The Who Tour 1989

The Who Tour 1989

Tour by The Who
Start date	June 21, 1989
End date	November 2, 1989
Legs	2
No. of shows	50
The Who concert chronology

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. It was the band's only tour between 1982 and 1996.

History

The group debated on how to celebrate their 25th anniversary (actually the 25th anniversary of their being joined by Keith Moon, as opposed to when the group first formed), 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 (although Townshend would still play a fair amount of electric guitar and play lead on certain numbers). Although Joe Walsh was initially rumored to be joining the tour, 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 (playing on roughly half the songs in the set) and backup singers, for a total of 15 band members in all. The large number of performers and the playing styles of Bolton (who relied heavily on the tremolo arm and made occasional use of the wah-wah pedal) 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 comprised a long, eleven-week stint in North America in the summer, followed by ten dates in England in the fall. 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'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 setlist 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, The Iron Man, 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, the band played a number of cover tunes: "I'm a Man" (familiar from the band's debut album, My Generation) 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 1969-70 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:

• The Join Together live album was compiled entirely from 1989 performances, including the June 27th show at New York City's Radio City Music Hall and the August 24th show at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. At least one track ("Face the Face") comes from the August 22nd show at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego.
• The versions of "I Can See for Miles", "Join Together", "Love, Reign O'er Me", "Baba O'Riley", and "Who Are You" from the August 24th Los Angeles show appear on the Greatest Hits Live compilation.
• The version of "I'm a Man" from the Thirty Years of Maximum R&B boxed set comes from the June 27th New York show.
• The versions of "Boris the Spider", "I Can See for Miles", and "See Me, Feel Me" from the Thirty Years of Maximum R&B Live video and DVD come from Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, where they band played four shows from June 29th through July 2nd.

Band members

• Roger Daltrey - lead vocals, harmonica, occasional acoustic guitar
• Pete Townshend - acoustic guitar, lead guitar, vocals
• John Entwistle - bass guitar, vocals
• Simon Phillips - drums
• Steve "Boltz" Bolton - electric guitar
• John "Rabbit" Bundrick - piano, keyboards
• Simon Clarke - brass
• Simon Gardner - brass
• Roddy Lorimer - brass
• Tim Saunders - brass
• Neil Sidwell - brass
• Jamie Daltrey - brass (during some shows in the English leg of the tour)
• Jody Linscott - percussion
• Billy Nicholls - backing vocal
• Chyna - backing vocal
• Cleveland Watkiss - backing vocal

Typical set lists

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 June 21st and the tour ran non-stop (save one five-day break) until the final date on September 3rd at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. Earlier shows on the tour featured very experimental setlists that included material from Pete Townshend's most recent album The Iron Man, 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.

Setlists included the following most nights (all songs written by Pete Townshend unless otherwise specified):

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?" (dropped after July 16th; except for August 24th)
9. "Fiddle About" (John Entwistle) (dropped after July 16th; except for August 24th)
10. "I'm Free" (dropped after July 16th; except for August 24th)
11. "Tommy's Holiday Camp" (Keith Moon) (dropped after July 16th; except for August 24th)
12. "We're Not Gonna Take It"
13. "See Me, Feel Me"
14. "Eminence Front" (appeared regularly starting July 16th)
15. "Face the Face"
16. "I'm a Man" (Bo Diddley)
17. "I Can't Explain"
18. "Substitute"
19. "I Can See for Miles"
20. "Trick of the Light" (John Entwistle)
21. "Boris the Spider" (John Entwistle)
22. "Who Are You" (followed by 15 minute intermission)
23. "Magic Bus"
24. "Baba O'Riley"
25. "My Generation"
26. "A Little Is Enough"
27. "5.15"
28. "Love Reign O'er Me"
29. "Sister Disco"
30. "Rough Boys"
31. "Join Together"
32. "You Better You Bet"
33. "Behind Blue Eyes"
34. "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 (all songs written by Pete Townshend unless otherwise specified):

