Page updated May 1, 2025. This is a highly abridged version of all the things that happened to and around The Who in May. Click for access to the full history.
May 1945
New music releases: "June Comes Around Every Year" - Bing Crosby; "Bell Bottom Trousers" - Tony Pastor and His Orchestra; "Caldonia" - Woody Herman and His Orchestra; "Leave Us Leap" - Gene Krupa and His Orchestra
On the 19th, Pete Dennis Blanford Townshend is born ten days after V-E (Victory in Europe) Day at the Central Middlesex Hospital Annexe in Chiswick, London to parents Cliff and Betty Townshend.
May 1957
New music releases: "That'll Be the Day" - The Crickets; Film Encores - Mantovani; "Gamblin' Man" - Lonnie Donegan; "Island in the Sun" - Harry Belafonte
Keith Moon fails his 11-plus exam.
May 1961
New music releases: "I Feel So Bad" - Elvis Presley; "Well I Ask You" - Eden Kane; "Wooden Heart" - Joe Dowell; "Temptation" - The Everly Brothers
Around this month, Pete and John Entwistle finish their time at Acton County Grammar School. Pete heads on to art school while John's mom gets him a job working for Inland Revenue. He will keep this day job for more than three years.
May 1963
New music releases: The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan - Bob Dylan; Themes for Young Lovers - Percy Faith and His Orchestra; Yakety Sax! - Boots Randolph; "I Like It" - Gerry & The Pacemakers
On the 17th, two days before Pete's 18th birthday, his art college and music worlds collide for the first time at the Park Hotel's Carnival Ballroom in Hanwell. "...All my college chums turned out. Some pretty girls from the fashion school stood at the front of the stage, pretending to scream at me like Beatles fans; they were teasing, but everyone was impressed, especially when we played the slightly funkier R&B tunes I'd managed to sneak into our otherwise catholic repertoire."
Also during this month, The Beachcombers take band pictures with their new drummer Keith Moon.
May 1964
New music releases: "I Get Around" - The Beach Boys; Hello, Dolly! - Louis Armstrong; Cotton Candy - Al Hirt; The Academy Award-Winning "Call Me Irresponsible" and Other Hit Songs from the Movies - Andy Williams
May 2nd is Keith's first official date with The Who playing a girl's 21st birthday party upstairs in a pub on the North Circular. John is amazed to see Keith tie his drums together with rope but understands when he sees him play.
For help refashioning the band into hitmakers, The Who's manager Helmut Gorden brings in Peter Meaden, a former employee of The Rolling Stones' impresario, Andrew Loog Oldham. Meaden, a pill-popping Mod, has recently left Oldham's employ under bad circumstances and is now looking for a group to refashion as Mods to appeal to London's growing Mod cult.
On the 11th, The Who record their first record at I.B.C. Studios, London. Peter Meaden takes Slim Harpo's "Got Love If You Want It," tarts it up with Mod lyrics and renames it "I'm The Face". This take exists as an acetate but has not been released to date.
May 1965
New music releases: My Name Is Barbra - Barbra Streisand; "I'm Alive" - The Hollies; "Cara Mia" - Jay and the Americans; "Yes, I'm Ready" - Barbara Mason
During this month, The Who premiere their new look. Modeled after the then art school of "Pop Art," The Who wear T-shirts with Royal Air Force roundels, jackets covered in war medals and a special jacket made out of the Union Jack. It sparks a fashion trend that remains popular to this day (cf., Ben Sherman).
The Who perform for Three Go Round at Southern Television Studios in Southampton on the 19th. It is supposedly on the train to Southampton that Pete, still angry that his car (a hearse) had recently been towed away because the sight of it offended the Queen Mum on her morning rounds, writes a vicious put-down of the entire older generation called "My Generation."
