THE WHO's 'Who' Is Band's Highest-Charting Album In U.K. In 38 Years

December 14, 2019

THE WHO's latest album, "Who", entered the U.K. chart at position No. 3, becoming the band's highest-charting U.K. LP in 38 years.

"Who" is THE WHO's first set of new material since 2006's "Endless Wire", which debuted at No. 9 in November of that year.

THE WHO's 1981's LP "Face Dances", which also entered the chart at No. 3, peaked at No. 2.

THE WHO has released 12 studio albums and topped the chart just once, with "Who's Next" from September 1971.

THE WHO has one of the greatest rock legacies in music history — they're one of the all-time great live bands, have sold over 100 million records worldwide and scored nine U.S. and 10 U.K. Top Ten albums and 14 U.K. top 10 singles in a career spanning six decades.

The songs on "Who" cover a myriad of subjects, including the Grenfell Tower fire, musical theft, spirituality, reincarnation, the power of memory and "an old rock star that has lost his marbles." Singer Roger Daltrey rates it among their strongest.

"I think we've made our best album since 'Quadrophenia' in 1973," he said. "Pete [Townshend, guitar] hasn't lost it — he's still a fabulous songwriter, and he's still got that cutting edge."

Added Townshend: "This album is almost all new songs written last year, with just two exceptions. There is no theme, no concept, no story, just a set of songs that I (and my brother Simon) wrote to give Roger Daltrey some inspiration, challenges and scope for his newly revived singing voice.

"Roger and I are both old men now, by any measure, so I've tried to stay away from romance, but also from nostalgia, if I can. I didn't want to make anyone feel uncomfortable. Memories are okay, and some of the songs refer to the explosive state of things today.

"I made new home studio demos of all these songs in the summer of 2018 using a wide collection of instruments old and new. We started recording as THE WHO in March 2019, and have finished now in late August just in time to make some vinyl — maybe even some cassettes — ready for release in November."

Two songs on the record — the epic "Ball And Chain" and string-laden "Hero Ground Zero" — got their world premiere when the band played with a 40-piece orchestra to a packed Wembley Stadium. Spring 2020 will see the band embarking on a U.K. tour featuring an orchestra.

Photo credit: Rick Guest / courtesy of NEC Group

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