The Who on the Who ─ Interviews and Encounters

The Who were a mass of contradictions. They brought intellect to rock but were the darlings of punks. They were the quintessential studio act yet were also the greatest live attraction in the world. They perfectly meshed on stage and displayed a complete lack of personal chemistry offstage. Along with their great live shows and supreme audio experiences, the Who provided great copy. During the 1960s and ’70s, Pete Townshend, messianic about contemporary popular music and its central importance in the lives of young people, gave sprawling interviews in which he alternately celebrated and deplored what he saw in the “scene.” Several of these interviews have come to be considered classic documents of the age. Roger Daltrey, Keith Moon, and John Entwistle joined in. Even when the Who were non-operational or past their peak, their interviews continued to be as compelling: changes in allegiances and social mores left the band members freer to talk about sex, drug-taking, business, and in-fighting. By collecting interviews with Who members from across five decades, The Who on The Who provides the full, fractious story of the band.

Sean Egan is an author and journalist who has interviewed members of the Beach Boys, the Beatles, the Kinks, Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, the Sex Pistols, the Velvet Underground, the Who, and many others. He is the author or editor of several books, including Keith Richards on Keith Richards, Fleetwood Mac on Fleetwood Mac, Bowie on Bowie, and Jimi Hendrix and the Making of Are You Experienced.