May 1966
New music releases: Pet Sounds - The Beach Boys; "Paint It, Black" - The Rolling Stones; Strangers In The Night - Frank Sinatra; "Paperback Writer" - The Beatles
Pete presents Who manager Kit Lambert with a musical gift on the 10th, the day before Kit's 31st birthday. It is a 10-minute piece called "Gratis Amatis" that Pete put together with his friend Ray Tolliday and which he jokingly refers to as an opera. It sparks Kit's imagination. Why not a rock 'n roll opera? Kit sends Pete off to try to devise a story and songs for a full-length work.
May 1967
New music releases: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - The Beatles; Are You Experienced - The Jimi Hendrix Experience; Headquarters - The Monkees; "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" - Franke Valli
On the 12th, Coca-Cola London registers receipt of two spots from MRM Productions. They are filmed commercials to be used in promoting a tie-in between Coca-Cola and Biba's Boutique in Piccadilly. The music for both spots is performed by The Who and is not officially released by the band until the mid-1990's as "Things Go Better With Coke" and "Coke After Coke".
May 1968
New music releases: Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison - Johnny Cash; "Born to Be Wild" - Steppenwolf; "Think" - Aretha Franklin; Creedence Clearwater Revival - Creedence Clearwater Revival
On the 4th, Melody Maker prints Chris Welch's story of a recent visit to Pete's home studio. Pete plays him the demo version of "Now I'm A Farmer" and says it is part of a new opera he is writing called "The Amazing Journey" about a deaf, mute and blind boy who has dreams and sees himself as the ruler of the cosmos. It is the first public mention of what will eventually become Tommy.
May 1969
New music releases: Crosby, Stills & Nash - Crosby, Stills & Nash; "Sweet Caroline" - Neil Diamond; Tommy - The Who; "Sugar, Sugar" - The Archies
On the 1st, The Who present Tommy to the press at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London. Chris Welch of Melody Maker later said the sound was so loud, his ears rang for 20 hours afterwards. Disc magazine headlines the performance: "Who's Tommy: A Masterpiece".
On the 17th, the first copies of the Tommy LP are appearing on store shelves in America, disc jockeys also receive a 4-single box set of selected tracks. Ellen Sander in Saturday Review calls it a masterpiece and says it features some of the best rock music ever recorded. John Gabree in High Fidelity calls it "superlative rock-and-roll". David Walley in Jazz & Pop hails it as a "superlative achievement" while Charles E. Fager in Christian Century loves it and calls it a "thoroughly religious work."
May 1970
New music releases: Let It Be - The Beatles; Live At Leeds - The Who; Woodstock: Music from the Original Soundtrack and More - Various Artists; The Best of Peter, Paul, and Mary: Ten Years Together - Peter, Paul & Mary
On the 16th Live At Leeds is released in the U.S. and on the 23rd in the U.K. The record comes in a sleeve made to resemble a bootleg and with copies of Who documents, photos and a poster inside. The reviews are ecstatic with the exception of Creem Magazine that faults it for being only one disc instead of two and for not being able to see The Who perform while you play the record. The record reaches #4 in the U.S. charts and #3 in the U.K. Live at Leeds also stays in the British Top Sixty for 21 weeks, the longest for any Who album.
May 1971
New music releases: Carpenters - The Carpenters; "Mr. Big Stuff" - Jean Knight; Every Picture Tells a Story - Rod Stewart; What's Going On? - Marvin Gaye
On the 14th, John releases The Who's first solo LP, Smash Your Head Against The Wall in the U.K. and Europe. Keith Moon provides part of the drumming on the track "No. 29 (External Youth)." The album fails to make the U.K. charts.
May 1972
New music releases: Exile On Main St. - The Rolling Stones; "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" - The Temptations; Frank Sinatra's Greatest Hits Vol. II - Frank Sinatra; Honky Chateau - Elton John
After six months off from performing together, The Who reunite on the 19th for the first documented session of the Who's Next follow-up album at Olympic Sound Studios in Barnes, England. Glyn Johns again handles the production for the LP, provisionally titled "Rock Is Dead - Long Live Rock". In addition to the tracks recorded, Pete also presents the demos "Get Inside," "Women's Liberation" (known on bootlegs as "Riot In The Female Jail") and "Why Can't You See I'm Easy."
