News

Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend today announced that, just over 60 years since their first appearances, The Who will bid farewell this fall with The Song is Over, one final tour of North America. But the music is hardly stopping, so to speak: the group will also officially release a long sought-after live performance this summer.

Available first as part of the band’s revived Wholigan Fan Club, then as a general release on August 22, The Who’s Live At The Oval 1971 will finally canonize the group’s celebrated performance at “Goodbye to Summer,” a British benefit concert for the people of Bangladesh. Featuring several songs from their just-released Who’s Next, including “Behind Blue Eyes,” “Won’t Get Fooled Again” and “Bargain,” the 15-track set was available for decades as a poor quality bootleg until now; it’s been remixed from Glyn Johns’ original eight-track analogue tape by Bob Pridden and Richard Whittaker, with John and Layla Astley mastering the discs. Richard Evans designs the package, including a new cover illustration by Townshend’s nephew Josh, and Andy Neill will pen liner notes.

“Goodbye to Summer” was a spiritual follow-up to the benefit Concert for Bangladesh (spearheaded by George Harrison and Ravi Shankar in support of refugees from eastern Pakistan) which took place at Madison Square Garden in New York on August 1, 1971 and featured appearances and performances by Harrison’s Beatles bandmate Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Badfinger and others. Though Harrison and Allen B. Klein nixed organizing a British performance, this one did go down on September 18 of that year at the south London cricket grounds The Oval. The Who headlined alongside performances by Faces, Mott the Hoople, America and others, bringing their signature, maximalist power to the grounds in a set that climaxed with another infamous destruction of instruments by Townshend and the late drummer Keith Moon.

Live At The Oval 1971 will be a part of the new bundles from the Wholigan Fan Club, with the CD release being part of all membership tiers along presale access to the tour, a 10% discount on the band’s web store, and an exclusive pin. Additional bundles include extras like t-shirts and other merchandise. The album will hit stores on August 22 on CD and 2LP, in both 180-gram black vinyl and sea blue/red hot swirl and splatter colored vinyl.

Daltrey and Townshend, the band’s sole living original members, will close out their American tour with an assortment of their usual backing musicians (including Townshend’s younger brother Simon and recently un-fired drummer Zak Starkey, Ringo Starr’s son). The Song is Over arrives here in August and September, reaching venues like Madison Square Garden, Boston’s Fenway Park, Chicago’s United Center, The Hollywood Bowl, and other arenas and stadiums.

The track list for Live At The Oval 1971 is below. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

The Who, Live At The Oval 1971 (Polydor/UMR, 2025) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

1. So Glad to See Ya
2. Summertime Blues
3. My Wife
4. Love Ain’t for Keeping
5. I Can’t Explain
6. Substitute
7. Bargain
8. Behind Blue Eyes
9. Won’t Get Fooled Again
10. Baby Don’t You Do It
11. Pinball Wizard
12. See Me, Feel Me/Listening to You
13. My Generation
14. Naked Eye
15. Magic Bus