The Who by Numbers Tour

The Who by Numbers Tour was a concert tour by the English rock band the Who, in support of their seventh album, The Who by Numbers (1975). It began on 3 October 1975, ended on 21 October 1976 and consisted of 79 concerts split between North America and Europe. Despite being named after The Who by Numbers, few songs from the album were actually performed during the tour.

The Who by Numbers Tour
Tour by The Who
Location
  • Europe
  • North America
Associated albumThe Who by Numbers
Start date3 October 1975 (1975-10-03)
End date21 October 1976 (1976-10-21)
Legs8
No. of shows
  • 47 in North America
  • 32 in Europe
  • 79 in total
Attendance945,928
Box office$6.478 million ($33.31 million in 2022 dollars)
The Who concert chronology

The tour began with a European leg, which introduced the band's first use of a laser lighting display, and was followed by a North American leg that set indoor concert attendance records. The Who returned to America again in 1976 after playing several more shows in Europe, including three back-to-back Christmas shows at the Hammersmith Odeon, London. The opening 1976 US show in Boston came to an end when drummer Keith Moon collapsed on stage after playing only two songs. The following day he seriously injured himself and nearly bled to death. After performing at British football stadiums in May and June of 1976, the Who returned again to North America for the final of leg of concerts. Following their show in Miami, Moon was hospitalised for over a week. His erratic behavior worried the other band members who believed he would not be able to finish the tour. Moon did manage to complete the tour, however, the final shows became his last public concerts before dying of a drug overdose in 1978.

Background

The Who by Numbers Tour started with 20 European dates in October and November 1975. The first concert took place at Bingley Hall in Stafford, England on 3 October 1975, the same day The Who by Numbers album was released.[1] Prior to this, the Who had not performed live since playing four shows at Madison Square Garden in New York City the previous June, having spent much of 1974 working on the film adaptation of their rock opera Tommy and its soundtrack. A laser lighting display was introduced at the concerts at Leicester's Granby Halls shortly into the European leg, which would become a fixture of most of the tour's shows.[2]

The tour continued with a North American leg in November and December 1975, starting on 20 November at The Summit in Houston, Texas.[3] In North America, the band broke indoor concert attendance records for their 6 December concert at the Pontiac Metropolitan Stadium in Pontiac, Michigan, which attracted over 75,000 fans.[4] Following the end of the North American leg, the band returned to the UK to play three Christmas concerts at the Hammersmith Odeon, London, due to high ticket demand for the earlier British dates.[2]

Following four European dates in early 1976, the Who began a series of shows in the United States on 9 March at the Boston Garden. The tour had a disastrous start when Moon collapsed on stage just two songs into the Boston concert, causing the show to be postponed until 1 April. The day after the aborted concert, Moon kicked the glass out of a framed painting in his hotel room and seriously injured his heel in the process.[5] He was discovered by manager Bill Curbishley, who took him to a hospital.[6] Doctors told Curbishley that if he had not intervened, Moon would have bled to death.[7] In his book Before I Get Old: The Story of the Who, music critic Dave Marsh suggested that at this point the Who's singer Roger Daltrey and bassist John Entwistle seriously considered firing Moon, but decided that doing so would make his life worse.[8] The rest of the trip went without incident. In recognition of the band's performance at the Dane County Coliseum in Madison, Wisconsin, mayor Paul Soglin proclaimed 13 March 1976 "Who-Mania Day", the day of the concert.[5] The band played the leg's only outdoor show on 21 March 1976 at Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim, California.[9]

The Who's concert at The Valley in London was recognised by The Guinness Book of Records as the world's loudest concert.

The band continued The Who by Numbers Tour with "The Who Put the Boot In", a series of concerts in French arenas and British football stadiums, featuring a 60,000 capacity concert at The Valley in London. The show, which took place on 31 May 1976, was recognised by The Guinness Book of Records as the world's loudest concert, with the sound measuring 120 decibels.[10] The band returned to the US in August to play four shows as a part of the "Whirlwind" leg. The leg was marred by a show in Jacksonville, Florida, which was 25,000 tickets short of a sellout.[11] At the end of the "Whirlwind" tour in Miami, Moon was again hospitalised for eight days. Although the group were concerned that he would be unable to complete the last leg of the tour, which consisted of nine dates in the US and Canada throughout October 1976, Moon successfully played the shows, performing for the final time in public at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto on 21 October. Moon died less than two years later, on 7 September 1978. Bassist John Entwistle would go on to say that Moon and the Who reached their live performance peak during the tour.[12]