May 1973
New music releases: Tubular Bells - Mike Oldfield; Now & Then - The Carpenters; There Goes Rhymin' Simon - Paul Simon; "Smoke on the Water" - Deep Purple
Who manager and former record producer Kit Lambert meets with The Who at Mick Jagger's mansion Stargroves to structure the story and record demo versions of the songs for Quadrophenia. Pete later recalls he showed up "smashed...he scribbled his usually incomprehensible notes on the tape boxes and stopped our engineer Ron Nevison doing his job. At the end of the second week I sacked him, coming very close to punching him." It is the last time Lambert works directly with The Who.
May 1974
New music releases: His 12 Greatest Hits - Neil Diamond; Journey to the Centre of the Earth - Rick Wakeman; "The Loco-Motion" - Grand Funk; "You Make Me Feel Brand New" - The Stylistics
On the 22nd, The Who perform a formal concert at Portsmouth Guildhall for the students that put up with the filming of Tommy: The Movie. Backstage The Who sign the contracts that terminate their management by Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp, turning the band over to Roger Daltrey's personal manager Bill Curbishley. They also sign a deal with Polydor Records to release future Who albums outside the U.S., leaving Lambert & Stamp's Track Records. Pete is drinking heavily and suffers an alcohol-induced blackout about the show and the contract signings.
May 1975
New music releases: Captain Fantastic and The Brown Dirt Cowboy - Elton John; "Sweet Emotion" - Aerosmith; Venus and Mars - Wings; Red Headed Stranger - Willie Nelson
On the 19th, Pete reaches his 30th birthday, a rather bitter birthday for the author of "hope I die before I get old." That and the recent Lambert/Stamp lawsuit meeting make Pete angry and depressed. Unfortunately he unloads all his feelings to journalist Roy Carr who is visiting him on that day. Among some of the statements are Pete blasting Roger for saying The Who will be rocking in their wheelchairs: "he might be but you won't catch me rockin' in no wheelchair." He also says The Who's glory days are behind them. "Everybody has a hump and you have to admit that you've got to go over that hump." He also claims The Who are becoming a "golden oldies band" and that during the 1974 shows The Who were "copying what The Who used to be." Pete later says he is shocked when his conversation with Carr appears in New Musical Express on the 31st and refuses all interviews for the next two years as a result.
May 1976
New music releases: Fly Like an Eagle - The Steve Miller Band; High Voltage - AC/DC; Rocks - Aerosmith; "New York State of Mind" - Billy Joel
On the 31st, The Who start a three-date tour of the U.K. at the Charlton Football Ground. Since all three dates are at football stadiums, the tour is known as the "Who Put the Boot In" tour. Fans who attend wonder "who'll stop the rain" as it pours buckets throughout the day. This show also puts The Who in the Guinness Book of World Records as "The World's Loudest Pop Group" as their output registers 120 decibels at 50 meters. Supporting acts are The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Little Feat, The Outlaws and Streetwalkers. Sold at the show is an elaborate program called "Bellboy" that features a centerfold of a nude Keith Moon.
May 1977
New music releases: Barry Manilow Live - Barry Manilow; Book Of Dreams - The Steve Miller Band; Little Queen - Heart; Cat Scratch Fever - Ted Nugent
On the 11th, Who manager Bill Curbishley presents a contract to producer Sydney Rose and director Tony Klinger to make a documentary about The Who. Unbeknownst to the two signers, the contract is part of an unsuccessful backdoor attempt to remove Jeff Stein as director of the already planned film. Tony eventually joins Sydney as co-producer.
On the 30th, official production of Who fan Jeff Stein's movie of the band, The Kids Are Alright, begins. He had proposed the movie to Pete two years before. The first weeks of production are spent in New York scouring archives for rare Who film.
