The Who Tour 1982

The Who Tour 1982 was The Who's last with drummer Kenney Jones. While the tour was originally intended to support their 1982 album It's Hard, the band later announced it would be their final tour, though they would eventually reunite twice and then tour again in 1989.

The Who Tour 1982
Tour by The Who
Associated albumIt's Hard
Start dateSeptember 10, 1982
End dateDecember 17, 1982
Legs3
No. of shows40 in North America
2 in Europe
42 in total
Box office$20.07 million ($53.17 million in 2019 dollars)
The Who concert chronology

History

Aside from two warm-up shows in Birmingham, the tour took place entirely in the United States and Canada. During the first Birmingham show, Pete Townshend announced the group's intention to do a proper British tour the following year, but they later decided against this and to make the 1982 tour their last. Though this ultimately would not be the case, it would be their last tour until 1989.

The set list included a number of new songs from It's Hard. "Dangerous", "It's Hard", "Eminence Front", and "Cry If You Want" were performed nightly, while "Athena" and "A Man Is a Man" were also played several times each. "Cooks County", which Townshend had written after seeing a television documentary on Chicago's Cook County Hospital, was fittingly played during one of the band's October shows in Rosemont, Illinois. Meanwhile, only "The Quiet One" was retained from Face Dances, though they had played a number of other songs from that album on the previous tour. Besides "Eminence Front", which has been featured in the band's act off and on since 1982, "Cry If You Want" is the only It's Hard track the band has played since these tours, having appeared a few times in the group's first shows of 2006 and as part of a medley following "My Generation" from 2006 to 2009; it was also briefly included at the start of The Who Hits 50! tour in late 2014.

"My Generation", a staple in the group's live act since 1965, did not appear until the 14th show of the year, and did not lead into long jams as it had since the late 1960s; it also served as the show-opener for the first time in the band's career. Meanwhile, a number of songs were reintroduced to the act after long absences, such as "Love Reign O'er Me", "Squeeze Box", "Love Ain't for Keeping", and "Doctor Jimmy".

After letting keyboard player John "Rabbit" Bundrick go following the 1981 tour, the group filled this role with Tim Gorman, who had also played on It's Hard.[1] Despite this, Bundrick would again join the band when they reunited for Live Aid in 1985 and remained their keyboard player until 2011.

Live releases

Live material from 1982 has appeared on a number of different releases:

  • The Who's Last live album was compiled entirely from 1982 performances, mainly from the show on December 14 at Richfield's Richfield Coliseum; four songs come from different sources (verified by meticulous comparison with soundboard and audience recordings and videos from that tour). "Behind Blue Eyes" is from October 10 show at Brendan Byrne Arena in East Rutherford; "Magic Bus" and "Summertime Blues" are from 20 October show at the Kingdome in Seattle; and "Substitute" is from the October 27 show at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego.
  • The versions of "I Can't Explain", "Substitute", "My Generation", "A Man Is a Man", and "5.15" included as bonus material on the Live at Shea Stadium Blu-ray and DVD come from the first night at Shea Stadium in New York City on October 12; the show from the following night is the main feature of the release.
  • The version of "Twist and Shout" on the Thirty Years of Maximum R&B box set comes from the penultimate night of the tour at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens on December 16 (mislabelled in the liner notes as coming from the CNE Stadium show in Toronto on 9 October).
  • The versions of "Love Reign O'er Me" and "Won't Get Fooled Again" on the Thirty Years of Maximum R&B Live video and DVD come from the second night at Shea Stadium in New York City on October 13 – "Won't Get Fooled Again" was only included on the 2009 re-release.
  • The live version of "The Quiet One" on the Face Dances reissue also comes from the Shea Stadium show from October 13.
  • The entire Shea Stadium show (minus "5.15") from October 13 was released on DVD and Blu-ray in 2015 as Live at Shea Stadium, with several songs (listed above) from the October 12 show as bonus material.
  • The tour's final show at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens on December 17 was released on VHS as The Who Rocks America in 1983 and on DVD as Live from Toronto in 2006, albeit in edited form and missing some songs.
  • The live versions of "It's Hard", "Eminence Front", "Dangerous", and "Cry If You Want" on the It's Hard reissue also come from the Toronto show on December 17.

Tour band

with

Typical set lists

UK warm-up shows

The band played two warm-up shows at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, England shortly before travelling to North America. While Townshend's announcement during the first show that they planned to do "a proper British tour next year" was met with loud cheers, this ultimately did not occur. The following is the set list from both dates (only the encores differed). All songs written by Pete Townshend unless otherwise specified.