Reception

The tour was well received by critics. Billboard's Gerry Wood gave the band's 20 November 1975 show a very positive review, writing that "they were tight from the start and gave an energetic performance of their new songs and an amazingly fresh treatment to their older material."[13] Jim Melanson, also from Billboard, lauded their concert on 11 March 1976 calling it "superb."[14] Jim Healey of The Des Moines Register praised the band's performance on 2 December 1975, describing it as a show with class.[15] Writing for The Plain Dealer, Jane Scott said in her write-up of the show on 9 December 1975 was "the most exhilarating and dramatic concert seen in this area."[16] Derek Jewell was less favorable in his review for The Sunday Times, noting the lack of new songs the band performed and writing that "the Who are trapped playing ageing music for the ageing young."[3]

Set list

The Who's lineup during this tour consisted of Roger Daltrey (lead vocals, harmonica, tambourine), Pete Townshend (guitar, vocals), John Entwistle (bass guitar, vocals), and Keith Moon (drums, percussion, vocals). Biographers Andrew Neill and Matt Kent wrote in their book Anyway Anyhow Anywhere: The Complete Chronicle of The Who 1958–1978 that the tour had become a "greatest hits" celebration of the band's decade-long career by 1976.[5] Despite ostensibly being a tour supporting the release of The Who by Numbers, few songs from the new album were performed live. Instead, the band opted to perform a mini-set of Tommy material in the middle of the set, thanks to the success of the film generating more interest in the rock opera. Meanwhile, less and less Quadrophenia material was performed compared to the Who's previous tour, with only "Drowned" occasionally finding its way into the set during early dates, before eventually being dropped.[1]

Authors Joe McMichael and "Irish" Jack Lyons considers the following songs representative of the tour's set list.[1] All songs written by Pete Townshend unless otherwise specified.

  1. "I Can't Explain"
  2. "Substitute"
  3. "My Wife" (John Entwistle)
  4. "Baba O'Riley"
  5. "Squeeze Box"
  6. "Behind Blue Eyes"
  7. "Dreaming from the Waist"
  8. "Boris the Spider" (Entwistle)
  9. "Magic Bus"
  10. "Amazing Journey"
  11. "Sparks"
  12. "The Acid Queen"
  13. "Fiddle About" (Entwistle)
  14. "Pinball Wizard"
  15. "I'm Free"
  16. "Tommy's Holiday Camp"
  17. "We're Not Gonna Take It"
  18. "See Me, Feel Me"
  19. "Summertime Blues" (Eddie Cochran, Jerry Capehart)
  20. "My Generation"
  21. "Join Together"
  22. "My Generation Blues"
  23. "Road Runner" (Ellas McDaniel)
  24. "Won't Get Fooled Again"

Films and albums

Over the years, one film has been released of the band's concert performances during The Who by Numbers Tour.

  • The Who: Live in Texas '75 (Houston, 20 November 1975, released 2012)[17]

Additionally, songs recorded during the tour have been released along with other live and/or studio material:

Tour dates
European leg (3 October – 7 November 1975)
Date
(1975)		 City Country Venue Attendance Gross Support act(s) Ref(s)
3 October Stafford England Bingley Hall N/A N/A Steve Gibbons Band [21]
4 October [21]
6 October Manchester Kings Hall [21]
7 October [21]
15 October Glasgow Scotland The Apollo 6,600 / 6,600 [22]
16 October [22]
18 October Leicester England Granby Halls N/A [3]
19 October [3]
21 October London Empire Pool 21,000 / 21,000 [22]
23 October [22]
24 October [22]
27 October Rotterdam Netherlands Sportpaleis N/A [3]
28 October Vienna Austria Wiener Stadthalle [3]
29 October Bremen West Germany Stadthalle Bremen 6,000 [4]
30 October Düsseldorf Philips Halle N/A [3]
31 October [3]
2 November Sindelfingen Messehalle [3]
3 November [3]
6 November Ludwigshafen Friedrich-Ebert-Halle [3]
7 November [3]
North America leg (20 November – 15 December 1975)
Date
(1975)		 City Country Venue Attendance Gross Support act(s) Ref(s)
20 November Houston United States The Summit 18,000 $134,676 Toots and the Maytals [4]
21 November Baton Rouge LSU Assembly Center N/A $112,630 [4]
23 November Memphis Mid-South Coliseum 10,882 $90,355 [4]
24 November Atlanta Omni Coliseum 18,376 $129,297 [4]
25 November Murfreesboro Monte Hale Arena 11,000 $92,000 [4]
27 November Hampton Hampton Roads Coliseum 11,906 $106,855 [4]
28 November Greensboro Greensboro Memorial Coliseum 17,437 $127,241 [4]
30 November Bloomington Assembly Hall 14,841 $108,357 [4]
1 December Kansas City Kemper Arena 13,414 $96,284 [4]
2 December Des Moines Veterans Memorial Auditorium 13,534 $97,747 [4]
4 December Chicago Chicago Stadium 37,479 / 37,479 $330,739 [4]
5 December [4]
6 December Pontiac Pontiac Metropolitan Stadium 75,000 / 75,000 $614,992 [4]
8 December Cincinnati Riverfront Coliseum 18,000 $138,500 [4]
9 December Cleveland Richfield Coliseum 19,000 / 19,000 $138,500 [4]
10 December Buffalo Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 11,700 $140,000 [4]
11 December Toronto Canada Maple Leaf Gardens 17,600 $157,879 [4]
13 December Providence United States Providence Civic Center 14,000 $112,324 [4]
14 December Springfield Springfield Civic Center 10,000 $84,000 [4]
15 December Philadelphia Spectrum 19,000 / 19,000 $146,000 [4]
UK leg (21–23 December 1975)
Date
(1975)		 City Country Venue Attendance Gross Support act(s) Ref(s)
21 December London England Hammersmith Odeon N/A N/A Charlie [23]
22 December [23]
23 December [23]
European leg (27 February – 2 March 1976)
Date
(1976)		 City Country Venue Attendance Gross Support act(s) Ref(s)
27 February Zürich Switzerland Hallenstadion N/A N/A Steve Gibbons Band [5]
28 February Munich West Germany Olympiahalle [5]
1 March Paris France Pavillon de Paris [5]
2 March [5]
US leg (9 March – 1 April 1976)
Date
(1976)		 City Country Venue Attendance Gross Support act(s) Ref(s)
9 March[lower-alpha 1] Boston United States Boston Garden N/A N/A Steve Gibbons Band [5]
11 March New York City Madison Square Garden 19,500 $162,000 [24]
13 March Madison Dane County Coliseum 10,100 $75,495 [25]
14 March Saint Paul St. Paul Civic Center 17,600 $142,000 [25]
15 March Oklahoma City Myriad Convention Center 14,801 / 14,801 $101,028 [24][26]
16 March Fort Worth Tarrant County Convention Center 13,500 $100,583 [26]
18 March Salt Lake City Salt Palace N/A $87,127 [24]
21 March Anaheim Anaheim Stadium 55,000 $500,000 Rufus
Little Feat
Steve Gibbons Band		 [27]
24 March Portland Memorial Coliseum 11,000 / 11,000 $93,000 Steve Gibbons Band [28]
25 March Seattle Seattle Center Coliseum 15,000 / 15,000 $119,760 [28]
27 March San Francisco Winterland Ballroom 10,800 / 10,800 $91,800 [28]
28 March [28]
30 March Denver McNichols Sports Arena 19,000 N/A [24]
1 April Boston Boston Garden N/A [9]
"The Who Put the Boot In" European leg (22 May – 12 June 1976)
Date
(1976)		 City Country Venue Attendance Gross Support act(s) Ref(s)
22 May Colmar France Parc des Expositions N/A N/A N/A [10]
25 May Lyon Palais des Sports de Gerland [24]
31 May London England The Valley 60,000 Widowmaker
Outlaws
Streetwalkers
Little Feat
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band		 [9][24]
5 June Glasgow Scotland Celtic Park 35,000 £140,000 [9][11]
12 June Swansea Wales Vetch Field 25,000 £100,000 [9][11]
"Whirlwind" US leg (3 August – 9 August 1976)
Date
(1976)		 City Country Venue Attendance Gross Support act(s) Ref(s)
3 August Landover United States Capital Centre 30,201 / 37,574 $259,655 Law [11][29]
4 August [11][29]
7 August Jacksonville Gator Bowl Stadium 35,000 / 60,000 N/A Law
Black Oak Arkansas
Labelle		 [11][29]
9 August Miami Miami Stadium 17,000 / 17,200 $174,426 Law
Montrose
Outlaws		 [30][31][32]
North American leg (6–21 October 1976)
Date
(1976)		 City Country Venue Attendance Gross Support act(s) Ref(s)
6 October Phoenix United States Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 11,983 $94,719 Mother's Finest [33]
7 October San Diego San Diego Sports Arena 13,842 $108,041 [33]
9 October[lower-alpha 2] Oakland Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 94,732 / 110,000 $1,042,520 Grateful Dead [31][33]
10 October[lower-alpha 2] [31][33]
13 October Portland Memorial Coliseum 11,000 / 11,000 $93,160 Mother's Finest [34]
14 October Seattle Seattle Center Coliseum 15,000 / 15,000 $119,808 [34]
16 October Edmonton Canada Northlands Coliseum 16,000 N/A [31]
18 October Winnipeg Winnipeg Arena N/A [35]
21 October Toronto Maple Leaf Gardens 20,000 [31]