May 1978
New music releases: Stranger In Town - Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band; "Sultans of Swing" - Dire Straits; "You're the One That I Want" - John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John; "Only the Good Die Young" - Billy Joel
On the 25th, Who fans and the members of the bands Generation X, The Rich Kids, The Pretenders and The Sex Pistols assemble at Shepperton Studios in London for an impromptu Who concert. Jeff Stein films performances of "Baba O'Riley" and "Won't Get Fooled Again" for The Kids Are Alright movie but The Who give the audience an almost complete concert. At the end of "Won't Get Fooled Again," the performance reaches a dead stop and The Who walk off the stage. Stein, realizing this will make an awful ending to the movie, gets The Who to go back on stage and perform the song again. This time The Who put everything into the ending and the crowd is encouraged to go wild. This ending will be grafted onto the earlier take for the finished film.
May 1979
New music releases: Discovery - Electric Light Orchestra; Disney's Children's Favorites - Various Artists; "Boogie Wonderland" - Earth, Wind & Fire; "I Was Made for Lovin' You" - Kiss
On the 12th and 13th, The Who play two dates with new drummer Kenney Jones at the Arena Des Frejus, in France while also appearing at the nearby Cannes Film Festival where both The Kids Are Alright and Quadrophenia have their world premiers. Press reviews of these shows are almost completely raves. Ex-Who manager Kit Lambert shows up backstage and spends fifteen minutes telling Pete what is wrong with their current live act.
May 1980
New music releases: "It's Still Rock & Roll To Me" - Billy Joel; My Home's in Alabama - Alabama; Fame: The Original Soundtrack From The Motion Picture - Various Artists; Diana - Diana Ross
On the 10th, Pete's solo album Empty Glass is released in the U.S. John Rockwell in The New York Times calls it a success that sounds like The Who of a decade before while Jon Parales in Mademoiselle says it shows Pete has risen to the challenge set forth by punk rock. The album will ultimately reach #5 in the U.S. charts, the highest position for any solo album by a member of The Who. Also released is a promotional album The Pete Townshend Tapes, in which Pete discusses the songs on Empty Glass and what's doing with The Who.
May 1981
New music releases: Long Distance Voyager - The Moody Blues; Hard Promises - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers; Present Arms - UB40; "Slow Hand" - The Pointer Sisters
Who manager Bill Curbishley holds a Face Dances post-mortem with The Who during this month. Roger confesses that he cannot bear to work with Kenney Jones anymore and blames him for the primary problem with the album, a lack of fire. Kenney defends himself by blaming Pete, saying Pete kept all the good songs for his solo album Empty Glass. John puts the blame on producer Bill Szymczyk and his piecemeal recording process. Pete disagrees with John's opinion of Szymczyk's work and, typically for Pete, puts the blame on himself saying the problem was that his songs were inappropriate for the band. Roger disagrees, saying he thought the songs were great. The main takeaway from the discussion is that no one in the band agrees on what went wrong with the album and there is now an unresolved animus between Roger and Kenney that will poison the rest of Kenney's time with The Who.
May 1982
New music releases: "Eye of the Tiger" - Survivor; Rio - Duran Duran; 12 Greatest Hits, Volume II - Neil Diamond; Combat Rock - The Clash
Pete appears on the cover of Rolling Stone. Inside is a long interview with Kurt Loder in which Pete tells all about his recent descent into drug addiction, his electroacupuncture cure, the failure of Face Dances and how the next Who album may be their last.
May 1983
New music releases: "Every Breath You Take" - The Police; Too Low for Zero - Elton John; Piece of Mind - Iron Maiden; Holy Diver - Dio
A few days before his 38th birthday on the 19th, Pete meets with Roger to discuss future plans. In his diary, Pete notes "I said I would consider working on special projects with him - charity shows, musicals, anything but rock tours. He seemed receptive." Roger, speaking of it later remembers it quite differently. He says Pete called him up out of the blue claiming "No one's phoned me up and asked me how it's going," referring to his progress on writing songs for a new Who album. Roger offers to help, but Pete tells him "I'm going to finish the band."