• "I Won't Run Anymore"
  • Performed on June 21st & 23rd.
• "All Shall Be Well"
  • Performed on June 21st, 23rd & 30th; and July 10th.
• "A Friend Is a Friend"
  • Performed on June 21st, 23rd, 24th, 27th, 29th & 30th; and July 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 7th, 12th, 14th, 16th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd & 29th.
• "I'm One"
  • Performed on July 3rd, 6th, 9th, 10th & 14th; and August 9th & 13th
• "Secondhand Love"
  • Performed on July 9th, 10th & 12th; and August 5th & 7th.
• "Too Much of Anything"
  • Performed on June 21st & 30th; and July 10th & 14th.
• "Save It For Later" (Roger Charlery, Andy Cox, Everett Morton, David Steele, Dave Wakeling)
  • Performed on June 23rd & 29th.
• "Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand"
  • Performed on June 24th & 29th; and July 2nd, 6th, 7th, 12th, 16th, 23rd & 29th; and August 8th & 9th; and September 2nd.
• "Love Hurts" (Boudleaux Bryant)
  • Performed on June 21st, 23rd, 24th, 29th & 30th; and July 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 9th, 10th & 14th.
• "Too Late the Hero" (John Entwistle)
  • Performed on June 21st, 23rd, 24th, 29th & 30th.
• "My Wife" (John Entwistle)
  • Performed on June 21st, 23rd, 24th, 27th & 29th; and July 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 7th, 9th, 10th, 12th, 14th & 16th.
• "Give Blood"
  • Performed on June 21st & 23rd; and July 25th.
• "Let My Love Open the Door"
  • Performed on June 24th, 29th & 30th; and July 2nd, 7th, 9th, 27th & 30th; and August 5th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 11th, 13th, 18th, 22nd, 26th, 29th & 30th.

The setlist from the June 27th show in New York and the August 24th show in Los Angeles featured complete versions of Tommy, the latter with special guests (all songs written by Pete Townshend unless otherwise specified):

1. "Overture"
2. "It's a Boy"
3. "1921"
4. "Amazing Journey"
5. "Sparks"
6. "Eyesight to the Blind" (Sonny Boy Williamson II) (featuring Steve Winwood in Los Angeles)
7. "Christmas"
8. "Cousin Kevin" (John Entwistle) (featuring Billy Idol in Los Angeles)
9. "The Acid Queen" (featuring Patti LaBelle in Los Angeles)
10. "Pinball Wizard" (featuring Elton John in Los Angeles)
11. "Do You Think It's Alright?"
12. "Fiddle About" (John Entwistle) (featuring Phil Collins in Los Angeles)
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" (Keith Moon) (featuring Phil Collins in Los Angeles)
22. "We're Not Gonna Take It"
23. "See Me, Feel Me"

Encores on this leg (variations of the following list):

• "Pictures of Lily"
  • Performed on June 21st, 24th, 30th, August 9th, 22nd.
• "Twist and Shout" (Phil Medley, Bert Russell)
  • Performed on June 21st, 24th, July 2nd, July 10th, July 12th, 16th, 23rd, 29th, August 5th, 7th, 11th, 13th, 19th, 22nd, 26th, 29th, 30th.
• "Summertime Blues" (Eddie Cochran, Jerry Capehart)
  • Performed on June 21st (not as encore), 23rd, 30th, July 3rd, July 6th, 9th, 14th, 18th, 19th, 21st, 22nd, 25th, 27th, 30th, August 8th, 9th, 18th, 19th, 24th.
• "Naked Eye"
  • Performed on June 21st (not as encore), 30th, July 3rd, July 6th, 16th, 23rd, August 13th, 29th.
• "Hey Joe" (Billy Roberts)
  • Performed on June 21st (not as encore), 24th, 29th, July 3rd, July 7th, 9th, 10th,14th, 18th, 19th,21st,22nd, 25th, 27th, 29th, 30th, August 5th, 7th, 8th, 11th, 16th, 18th, 26th, 30th, September 2nd, 3rd.
• "Barefootin'" (Robert Parker)
  • Performed on June 29th.
• "I'm a Boy"
  • Performed on June 30th.
• "Shakin' All Over" (Johnny Kidd)
  • Performed on July 2nd.
• "Tattoo"
  • Performed on July 3rd, 9th.
• "Dig"
  • Performed on July 14th, 16th, 18th, 21st (not as encore), 22nd, 23rd, 25th, 27th, 30th, August 8th, 9th (not as encore), 11th (not as encore), 13th (not as encore), 18th, 24th (not as encore), 26th, 30th.
• "Born on the Bayou" (John Fogerty)
  • Performed on July 23rd, August 16th, 30th, September 2nd, 3rd.
• "Night Train" (Oscar Washington, Lewis P. Simpkins, Jimmy Forrest)
  • Performed on August 11th.
• "The Real Me"
  • Performed on August 11th, 30th, September 2nd, 3rd.

Three shows on the tour featured slightly shorter setlists: the June 27th show 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 September 2nd and 3rd featured The Fabulous Thunderbirds as the opening act (the Dallas show was also broadcast live). Townshend was forced to miss the encore during the August 16th show 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 (though in only three venues) following a one-month break, starting on October 6th 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 August 24th show in Los Angeles, the last two dates were charity performances featuring complete versions of Tommy, and with the same special guests (see above).