See also

Notes
  1. After playing two songs, Moon collapsed on stage and the show ended.[5]
  2. The concerts on 9–10 October 1976 were a part of Day on the Green.[31]

Footnotes
  1. McMichael & Lyons 1997, pp. 166–167
  2. Neill & Kent 2002, p. 257
  3. Neill & Kent 2002, p. 265
  4. McMichael & Lyons 1997, pp. 170–172
  5. Neill & Kent 2002, pp. 270–271
  6. Marsh 1983, p. 475
  7. Fletcher 1998, p. 457
  8. Marsh 1983, p. 476
  9. Neill & Kent 2002, pp. 272
  10. Neill & Kent 2002, pp. 273
  11. McMichael & Lyons 1997, pp. 176
  12. Fletcher 1998, pp. 464–466
  13. Wood 1975
  14. Melanson 1976
  15. Healey 1975
  16. Scott 1975
  17. The Who 2012
  18. View from a Backstage Pass (liner notes)
  19. Marshall, Townshend & Daltrey 2015, p. 315
  20. Tommy (liner notes)
  21. Neill & Kent 2002, p. 264
  22. McMichael & Lyons 1997, p. 169
  23. Neill & Kent 2002, p. 267
  24. McMichael & Lyons 1997, pp. 174–175
  25. North American Box Office Data (1976a).
  26. North American Box Office Data (1976b).
  27. Who Draws 55,000 to Anaheim Stadium
  28. North American Box Office Data (1976c).
  29. Neill & Kent 2002, p. 274
  30. North American Box Office Data (1976d).
  31. McMichael & Lyons 1997, p. 177
  32. Neill & Kent 2002, p. 275
  33. North American Box Office Data (1976e).
  34. North American Box Office Data (1976f).
  35. Neill & Kent 2002, p. 277

References
  • McMichael, Joe; Lyons, "Irish" Jack (1997). The Who Concert File. Omnibus. ISBN 0-7119-6316-9.
  • Neill, Andy; Kent, Matt (2002). Anyway Anyhow Anywhere: The Complete Chronicle of The Who 1958–1978. Barnes & Noble. ISBN 978-1-40276-691-6.
  • Marsh, Dave (1983). Before I Get Old: The Story of The Who. Plexus. ISBN 978-0-8596-5083-0.
  • Fletcher, Tony (1998). Dear Boy: The Life of Keith Moon. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-1-84449-807-9.
  • Wood, Gerry (6 December 1975). "Talent in Action" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 87, no. 44. pp. 30–31. ISSN 0006-2510.
  • Melanson, Jim (27 March 1976). "Talent in Action" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 88, no. 13. p. 42. ISSN 0006-2510.
  • Healey, Jim (3 December 1975). "The Who – They Wow 13,500". The Des Moines Register. p. 10. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  • Scott, Jane (9 December 1975). "Jane Scott's 1975 Review of the Who Concert at Richfield Coliseum". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  • The Who (9 October 2012). "Live in Texas 75 - The Who". thewho.com (official website). Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  • View from a Backstage Pass (liner notes). The Who. 2007.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  • Marshall, Ben; Townshend, Pete; Daltrey, Roger (2015). The Who: 50 Years: The Official History. Harper Design. ISBN 978-0-06-239636-5.
  • Tommy (liner notes). The Who. Decca. 2013.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  • "Top Box Office" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 88, no. 13. 27 March 1976a. p. 46. ISSN 0006-2510.
  • "Top Box Office" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 88, no. 14. 3 April 1976b. p. 41. ISSN 0006-2510.
  • "Top Box Office" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 88, no. 15. 10 April 1976c. p. 28. ISSN 0006-2510.
  • "Top Box Office" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 88, no. 34. 21 August 1976d. p. 27. ISSN 0006-2510.
  • "Top Box Office". Billboard. Vol. 88, no. 43. 23 October 1976e. p. 55. ISSN 0006-2510.
  • "Top Box Office". Billboard. Vol. 88, no. 44. 30 October 1976f. p. 50. ISSN 0006-2510.
  • "Who Draws 55,000 to Anaheim Stadium" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 88, no. 14. 3 April 1976. p. 37. ISSN 0006-2510.
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