May 1984
New music releases: Legend - Bob Marley and The Wailers; Private Dancer - Tina Turner; "Dancing in the Dark" - Bruce Springsteen; Chicago 17 - Chicago
On the 5th, Pete appears on the Channel 4 TV programme Ear Say. He is interviewed in his Faber & Faber office about the new Rolling Stones book by Philip Norman.
May 1985
New music releases: Brothers In Arms - Dire Straits; The Best of the Eagles - The Eagles; Nervous Night - The Hooters; "Money for Nothing" - Dire Straits
On the 27th, Pete's short story collection Horse's Neck is published in the U.K. It receives positive reviews from Brian Case in Melody Maker ("a brilliant, troubling work"), Martin Booth in British Book News ("stunningly good") and The Observer ("the real thing") and a negative review by Geoff Dyer in New Statesman ("work of an apprentice").
The day before the book's release, Pete is interviewed in The Mirror. He discusses how little he misses the drugs and rock 'n' roll life: "I'm glad I got out. There's no way I'd go back."
May 1986
New music releases: True Blue - Madonna; Top Gun - Various Artists; So - Peter Gabriel; Who Made Who - AC/DC
On the 10th in Billboard, Bill Curbishley says Pete, Roger, and John are all busy preparing solo albums. Pete is "getting new material together at his London studio, and he's deciding on the producer". Roger is "basically through with preproduction and he's working with Alan Shacklock again." John has formed the nucleus of a new band with Lou Gramm-influenced vocalist Henry Small, keysman Andy Nye (ex-Michael Schenker Group) and drummer Zak Starkey. Curbishley is in New York negotiating a deal for John and reports, "I'm getting a lot of interest from the majors".
May 1987
New music releases: "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" - Whitney Houston; Always & Forever - Randy Travis; Girls, Girls, Girls - Mötley Crüe; Les Misérables - Original Broadway Cast
On the 22nd, Roger's solo album Can't Wait to See the Movie is released. Billboard calls it "mature material" in a "polished album". Apparently this is not what buyers expect from him as the LP fails to make the charts. The U.K. release does not happen until 31 July.
May 1989
New music releases: Ten Good Reasons - Jason Donovan; The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses; Killin' Time - Clint Black; Disintegration - The Cure
In the issue of Billboard of the 13th, promoters report how possible concerns of ticket sales for The Who were quieted as the seven year absence by the group has not lessened the desire for tickets. Demand for tickets to their Giants Stadium show is so high that two additional nights are added. Meanwhile, radio stations fight to make theirs the "Who station of the summer."
May 1990
New music releases: Wilson Phillips - Wilson Phillips; I'm Breathless - Madonna; Greatest Hits - The Bangles; Reflections of Passion - Yanni
On the 19th, Billboard reports on the top music moneymakers in the U.K. based on gross income for 1988-1989 as per Forbes magazine. They are #1 Pink Floyd at $56m, #2 The Rolling Stones at $55m, #3 George Michael at $47m, #4 U2 at $33m and #5 The Who at $32m.
May 1993
New music releases: Janet - Janet Jackson; "Whoomp! (There It Is)" - Tag Team; Unplugged... and Seated - Rod Stewart; "Chattahoochee" - Alan Jackson
On the 9th and 10th, George Martin has his one experience producing Pete's music when he speedily records the Official Cast album for The Who's Tommy at The Hit Factory in New York.
May 1994
New music releases: The Lion King: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - Elton John and Hans Zimmer; Seal [II] - Seal; Weezer (The Blue Album) - Weezer: Ill Communication - The Beastie Boys
Roger and John are currently in a lawsuit filed against Pete over the "Tommy Grand Right Document" concerning how much they are to receive from the Tommy musical. The public does not know of the suit but tensions between band members are high and animosity bubbles over into interviews.