  1. "Substitute"
  2. "I Can't Explain"
  3. "Dangerous" (John Entwistle)
  4. "Sister Disco"
  5. "The Quiet One" (John Entwistle)
  6. "It's Hard"
  7. "Eminence Front"
  8. "Behind Blue Eyes"
  9. "Baba O'Riley"
  10. "I'm One"
  11. "The Punk and the Godfather"
  12. "Drowned"
  13. "A Man Is a Man"
  14. "Cry If You Want"
  15. "Who Are You"
  16. "Pinball Wizard"
  17. "See Me, Feel Me"
  18. "5.15"
  19. "Love Reign O'er Me"
  20. "Long Live Rock"
  21. "Won't Get Fooled Again"
  22. "Twist and Shout" (Phil Medley, Bert Russell)

On the second night they also played:

First North American leg

The band returned to North America for the first time in over two years, beginning this leg on September 22 at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland and ending on October 31 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. The show on 13 October at Shea Stadium in New York City featured a rare performance of "I Saw Her Standing There" and closed with "Twist and Shout", both songs recorded by The Beatles and both sung by John Entwistle. Here is a fairly typical set list (all songs written by Pete Townshend unless otherwise specified):

  1. "Substitute" (also appeared later in the set during several shows when "My Generation" served as the opener)
  2. "I Can't Explain" (opened the show on October 6)
  3. "Dangerous" (John Entwistle)
  4. "Sister Disco"
  5. "The Quiet One"
  6. "It's Hard"
  7. "Eminence Front"
  8. "Behind Blue Eyes"
  9. "Baba O'Riley"
  10. "My Generation" (starting October 7; also opened a number of shows)
  11. "I'm One" (Dropped after October 13)
  12. "The Punk and the Godfather" (Dropped after October 13)
  13. "Drowned"
  14. "Cry If You Want" (sometimes including teases of "Another Tricky Day")
  15. "Who Are You"
  16. "Pinball Wizard"
  17. "See Me, Feel Me"
  18. "5.15"
  19. "Love Reign O'er Me"
  20. "Long Live Rock"
  21. "Won't Get Fooled Again"
  22. "Summertime Blues" (Eddie Cochran, Jerry Capehart)
  23. "Twist and Shout" (Phil Medley, Bert Russell)

There were some set list substitutions, variations, and order switches during the tour. Other songs occasionally played were:

  • "A Man Is A Man"
    • Performed on September 22, 23, 25, 26, and 30 and October 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 17, 20, 21, 23, and 25.
  • "Magic Bus"
    • Performed on September 22, 25, and October 30 and 3, 5, 9, 12, 15, 20, 23, and 29.
  • "Naked Eye"
    • Performed on September 23, 26, 28, and 29 and October 2, 6, 13, 17, 21, 23, 25, 29, and 31.
  • "Athena"
    • Performed on September 28, 29, and 30 and October 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, and 25.
  • "Tattoo"
    • Performed on October 13, 15, 25, 27, 29, and 31.
  • "I Can See for Miles"
    • Performed on September 30 and October 20, 21, 23, 29, and 31.
  • "Young Man Blues" (Mose Allison)
    • Performed on September 23 and October 13, 25, and 31.
  • "Happy Jack"
    • Performed on September 29.
  • "Cooks County"
    • Performed on October 6.
  • "I Saw Her Standing There" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney)
    • Performed on October 13.
  • "Let's See Action"
    • Performed on October 23.

Second North American leg

The band returned after a four-week break for the second leg of the tour, which began on November 27 at the Camping World Stadium, at that time known as the Tangerine Bowl, in Orlando, Florida. Townshend announced at the second show in Richfield, Ohio on December 14 that they were playing "their last concert in the U.S.A." (as heard on the live album Who's Last), as was obviously intended at the time. The tour concluded with two shows at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens, the second of which was made available via pay-per-view and radio broadcasts throughout North America, as it was thought to be the last performance of their final tour. The group would of course subsequently reunite for various events (the first being Live Aid in 1985) and tours.

