968), Daltrey essentially destroyed his naturally curly hair with a product called Dippity-Doo to make it straight, which he then styled into a Beatles-esque moptop. Around mid-1968, however, he stopped using the Dippity-Doo and grew his hair out, coinciding with the band's transition to a heavier rock sound.

* "Real Good Looking Boy", full stop, especially the final chorus.

* FandomRivalry: With Music/LedZeppelin. This generally boils down to which individual members were the "Greatest of All Time" on their respective instruments. Other issues include which band was more influential and who was truly the best live. It probably stems from Keith Moon and John Entwistle declining Music/JimmyPage in recreating Music/TheYardbirds as a supergroup before Led Zeppelin was even around. It should be noted though that this rivalry isn't as present in the bands' native United Kingdom, where Led Zeppelin is seen as just another rock band, while the Who are if anything more beloved because Townshend's lyrics often explicitly dealt with aspects of British life (in fact, their early work was a major influence on Britpop).

* Expository Hairstyle Change: An interesting RealLife example. During the Who's "pop period" (roughly 1965 to early 1968), Daltrey essentially destroyed his naturally curly hair with a product called Dippity-Doo to make it straight, which he then styled into a Beatles-esque moptop. Around mid-1968, however, he stopped using the Dippity-Doo and grew his hair out, coinciding with the band's transition to a heavier rock sound.

* FandomBerserkButton: Don't call into a classic rock station and request "The Who's Teenage Wasteland". Not only will they not play it, but they may come to your house and work you over. The title is "Baba O'Riley."

** Their performance of "Who Are You" at The Concert For New York City with firefighter Mike Morgan giving an appropriately awesome spoken-word lead in over the EpicInstrumentalOpener that only a hero like him could give.

** The quality of the 1995 remixes, which are the main commercially available single-CD versions of the band's albums. Some feel that the remixes are an audible improvement, while others think that they are sloppy and deviate too much from the originals. The one remix that everybody seems to like, however, is ''The Who Sell Out,'' which adds the previously missing second verse to "Rael" (thereby removing the jarring edit), as well as a selection of truly essential bonus tracks which are sequenced along with various advertisement outtakes to complement the spirit of the original album.

* FaceOfTheBand: This wasn't always the case. The Who now consists of Pete, Roger, and those two guys who ''aren't'' John and Keith. One could also argue that ''Endless Wire'' is a Pete Townshend solo album featuring Roger Daltrey on guest vocals.

* HypeBacklash:
* Moon gets some of this from listeners who find him to be all flash but lacking in fundamentals such as time keeping.

* NeverLiveItDown: Pete Townshend (supposedly) getting caught with child pornography while researching sexual child abuse in the early 2000s[[note]]"Supposedly" in that he was suspected of buying child pornography with his credit card over the internet when in reality he was just on a normal porn site and the charge got mixed up with a pedophilia site.[[/note]]. It doesn't help that it came about just as several noteworthy members of Creator/TheBBC were being outed for years of sexual misconduct with minors, making Pete's "research" claim seem flimsy to some. [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment And that's all we're going to say about it]].

* SophomoreSlump: ''A Quick One,'' from 1966, is pretty much universally regarded by the fanbase as being this, lacking both the raw power and live-in-the-studio feel of ''My Generation'' and the clever concept and psych-rock sheen of ''The Who Sell Out.'' Additionally, it was the only album on which each member contributed songs, a practice that was quickly abandoned when it became clear that the writing skills of Moon and Daltrey weren't up to par. It doesn't help that the most readily available release of the album features half the songs in crude "fake stereo" (made by panning the bass frequencies of the mono mix to one side of the stereo image and the treble frequencies to the other).

** The quality of the 1995 remixes, which are the main commercially available single-CD versions of the band's albums. Some count the remixes as an audible improvement, while others think that they are sloppy and change too much. The one remix that everybody seems to like, however, is ''The Who Sell Out,'' which adds the previously missing second verse to "Rael" (thereby removing the jarring edit), as well as a selection of truly essential bonus tracks which are sequenced along with various advertisement outtakes to complement the spirit of the original album.

* ''Tommy'' often gets this treatment now that its revolutionary factor has worn off. Many fans see the production as being rather thin and the songs lacking compared to those on ''Who's Next'' and ''Quadrophenia.''

* BrokenBase: The disputes over whether the band should have quit after Moon's death have been...energetic, especially with Kenney Jones and the 1989 Tommy tour. It got better (mostly) after Zak Starkey became the drummer.

* FandomRivalry: With Music/LedZeppelin. This generally boils down to which individual members were the "Greatest of All Time" on their respective instruments. Other issues include which band was more influential and who was truly the best live. It probably stems from Keith Moon and John Entwistle declining Music/JimmyPage in recreating Music/TheYardbirds as a supergroup before Led Zeppelin was even around. It should be noted though that this rivalry isn't as present in the bands' native United Kingdom, where Led Zeppelin is seen as just another rock band.

* HypeBacklash: Moon gets some of this from listeners who find him to be all flash but lacking in fundamentals such as time keeping.

* ReplacementScrappy: Kenney Jones was seen as this when he followed the late Keith Moon, not only because Moon left such big shoes to fill, but also because Jones's drumming was far more reserved than Moon's famously anarchistic style, which many fans felt dampened their edge.

* SequelDisplacement: Despite the title track being one of their best known singles, ''Music/MyGeneration'' was out of print in the UK for decades, and prior to 2005 only an altered U.S. release was available on CD.

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: So very, very much with ''Live at Leeds''. Many see the whole point of the album as showing the Who in their raw, live form as the original LP did. The 1995 and 2001 re-releases gave us the whole concert, but with crackling noises removed, some of the vocals re-recorded, and the ''Tommy'' section moved to a separate disc.

* NeverLiveItDown: Pete Townshend (supposedly) getting caught with child pornography while researching sexual child abuse in the early 2000s[[note]]"Supposedly" in that he was suspected of buying child pornography with his credit card over the internet when in reality he was just on a normal porn site and the charge got mixed up with a pedophilia site.[[/note]]. It doesn't help that it came about just as several noteworthy members of Creator/TheBBC were being outed for years of sexual misconduct with minors, making Pete's "research" claim seem flimsy to some. [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement And that's all we're going to say about it]].

* SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome: Woodstock. While they were playing "See Me, Feel Me", [[CueTheSun the sun rose]]. The band had a lighting rig - one of the ''first'' used in rock concerts - constructed to replicate the effect for future performances.

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: Their set at the Concert for New York City, honoring 9/11 first-responders. It was [[GrandFinale one of their last performances with John Entwhistle while he was still alive]], but they absolutely stole the show. New Yorkers seemed to think so too, as a bunch of firefighters and police officers who attended that show came back to honor Daltrey and Townshend at the Kennedy Center in 2008, [[ManlyTears to their supreme delight]].

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: Their set at the Concert for New York City honoring 9/11 first-responders. It was one of their last performances with John Entwhistle, but they absolutely stole the show. New Yorkers seemed to think so too, as a bunch of firefighters and police officers from that show came back to honor Daltrey and Townshend at the Kennedy Center in 2008, [[ManlyTears to their supreme delight]].