May 1996
New music releases: Backstreet Boys - Backstreet Boys; Older - George Michael; "Killing Me Softly" - The Fugees; Bringing Down the Horse - The Wallflowers
When he returns to England, Pete purchases and moves into The Wick. Built in 1775, the Georgian style home overlooks the Thames. Previous tenants were actor Sir John Mills and rocker Ronnie Wood. The lines from Pete's song "Blue Red and Grey", "the people on the hill, they say I'm lazy / but while they sleep I sing and dance", refers to The Wick when Ronnie Wood lived there.
May 1997
New music releases: NSYNC - NSYNC; "I'll Be Missing You" - Puff Daddy and Faith Evans featuring 112; OK Computer - Radiohead; "How Do I Live" - LeAnn Rimes
The Who continue their multi-media presentation of Quadrophenia in Europe at the Stadthalle in Vienna on the 1st followed by the Olympiahalle in Munich (4th), the Schleyerhalle in Stuttgart (5th), the Festhalle in Frankfurt (6th), the Westfalenhalle in Dortmund (9th), the Forest National Stadium in Brussels (10th), the Ahoy Hallen in Rotterdam (11th), two nights at the Zenith Arena in Paris (13th and 14th), the Hallenstadion in Zurich (16th) and ending at Wembley Arena in London (18th). Further planned dates in Mannheim and Milan are canceled.
May 1998
New music releases: Songbird - Eva Cassidy; Where We Belong - Boyzone; It's Dark and Hell is Hot - DMX; "The Boy is Mine" - Brandy & Monica
According to Pete's later report, during this month, Roger has an extremely emotional confrontation with him. "He still had a deep conviction in the notion of The Who as a living, material and necessary force. He felt that my deliberate neglect of it had been a mistake. That it had left him and John in the cold...At one point he made his points so forcefully, and personally, that despite the fact that some of the accusations he made were inaccurate and ill-founded, I broke down and cried in front of him. He said then, softly, that it didn't matter what I decided to do, either way - he would always be there for me. Later he called to apologise for being so brutal. I told him he had done what needed to be done, and far from feeling I had been brutalised, I felt I had been offered unconditional love."
May 1999
New music releases: Millennium - Backstreet Boys; The Man Who - Travis; "Scar Tissue" - Red Hot Chili Peppers; Ricky Martin - Ricky Martin
On the 22nd, the John Entwistle Band plays at a private function at the Marriott Marquee in Atlanta for the Association For Independent Music convention. Who fan Shanon Dell attends and films the show.
On the 26th, Who manager Bill Curbishley writes to Pete, asking if he would agree to a Who tour to help John whose finances, once again, are in dire shape.
May 2000
New music releases: The Marshall Mathers LP - Eminem; Oops!... I Did It Again - Britney Spears; Whitney: The Greatest Hits - Whitney Houston; "It's My Life" - Bon Jovi
On the 25th, Roger and John are interviewed by Gary Graff for MusicDirect.com. John says he hopes the new Who album will be "a lot more up-tempo, up-front. I've said that before , and I usually end up with the only rock 'n' roll songs on the album."
May 2001
New music releases: Break the Cycle - Staind; "Wherever You Will Go" - The Calling; Lateralus - Tool; "U Remind Me" - Usher
On the 26th, The John Entwistle Band start their final tour, "2001: A Bass Odyssey," with two shows at the Highland Theatre in Akron, Ohio. The next night they are at the Rock, Rhythm and Blues Fest at City Walk in Toledo, Ohio, followed by a private show at the B. B. King Blues Club in New York on the 29th where they are joined by Page McConnell and Mike Gordon of Phish and Mike Abts of Gov't Mule and two shows on the 30th at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, New Jersey.
On the 27th, John records the bass for the song "Same Price" for the forthcoming Gov't Mule album. The group's regular bassist, Allen Woody, had died and the band hit on the idea of replacing him with a succession of the world's great bass players. Coincidentally, this will be John's last studio recording session.
