The Who
The Who in 1975. From left to right: Roger Daltrey (vocals), John Entwistle (bass), Keith Moon (drums) and Pete Townshend (guitar).
Background information
Also known as	The Detours The High Numbers
Origin	London, England
Genres	Rock hard rock power pop proto-punk
Works	Discography
Years active	1964–1983[1] 1985 1988–1989 1991 1996–2025
Labels	Brunswick Reaction Track Polydor Decca Virgin MCA Warner Bros. Universal Republic Geffen Atco
Members	Roger Daltrey Pete Townshend
Past members	John Entwistle Doug Sandom Keith Moon Kenney Jones
Website	thewho.com

The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of the most influential rock bands of the 20th century, their contributions to rock music include the development of the Marshall stack, large public address systems, the use of synthesisers, Entwistle's and Moon's influential playing styles, Townshend's feedback and power chord guitar technique, and the development of the rock opera. They are cited as an influence by many hard rock, punk, power pop and mod bands. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.

The Who evolved from an earlier group, the Detours, and established themselves as part of the pop art and mod movements, featuring auto-destructive art by destroying guitars and drums on stage. Their first single as the Who, "I Can't Explain" (1964), reached the UK top ten, and was followed by a string of hit singles including "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere", "My Generation" (both 1965), "Substitute", "I'm a Boy", "Happy Jack" (all 1966) and "Pictures of Lily" (1967). In 1967, they performed at the Monterey Pop Festival and released "I Can See for Miles", their only US top ten single. The group's 1969 concept album Tommy included the single "Pinball Wizard" and was a critical and commercial success.

Further festival appearances at Woodstock and the Isle of Wight, along with the concert album Live at Leeds (1970), established their reputation as a respected rock act. The success put pressure on lead songwriter Townshend, and the follow-up to Tommy, Lifehouse, was abandoned. Songs from the project made up the album Who's Next (1971), including the hits "Won't Get Fooled Again", "Baba O'Riley", and "Behind Blue Eyes". The group released another concept album, Quadrophenia (1973), as a celebration of their mod roots, and oversaw the film adaptation of Tommy (1975). Following the release of The Who by Numbers (1975), they continued to tour to large audiences before semi-retiring from live performances at the end of 1976. The release of Who Are You (1978) was overshadowed by Moon's death shortly after.

Former Small Faces and Faces drummer Kenney Jones replaced Moon and the group resumed touring. In 1979, they released a film adaptation of Quadrophenia and the retrospective rockumentary The Kids Are Alright. The early 1980s brought two more albums, Face Dances (1981) and It's Hard (1982), and more successful world tours, though Townshend became weary of the group during this time, and they officially split in 1983. The Who occasionally re-formed for live appearances such as Live Aid in 1985, a 25th-anniversary tour in 1989 with Simon Phillips on drums, and a tour of Quadrophenia during 1996–1997 with Zak Starkey on drums. A full-time reunion began in 1999, with Starkey as drummer. After Entwistle's death in 2002, plans for a new album were delayed until 2006, with Endless Wire. Since Entwistle's death, the Who have continued to perform and tour officially as a duo of Daltrey and Townshend, augmented by various other musicians. Their twelfth album, Who was released in 2019 and supported with more touring. In 2025, the band conducted their final tour, entitled The Song Is Over North American Farewell Tour.^[2]