The Who Tour 1973
| Tour by The Who | |
| Associated album | "Quadrophenia" |
|---|---|
| Start date | 10 March 1973 |
| End date | 23 December 1973 |
| Legs | 4 |
| No. of shows | 27 |
| The Who concert chronology | |
The Who Tour 1973 was The Who's first concert tour supporting their Quadrophenia album.
Prior to recording the Quadrophenia album, the band played a one-off performance in Voorburg, Netherlands for a Dutch TV special in March. They then did one tour each in England and North America supporting the new rock opera, released in October; four additional dates in London were added after their November dates at the Lyceum failed to meet the large demand for tickets. The set list for these tours was altered considerably from their 1971 and 1972 tours, with a large part of the act devoted to Quadrophenia, while "Won't Get Fooled Again" was the only Who's Next track retained until "My Wife" was reintroduced during the North American dates. Unlike performances of the rock opera Tommy, the group opted to introduce and explain the context of most of the new numbers rather than play them one after the other without breaks. They often struggled with some of the new material, choosing to play to a number of pre-recorded backing tracks featuring the album's original piano and synthesizer parts, as well as various sound effects. "The Dirty Jobs", "Is It in My Head", and "I've Had Enough" were only played in the first concert in Stoke-on-Trent before proving unworkable, and both "Helpless Dancer" and "The Rock" (also played to backing tracks) were eventually dropped. Drummer Keith Moon received a solo vocal spot during "Bell Boy", with Pete Townshend often teasing him over his singing abilities.
Memorable (and infamous) performances during these tours included the group's 5 November show in Newcastle, when troubles with the Quadrophenia backing tracks caused Townshend to suffer a meltdown that resulted in sound engineer Bob Pridden being dragged onstage and suffering an assault in front of the bemused audience. Additionally, Moon passed out about 70 minutes into the opening night of the North American tour at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California, resulting in audience member Scot Halpin sitting in with the band to help them finish the concert. The show at the Spectrum in Philadelphia on 4 December was recorded and occasionally broadcast in incomplete form on the King Biscuit Flower Hour radio show starting in 1974; the following show at the Capital Center in Landover, Maryland was also recorded, but was not aired (the King Biscuit recordings were rumored to be from both dates, but eventually proved to all be from the Philadelphia performance). The King Biscuit Flower Hour Shows were recorded on the Record Plant NY Remote Truck with David Hewitt and Crew.
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