The Who By Numbers, released in early October 1975, is the seventh studio album by The Who and marked a watershed moment for the band, as its songs were, for the most part, more introspective and personal than those they had released previously. The record was a commercial success, peaking at #8 on the U.S. Billboard chart and #7 in the U.K., partly due to the success of one of the album’s lighter moments, “Squeeze Box”, which became an international hit, reaching the top ten in the U.K., top 20 in the U.S., and #1 in Canada.
50 years on, The Who By Numbers is to be reissued this October as a 5CD/1Blu-Ray super deluxe edition boxset featuring a 100-page hard back book with photos, memorabilia & exclusive notes from Pete Townshend and Who expert Andy Neill, 92 unreleased tracks and mixes, brand new Atmos, 5.1 & Stereo mixes by Pete Townshend, 11 of Pete’s original demos for the album, tracking sessions from Ramport & Shepperton Studios, early mixes, guide vocals, the fullest version of Live At Vetch Field, Swansea, Wales, June 12, 1976 released to date and on the Blu-Ray audio and video from a previously unreleased Who concert shot on 2” videotape from Metropolitan Stadium, Pontiac, Michigan.
The Who’s show at Pontiac, Michigan, on December 6, 1975, set the record at the time for the largest-ever indoor rock concert attendance, with 76,896 people. The entire show has been exhumed from The Who’s archives and professionally cleaned up, with remastered audio. It now stands as one of the few existing visual records of this memorable Who tour, their last with the irrepressible Keith Moon.
Six months later, The Who played three British football grounds under the banner Who Put The Boot In. The first of these, at The Valley, the home of Charlton Athletic, was recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s loudest rock concert. The third show at Swansea FC’s Vetch Field was recorded for a proposed live album, and over the years, songs from the Swansea concert have appeared on official Who releases. Now, the available original mix tapes have been remastered and returned to their original order. The show was Keith Moon’s last proper show before a British audience, capturing the level of performance power The Who attained over the year-long tour.
Produced by Glyn Johns, who had previously worked with the band on their 1971 album Who’s Next, The Who By Numbers, despite its light-hearted John Entwistle-drawn sleeve and massive hit single, features some of the darkest songs ever recorded by the band. This new super deluxe edition sheds light on the making of the album and the state of mind of its composer, Pete Townshend. As he puts it in the 100-page making-of-the-album book that accompanies the box set, “I could feel a new wave or reaction and rebellion coming in the music business; the big bands were becoming careless and self-indulgent. I wanted my songs to continue to have a cathartic function for our audience. When punk hit a few years later, I was not surprised.”
The Who are one of the top three greatest rock legacies in music history, with 9 U.S. & 10 U.K. top ten albums, and 14 U.K. top ten singles.
They have played over well over 2,000 gigs in a career spanning over 50 years, including venues such as Woodstock, Monterey Pop, Glastonbury (twice), Hyde Park (four times), The Isle Of Wight (three times), the closing ceremony of the 2012 Olympics, Desert Trip, Shea Stadium, The Superbowl half time show and Live Aid to name but a very few.
Emerging in the mid-1960s as a new and incendiary force in rock n’ roll, their brash style and poignant storytelling garnered them one of music’s most passionate followings, with the legendary foursome blazing a searing new template for rock, punk, and everything after.
Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990, the band has placed 27 top-forty singles in the United States and the United Kingdom and earned 17 Top Ten albums, including the 1969 groundbreaking rock opera Tommy, 1970’s pummelling Live At Leeds, 1973’s Quadrophenia, and 1978’s Who Are You. The Who debuted in 1965 with a trio of anthems “I Can’t Explain,” “Anyway Anyhow Anywhere” and “My Generation.” Since then, they have brought the world hits such as “Pinball Wizard,” “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” “Who Are You” and “You Better You Bet.”
In 2008, they became the first rock band ever to be awarded the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors. The Who has performed all over the world, including global music events for the Super Bowl XLIV Halftime Show in 2010 and closing the Summer Olympics in 2012. The Who continued their charity work by playing a concert in January 2011 to raise money for trials of a new cancer treatment called PDT. In December 2012, they performed at the Hurricane Sandy Benefit in New York.
Alongside his groundbreaking work with the Teenage Cancer Trust in the U.K., in November 2012 Daltrey, with Townshend at his side, launched Teen Cancer America.
Both Roger and Pete delivering their own memoirs (Pete’s Who I Am was released to much acclaim in 2012, and Roger’s Thanks A Lot Mr. Kibblewhite; My Story was embraced by critics in 2018) it’s fitting that the two remaining WHO members have shared their incredible legacy in literary fashion, for few bands have had a more lasting impact on the rock era and the reverberating pop culture than The Who.
The band released their first new album in thirteen years, the critically acclaimed WHO in 2019, and toured the world with their ‘Moving On’ and ‘The Who Hits Back!’ symphonic shows with a full orchestra, which were commemorated in 2023 with the album The Who With Orchestra Live At Wembley, recorded at London’s legendary Wembley Stadium. 2025 saw The Who saying goodbye to their legions of loyal fans in the U.S.A., but their music will live on forever.
Who By Numbers is available to pre-order here.
The post THE WHO’s Classic Album “The Who By Numbers” To Be Revisited As A Super Deluxe Edition For Its 50th Anniversary appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.