"Doctor Jimmy", "Boris the Spider", "Love Ain't For Keeping", and "Squeeze Box" were reintroduced to the set on this leg after long absences. Here is a fairly typical set list (all songs written by Pete Townshend unless otherwise specified)

  1. "Substitute" (dropped after December 6)
  2. "My Generation" (also appeared later in the set during several shows, when "Substitute" served as the show-opener)
  3. "I Can't Explain" (not on December 4)
  4. "Dangerous" (John Entwistle)
  5. "Sister Disco"
  6. "The Quiet One"
  7. "It's Hard"
  8. "Eminence Front"
  9. "Behind Blue Eyes"
  10. "Baba O'Riley"
  11. "I Can See for Miles" (replaced with "Doctor Jimmy" starting December 6)
  12. "Boris the Spider" (John Entwistle) (starting December 6)
  13. "Drowned"
  14. "Tattoo" (Dropped after December 6)
  15. "Cry If You Want" (not performed on December 6)
  16. "Who Are You"
  17. "Pinball Wizard"
  18. "See Me, Feel Me"
  19. "Love Ain't For Keeping" (starting December 1; sometimes appeared elsewhere in the set)
  20. "5.15"
  21. "Love Reign O'er Me"
  22. "Long Live Rock"
  23. "Won't Get Fooled Again"
  24. "Squeeze Box"
  25. "Twist and Shout" (Phil Medley, Bert Russell)
  26. "Naked Eye"

Other encores occasionally played were:

There were some set list substitutions, variations, and order switches during the tour.

Tour dates
Date City Country Venue Tickets sold / available Revenue
Europe warm-up shows
September 10, 1982BirminghamEnglandBirmingham International Arena[2]——
September 11, 1982——
First North American leg
September 22, 1982LandoverUnited StatesCapital Centre37,600 / 37,600$564,000
September 23, 1982
September 25, 1982PhiladelphiaJohn F. Kennedy Stadium91,451 / 91,451$1,440,351
September 26, 1982Orchard ParkRich Stadium80,000 / 80,000$1,200,000
September 28, 1982PittsburghCivic Arena17,200 / 17,200$257,154
September 29, 1982IndianapolisMarket Square Arena15,442 / 15,442$231,630
September 30, 1982PontiacPontiac Silverdome75,000 / 75,000$1,119,000
October 2, 1982Saint PaulSt. Paul Civic Center——
October 3, 1982——
October 5, 1982RosemontRosemont Horizon36,496 / 36,496$541,035
October 6, 1982
October 7, 1982LouisvilleFreedom Hall18,337 / 18,337$271,755
October 9, 1982TorontoCanadaExhibition Stadium64,000 / 64,000$1,280,000
October 10, 1982East RutherfordUnited StatesBrendan Byrne Arena20,062 / 20,062$315,453
October 12, 1982New York CityShea Stadium[2]140,000 / 140,000$2,200,000
October 13, 1982
October 15, 1982Ceder FallsUNI-Dome23,729 / 23,729$352,170
October 17, 1982BoulderFolsom Field60,000 / 60,000$960,000
October 20, 1982SeattleKingdome——
October 21, 1982PortlandMemorial Coliseum——
October 23, 1982OaklandOakland–Alameda County Coliseum60,300 / 60,300$1,025,100
October 25, 1982Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena14,372 / 14,372$244,324
October 27, 1982San DiegoJack Murphy Stadium51,771 / 55,000$776,565
October 29, 1982Los AngelesLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum83,000 / 83,000$1,365,415
October 31, 1982TempeSun Devil Stadium44,132 / 65,000$754,657
Second North American leg
November 27, 1982OrlandoUnited StatesTangerine Bowl65,000 / 65,000$1,018,946
November 29, 1982LexingtonRupp Arena——
November 30, 1982BirminghamBJCC Coliseum13,000 / 18,000$254,000
December 1, 1982BiloxiMississippi Coast Coliseum15,000 / 15,000$225,000
December 3, 1982HoustonAstrodome60,000 / 60,000$1,050,000
December 4, 1982DallasCotton Bowl66,611 / 80,000$1,165,698
December 6, 1982St. LouisCheckerdome12,564 / 19,000$274,440
December 7, 1982MilwaukeeMECCA Arena——
December 9, 1982RosemontRosemont Horizon18,195 / 18,195$267,750
December 10, 1982SyracuseCarrier Dome47,716 / 47,716$711,375
December 11, 1982WorcesterCentrum in Worcester12,907 / 12,907$202,112
December 13, 1982RichfieldRichfield Coliseum——
December 14, 1982——
December 16, 1982TorontoCanadaMaple Leaf Gardens——
December 17, 1982——
TOTAL 1,243,885/1,292,807 (96%) $20,067,620

See also

References
  1. https://petetownshend.net/news/exclusive-new-interview-with-tim-gorman
  2. "1982 Archives - The Who". Thewho.com. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
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