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The Who Tour 1981

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The Who Tour 1981
Tour by The Who
Start dateJanuary 25, 1981
End dateMarch 28, 1981
Legs1
No. of shows27
The Who concert chronology

The Who Tour 1981 was The Who's third concert tour since the death of original drummer Keith Moon, with most dates performed in advance of the release of their recently-recorded Face Dances album. Aside from a performance on the German TV program Rockpalast at the end of the tour, this was strictly a United Kingdom venture, with four shows in Scotland, one in Wales, and the rest in England. It was the group’s first U.K. tour since 1975.

History

Although the Face Dances album was completed by the end of 1980, it was not released until the 1981 tour had almost ended, meaning the new material played on the tour was entirely unfamiliar to audiences. Set lists from 1981 varied from one point of the tour to another, with the band experimenting with different song orders - for example, long time show closer "Won't Get Fooled Again" appeared in the middle of the set early in the tour, with "Who Are You" serving as the closer. New songs performed each night were "You Better You Bet", "Don't Let Go the Coat", "The Quiet One", and "Another Tricky Day", while "Did You Steal My Money" was played occasionally and a loose version of "How Can You Do It Alone" appeared in an encore during one show. A very obscure song that has never appeared in any official release, "You Stand Naked", was also performed during the encore of the January 31st show at St Austell. This represented the most new material The Who performed on a tour since they supported Quadrophenia in 1973-74.

The brass section the band carried for most of 1979 and all of 1980 was not retained in 1981, meaning John "Rabbit" Bundrick was the only extra musician in addition to the four official band members.

Live Releases

Live material from the band's March 28, 1981 Rockpalast performance, recorded at the Grugahalle in Essen, West Germany appears on the 2009 reissue of Thirty Years of Maximum R&B Live as a second disc.

Band members

Typical set lists

U.K. Tour

The U.K. tour began on January 25th, 1981 at Granby Halls in Leicester and ended on March 16, 1981 at the Poole Arts Centre in Poole. Here is a fairly typical set list (all songs written by Pete Townshend unless otherwise specified):

  1. "Substitute"
  2. "I Can't Explain"
  3. "Baba O'Riley"
  4. "The Quiet One" (John Entwistle)
  5. "Don't Let Go the Coat"
  6. "Sister Disco "
  7. "Music Must Change" (frequently replaced with "Dreaming from the Waist" later in the tour)
  8. "You Better You Bet"
  9. "Drowned"
  10. "Another Tricky Day"
  11. "Behind Blue Eyes"
  12. "Pinball Wizard"
  13. "The Punk and the Godfather" (played regularly starting about halfway through the tour)
  14. "Who Are You" (closed the regular set at some earlier shows)
  15. "5.15"
  16. "Long Live Rock" (not played every night)
  17. "My Generation" (usually including "Whatcha Gonna Do About It" (Ian Samwell, Ronnie Lane, Steve Marriott) starting January 31st)
  18. "Won't Get Fooled Again" (played earlier in the set at some earlier shows)

Encores (variations of the following list):

  • "The Real Me"
    • Performed on January 25th, 26th & 31st; and February 3rd, 15th, 19th, 24th, 25th & 28th; and March 2nd, 6th, 10th & 15th.
  • "Did You Steal My Money"
    • Performed on January 25th (not as an encore); and February 4th, 9th & 14th.
  • "Dancing in the Street" (Marvin Gaye, William "Mickey" Stevenson, Ivy Jo Hunter)
    • Performed on January 25th; and February 24th.
  • "Dance It Away"
    • Performed on January 25th; and February 24th.
  • "Twist and Shout" (Phil Medley, Bert Russell)
    • Performed on January 25th, 26th, 30th & 31st; and February 4th, 9th, 14th, 19th, 25th & 28th; and March 1st, 6th, 7th, 10th, 14th, 15th & 16th.
  • "Naked Eye"
    • Performed on January 26th, 30th & 31st; and February 4th, 7th, 14th, 15th, 19th, 25th (not as an encore) & 28th; and March 1st, 7th & 14th.
  • "I'm One"
    • Performed on January 26th.”
  • "Let’s See Action"
    • Performed on January 30th & 31st; and February 20th.
  • "How Can You Do It Alone"
    • Performed (loosely) on January 30th.
  • "My Generation Blues"
    • Performed on January 30th.
  • "Bargain"
    • Performed (loosely) on January 31st.
  • "You Stand Naked" (invented title)
    • Performed on January 31st.
  • "Magic Bus"
    • Performed on Feburary 8th (not as an encore) & 19th (not as an encore); and March 14th.
  • "Summertime Blues" (Eddie Cochran, Jerry Capehart)
    • Performed on February 9th, 14th, 25th & 28th; and March 6th, 9th, 15th & 16th.
  • "My Wife" (John Entwistle)
    • Performed on February 20th.
  • "Young Man Blues" (Mose Allison)
    • Performed on February 24th.
  • "See Me, Feel Me"
    • Performed on March 16th.

There were some set list substitutions, variations, and order switches during the tour. "Sister Disco" was the second song during the first concert in Leicester, which had an especially experimental set list. Some other songs were played which are not in the above lists:

Rockpalast TV Appearance

On March 28th, shortly after the U.K. tour, the group appeared on on the German TV program Rockpalast, playing a slightly abbreviated set. This performance later appeared on the reissue of Thirty Years of Maximum R&B Live. All songs written by Pete Townshend unless otherwise specified.

  1. "Substitute"
  2. "I Can't Explain"
  3. "Baba O'Riley"
  4. "The Quiet One" (John Entwistle)
  5. "Don't Let Go the Coat"
  6. "Sister Disco "
  7. "You Better You Bet"
  8. "Drowned"
  9. "Behind Blue Eyes"
  10. "Another Tricky Day"
  11. "Pinball Wizard"
  12. "Who Are You"
  13. "5.15"
  14. "My Generation"
  15. "Won't Get Fooled Again"

Encores:

  1. "Summertime Blues" (Eddie Cochran, Jerry Capehart)
  2. "Twist and Shout" (Phil Medley, Bert Russell)
  3. "See Me, Feel Me"

Tour dates

U.K. Tour

Rockpalast TV Appearance

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