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 setlist for most of the English dates (all songs written by Pete Townshend unless otherwise specified):

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" (John Entwistle)
8. "Boris the Spider" (John Entwistle)
9. "I'm a Man" (Bo Diddley)
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"
18. "See Me, Feel Me"
19. "Magic Bus"
20. "Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand"
21. "Baba O'Riley"
22. "My Generation"
23. "A Little Is Enough"
24. "5.15"
25. "Love Reign O'er Me"
26. "Sister Disco"
27. "Rough Boys"
28. "Join Together"
29. "You Better You Bet"
30. "Behind Blue Eyes"
31. "Won't Get Fooled Again"

"Secondhand Love" was also performed during the early part of the set on October 7th'.

Encores (variations of the following list):

• "Let My Love Open the Door"
  • Performed on October 6th (not as encore), 26th.
• "Hey Joe" (Billy Roberts)
  • Performed on October 6th, 23rd.
• "Summertime Blues" (Eddie Cochran, Jerry Capehart)
  • Performed on October 6th, 9th, 10th, 24th, 27th.
• "Twist and Shout" (Phil Medley, Bert Russell)
  • Performed on October 6th, 26th.
• "Naked Eye"
  • Performed on October 9th, 10th, 24th, 27th.
• "Who Are You"
  • Performed on October 6th (not as encore), 7th, 9th, 10th, 23rd, 24th, 27th, November 2nd.
• "Dig"
  • Performed on October 7th, 23rd.
• "Born on the Bayou" (John Fogerty)
  • Performed on October 7th.

Roger Daltrey left the stage in the middle of "Behind Blue Eyes" during the show at Wembley Arena on October 26th, 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

North American Leg

• 21/06/1989: Glens Falls Civic Center - Glens Falls, New York
• 23/06/1989: CNE Stadium - Toronto, ON
• 24/06/1989: CNE Stadium - Toronto, ON
• 27/06/1989: Radio City Music Hall - New York
• 29/06/1989: Giants Stadium - East Rutherford, New Jersey
• 30/06/1989: Giants Stadium - East Rutherford, New Jersey
• 02/07/1989: Giants Stadium - East Rutherford, New Jersey
• 03/07/1989: Giants Stadium - East Rutherford, New Jersey
• 06/07/1989: RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.
• 07/07/1989: RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.
• 09/07/1989: Veterans Stadium - Philadelphia
• 10/07/1989: Veterans Stadium - Philadelphia
• 12/07/1989: Sullivan Stadium - Foxboro, MA
• 14/07/1989: Sullivan Stadium - Foxboro, MA
• 16/07/1989: Three Rivers Stadium - Pittsburgh
• 18/07/1989: Rich Stadium - Buffalo
• 19/07/1989: Municipal Stadium - Cleveland
• 21/07/1989: Alpine Valley Music Theater - East Troy, Wisconsin
• 22/07/1989: Alpine Valley Music Theater - East Troy, Wisconsin
• 23/07/1989: Alpine Valley Music Theater - East Troy, Wisconsin
• 25/07/1989: Pontiac Silverdome - Pontiac, Michigan
• 27/07/1989: Carter-Finley Stadium - Raleigh, North Carolina
• 29/07/1989: Tampa Stadium
• 30/07/1989: Joe Robbie Stadium - Miami
• 05/08/1989: Arrowhead Stadium - Kansas City
• 07/08/1989: Lakewood Amphitheater - Atlanta
• 08/08/1989: Lakewood Amphitheater - Atlanta
• 09/08/1989: Lakewood Amphitheater - Atlanta
• 11/08/1989: Busch Stadium - St. Louis
• 13/08/1989: Folsom Field - Boulder, Colorado
• 16/08/1989: Tacoma Dome - Tacoma, Washington
• 18/08/1989: BC Place - Vancouver
• 19/08/1989: BC Place - Vancouver
• 22/08/1989: Jack Murphy Stadium - San Diego
• 24/08/1989: Universal Amphitheatre - Los Angeles
• 26/08/1989: Los Angeles Coliseum
• 29/08/1989: Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
• 30/08/1989: Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
• 02/09/1989: Astrodome - Houston, TX
• 03/09/1989: Cotton Bowl - Dallas, TX

English Leg

• 06/10/1989: National Exhibition Centre - Birmingham
• 07/10/1989: National Exhibition Centre - Birmingham
• 09/10/1989: National Exhibition Centre - Birmingham
• 10/10/1989: National Exhibition Centre - Birmingham
• 23/10/1989: Wembley Arena - London
• 24/10/1989: Wembley Arena - London
• 26/10/1989: Wembley Arena - London
• 27/10/1989: Wembley Arena - London
• 31/10/1989: Royal Albert Hall - London
• 02/11/1989: Royal Albert Hall - London

External links

• The Who Online Concert Guide