AOL Music and The Who Bring Fans Exclusive Live Performances

Business Wire, Oct 27, 2006

Rock Legends Deliver 14-Song Live Set with Track-by-Track Commentary from Pete Townshend and Vintage Photos from The Who Archive

NEW YORK & LOS ANGELES -- AOL Music and The Who have come together to bring fans unprecedented access to the band's U.S. tour. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers handpicked 14 performances -- from classics like "Won't Get Fooled Again" and "My Generation" to new tracks from "Endless Wire," the band's first studio release in nearly 25 years, which is set for release Tuesday, October 31 on Universal Republic Records.

Beginning Friday, October 27, fans can see all 14 performances at AOL Music (http://music.aol.com/videos/live-concerts). To illuminate the performances, Who mastermind Pete Townshend offers up exclusive commentary for each of the songs, and the band provides striking photos from their vast archives.

"We are thrilled that The Who chose AOL Music to reach their fans with this unique window into their new tour and album," says Jack Isquith, Executive Producer of AOL Music Live. "The Who has always created the best stories in rock, and it's a true honor to have the band so personally involved in telling their new story with us."

"Endless Wire," the first new Who studio album since 1982's "It's Hard," contains all new songs from the band, including the 29 minute operatic work "Wire & Glass," penned by The Who's co-founder Pete Townshend and released to critical acclaim in an abbreviated EP format internationally in July. The legendary guitarist has described the work as a "mini-opera" and it was inspired by his novella "The Boy Who Heard Music." Townshend has made the book available online at www.petetownshend.co.uk/projects/tbwhim/. Among the 21 songs on the new album are "Fragments," "Man In A Purple Dress," "Mike Post Theme," "You Stand By Me," and "Mirror Door." The new disc also marks the first time Pete Townshend has solely produced a Who album.

Few bands have had a more lasting impact on the rock era than The Who. Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1990, their incendiary style garnered them one of rock's most loyal fan bases, with the brash foursome bursting onto the scene in the mid-1960's armed with a searing new template for rock, punk and everything after. The Who have sold more than 100 million albums worldwide, including ferocious and diverse classics such as the 1969 groundbreaking rock opera "Tommy" (which won 5 Tony awards for its Broadway adaptation in 1993), 1971's pummeling "Live At Leeds," 1973's "Quadrophenia," 1978's "Who Are You," and their final studio album 1982's "It's Hard."

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