May 2003
New music releases: "Crazy in Love" - Beyoncé featuring Jay Z; "Stacy's Mom" - Fountains of Wayne; "Long Black Train" - John Turner; On and On - Jack Johnson
On the 7th, the results of the police investigation into Pete and his computers by forensic experts are made public. No evidence of downloaded child pornography has been found on any of his computers or in his home and Pete is cleared of all suspicion. However, pressure is put on prosecutors to punish the innocent Pete in some way. They coerce him into voluntarily putting his name on Britain's Sex Offender Registry for five years with threats that his case will be dragged through the courts. Despite the certainty that a trial would prove him innocent, Pete chooses the Registry as he doubts he could remain calm under cross-examination. This morning he goes to Kingston police station where he is fingerprinted, and a DNA sample is taken.
May 2004
New music releases: Hopes and Fears - Keane; Here for the Party - Gretchen Wilson; Under My Skin - Avril Lavigne; "Roses" - Oukast
On the 19th, The Who play a surprise short set at Carnegie Hall promoting the CBS fall schedule. They perform "Who Are You", "Won't Get Fooled Again" and "Baba O'Riley" from the CSI programs.
May 2006
New music releases: Eyes Open - Snow Patrol; "Hey There Delilah" - Plain White T's; Stadium Arcadium - Red Hot Chili Peppers; "Maneater" - Nelly Furtado
On the 10th, Roger joins Lulu and Robert Plant performing with the band RD Crusaders headed by Daily Express owner Richard Desmond at London's Old Billingsgate Fish Market. Roger performs "My Generation" and "Shout". Kevin Spacey and Mohamed Al Fayed are in the audience. £1.9 million is raised for The Evelina Children's Hospital Appeal.
May 2007
New music releases: Good Girl Gone Bad - Rihanna; Minutes to Midnight - Linkin Park; "Bubbly" - Colbie Caillat; "Can't Tell Me Nothing" - Kanye West
On the 3rd, Roger plays "Mick Keating" in the Season 4 opener, "Once Upon a Time on the Westway", of ITV's The Last Detective. It is Roger's last acting role on camera to date.
On the 16th, The Who launch a tour of Europe at the Atlantico Pavilion in Lisbon, Portugal. When the guitar goes out of tune, Pete throws it at his guitar tech Alan Rogan and then smashes the guitar. It is Pete's last guitar smash to date.
May 2009
New music releases: "Down" - Jay Sean featuring Lil Wayne; "Watcha Say" - Jason Derulo; Sunny Side Up - Paolo Nutini; "One Time" - Justin Bieber
On the 3rd, Pete Townshend makes The Sunday Times Rich List. He is considered the 1348th richest Briton valued at £40m. Roger Daltrey is listed at #1673 with £32m in wealth. The Who itself is considered to have earned "at least £100m".
On the 21st, The Who perform a three-song acoustic set at Arsenal's end of season charity ball. Pete, currently suffering from the flu, soldiers on to help Roger salute Arsenal's support of the Teenage Cancer Trust.
May 2010
New music releases: "California Gurls" - Katy Perry featuring Snoop Dogg; "Dynamite" - Taio Cruz; "Your Love Is My Drug" - Kesha; "I Like It" - Enrique Iglesias featuring Pitbull
On the 30th, the press reveals that Pete Townshend has bought Ashdown House in Berkshire, a National Trust property. Pete's investment allows renevations to be made to the estate that had been built for the daughter of King James I and is now a tourist destination.
May 2011
New music releases: Born This Way - Lady Gaga; "How to Love" - Lil Wayne; "I'm on One" - DJ Khaled featuring Drake, Rick Ross and Lil Wayne; "The Edge of Glory" - Lady Gaga
On the 27th, Pete is interviewed in Intelligent Life magazine. He says he is one-third of the way through writing his autobiography and it is already 80,000 words long.
