The Who Tour 1989


The Who Tour 1989 was The Who's reunion tour in celebration of their 25th anniversary and their first without drummer Kenney Jones, who had replaced Keith Moon in 1979. Billed as "The Kids Are Alright Tour", it was the band's only tour between 1982 and 1996.

History

The group debated on how to celebrate their 25th anniversary, eventually deciding on a tour instead of a new studio album. However, there would be widespread changes in the band's live presentation from their previous tours, largely at Pete Townshend's behest. Citing difficulties with his hearing due to tinnitus, Townshend wanted the band to play at a lesser volume than in previous years and now preferred to play acoustic guitar for much of the act, necessitating a second guitarist to handle much of the lead guitar duties, though Townshend would still play a fair amount of electric guitar and play lead on certain numbers. The original picks to play lead were Joe Walsh and David Gilmour, the group eventually chose Steve "Boltz" Bolton, who had played with Atomic Rooster and Paul Young in years past. The group also decided to part ways with drummer Kenney Jones and recruited Simon Phillips, with whom Townshend had worked on his 1980 solo album Empty Glass, to take his place for the tour. A number of additional personnel were added as well, including a five-piece horn section and backup singers, for a total of 15 band members in all. The large number of performers and the playing styles of Bolton and Phillips made for a very different sound than anything the band had presented in the past, drawing mixed reviews from fans and critics.
The tour started with an eleven-week stint in North America over the summer, followed by ten dates in the UK in the autumn. These included three charity shows featuring the rock opera Tommy, performed more or less complete for the first time since 1970 and with special guests such as Elton John, Phil Collins, and Billy Idol; another Tommy performance at New York City's Radio City Music Hall did not feature special guests. Two live radio broadcasts also occurred during the tour, the Radio City Music Hall date in June and the show at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas on the last night of the North American tour; an edited broadcast of the charity concert at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles later aired on the Fox Network.
Shows on the tour often ran for three hours or more and the set list varied from one point to another, with group mixing in familiar material with lesser-known songs like John Entwistle's "Trick of the Light" and a few tracks from Townshend's solo efforts. The band occasionally performed "Dig", one of the two new Who songs included on Townshend's latest album, , as well as acoustic performances of rare numbers such as "Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand" and "Too Much of Anything", neither of which the band had played more than a handful of times in the past. Additionally, they played a number of cover tunes: "I'm a Man" featured electric guitar solos from Townshend, as did "Hey Joe", played in an homage to Jimi Hendrix; Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Born on the Bayou" was also performed sporadically. Meanwhile, the four performances of Tommy were even more complete than when the band played it in 1969–1970 and included both "Cousin Kevin" and "Sensation".
Following the 1989 shows and the band's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in January 1990, The Who would not reunite again until 1996, the longest period of inactivity in their history.

Live releases

Live material from 1989 has appeared on a number of different releases:
Touring Personnel:

North American leg

The group's first concert in six and a half years took place at the Glens Falls Civic Center in Glens Falls, New York on 21 June and the tour ran non-stop until the final date on 3 September at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. Earlier shows on the tour featured very experimental set lists that included material from Pete Townshend's most recent album , as well as songs like John Entwistle's "Too Late the Hero" and the Boudleaux Bryant standard "Love Hurts", which the band had covered occasionally from 1965–1967. They also performed "I'm a Boy" for the first time since 1974 during a show at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. With a few exceptions, the shows opened with selections from the rock opera Tommy.
Set lists included the following most nights :
  1. "Overture"
  2. "It's a Boy"
  3. "1921"
  4. "Amazing Journey"
  5. "Sparks"
  6. "The Acid Queen"
  7. "Pinball Wizard"
  8. "Do You Think It's Alright?"
  9. "Fiddle About"
  10. "I'm Free"
  11. "Tommy's Holiday Camp"
  12. "We're Not Gonna Take It"/"See Me, Feel Me"
  13. "Eminence Front"
  14. "Face the Face"
  15. "I'm a Man"
  16. "I Can't Explain"
  17. "Substitute"
  18. "I Can See for Miles"
  19. "Trick of the Light"
  20. "Boris the Spider"
  21. "Who Are You"
  22. "Magic Bus"
  23. "Baba O'Riley"
  24. "My Generation"
  25. "A Little Is Enough"
  26. "5.15"
  27. "Love Reign O'er Me"
  28. "Sister Disco"
  29. "Rough Boys"
  30. "Join Together"
  31. "You Better You Bet"
  32. "Behind Blue Eyes"
  33. "Won't Get Fooled Again"
In addition to the list above, the set was also supplemented by a few of the following additional songs each night, appearing in various places in the set :
The set list from the show on 27 June in New York and the show from 24 August in Los Angeles featured complete versions of Tommy, the latter with special guests :
  1. "Overture"
  2. "It's a Boy"
  3. "1921"
  4. "Amazing Journey"
  5. "Sparks"
  6. "Eyesight to the Blind"
  7. "Christmas"
  8. "Cousin Kevin"
  9. "The Acid Queen"
  10. "Pinball Wizard"
  11. "Do You Think It's Alright?"
  12. "Fiddle About"
  13. "There's a Doctor"
  14. "Go to the Mirror!"
  15. "Smash the Mirror"
  16. "Tommy, Can You Hear Me?"
  17. "I'm Free"
  18. "Miracle Cure"
  19. "Sally Simpson"
  20. "Sensation"
  21. "Tommy's Holiday Camp"
  22. "We're Not Gonna Take It"/"See Me, Feel Me"
Encores on this leg :
Three shows on the tour featured slightly shorter set lists: the show on 27 June at Radio City Music Hall in New York was shortened due to the live radio broadcast, while the last two shows of the tour in Houston and Dallas on 2 and 3 September featured Stevie Ray Vaughan and The Fabulous Thunderbirds as the opening acts. Townshend was forced to miss the encore during the show on 16 August at the Tacoma Dome when he impaled his right hand on the tremolo arm of his guitar while doing one of his trademark "windmills" during "Won't Get Fooled Again", barely escaping serious injury.

English leg

The band played a small series of shows in England following a one-month break, starting on 6 October with the first of four shows at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham and concluding with two concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Much like the show on 24 August in Los Angeles, the last two dates were charity performances featuring complete versions of Tommy, and with the same special guests.
Except for the first show in Birmingham and the first charity show at the Royal Albert Hall, the Tommy segment did not open the show as in North America. Below is a typical set list for most of the English dates :
  1. "I Can't Explain"
  2. "Substitute"
  3. "I Can See for Miles"
  4. "Eminence Front"
  5. "Face the Face"
  6. "Pictures of Lily"
  7. "Trick of the Light"
  8. "Boris the Spider"
  9. "I'm a Man"
  10. "Overture"
  11. "It's a Boy"
  12. "1921"
  13. "Amazing Journey"
  14. "Sparks"
  15. "The Acid Queen"
  16. "Pinball Wizard"
  17. "We're Not Gonna Take It"/"See Me, Feel Me"
  18. "Magic Bus"
  19. "Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand"
  20. "Baba O'Riley"
  21. "My Generation"
  22. "A Little Is Enough"
  23. "5.15"
  24. "Love Reign O'er Me"
  25. "Sister Disco"
  26. "Rough Boys"
  27. "Join Together"
  28. "You Better You Bet"
  29. "Behind Blue Eyes"
  30. "Won't Get Fooled Again"
Three concerts opened with the Tommy set. The first Birmingham show on 6 October opened with the short set, while the final two shows at the Royal Albert Hall in London opened with nearly full performances of the album. "Secondhand Love" was also performed during the early part of the set on 7 October.
Encores :
Roger Daltrey left the stage in the middle of "Behind Blue Eyes" during the show at Wembley Arena on 26 October, having struggled with the flu throughout the night; Townshend handled lead vocals for the rest of the song, plus "Won't Get Fooled Again", and the band played the encore without Daltrey.

Tour dates