May 2012
New music releases: "I Love It" - Icona Pop featuring Charli XCX; "Wide Awake" - Katy Perry; "Hard to Love" - Lee Brice; "Home" - Phillip Phillips
On the 3rd, Roger Daltrey is a guest on Jimmy Kimmel's late-night talk show. Roger admits The Who are "having a very long sabbatical" but at least gets to discuss the Teenage Cancer Trust and perform both "Young Man Blues" and "The Real Me".
May 2013
New music releases: "Riptide" - Vance Joy; "Treasure" - Bruno Mars; "La La La" - Naughty Boy featuring Sam Smith; "Love Me Again" - John Newman
On the 15th, Roger visits the SiriusXM studios in New York and is interviewed on The Howard Stern Show. On the same day an official Who message is released announcing that due to a recent injury, Zak Starkey will be taken a sabbatical from the drummer's chair. Scott Devours will replace him on the upcoming European tour.
May 2015
New music releases: "The Hills" - The Weeknd; "Tennessee Whiskey" - Chris Stapleton; "Stitches" - Shawn Mendes; "Photograph" - Ed Sheeran
On the 27th, Roger launches a new Teen and Young Adult lounge at New York's Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Made possible by a donation from The Who, the lounge is outfitted with the latest technology, craft and workspace, and communal snack bar.
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May 2016
New Music Releases: "Location" - Khalid; "Can't Stop the Feeling!" - Justin Timberlake; "We Don't Talk Anymore" - Charlie Puth featuring Selena Gomez; "Into You" - Ariana Grande
On the 31st, The Who headline Who Cares About The Next Generation benefit in Pacific Palisades, California. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts open and the crowd is full of celebrities like Cindy Crawford, Adam Sandler, Dustin Hoffman, David Spade, and Paul Stanley.
May 2018
New Music Releases: "Lucid Dreams" - Juice WRLD; "I Like It" - Cardi B, Bad Bunny, and J Balvin; "Girls Like You" - Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B; "Better Now" - Post Malone
Starting this month through August, Pete begins assembling songs for a new Who album, some new and some "rescued from ancient history".
May 2019
New Music Releases: "Dance Monkey" - Tones and I; "Ransom" - Lil Tecca; "I Don't Care" - Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber; "Before You Go" - Lewis Capaldi
On the 7th, The Who begin their "Movin' On!" tour in Grand Rapids, Michigan's Van Andel Arena. As with the other dates on this tour The Who perform part of the beginning and end of the show with a pick-up orchestra and violinist Katie Jacoby who comes out to play the ending of "Baba O'Riley." Orchestrations are written by David Campbell, father of musician Beck.
May 2020
New Music Releases: "Watermelon Sugar" - Harry Styles; "More Than My Hometown" - Morgan Wallen; "We Paid" - Lil Baby and 42 Dugg; "High Fashion" - Roddy Ricch featuring Mustard
On the 2nd, Pete makes a short appearance in the documentary The Shadows at Sixty airing on the BBC.
On the 12th, the press announces that Pete and Rachel have made a gift of $100,000 to support cello students at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music and to provide funding for concerts presented by UCLA's Center for the Art of Performance at Royce Hall.
On the 15th, Roger calls for support of a charity single, a newly recorded duet with Bonnie Tyler and Lorraine Crosby of "Through Thick and Thin (I'll Stand By You)". Proceeds from the single benefit The Who's Teenage Cancer charities, hard hit by the absence of money-generating concerts during the Covid-19 lockdown. On the 20th, Roger and Bonnie Tyler are interviewed from their homes about the single on The One Show.
On the 20th, The Who finally throw in the towel and announce that all scheduled Who shows have been cancelled. Manager Bill Curbishley says The Who hope to return to the U.S. in Spring 2021.
Also on the 20th, BMG announce they have set up a "boutique" neighboring rights service. One of their first recipients is Roger and the service will represent his interests when his work is performed whether solo or with The Who.
On the 22nd, Roger is interviewed in Billboard about the current problems raising money for charities.
