The two remaining original members of The Who, Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey, have confirmed that they have been talking about retirement claiming that ‘This is the end of the long goodbye’.

Tickets will go on sale Friday July 6^th for what has been dubbed ‘Who Hit’s 50’ as the godfathers of Rock ‘N’ Roll kick off their golden anniversary tour in November this year. Amongst other legendary rock bands such as The Rolling Stones and The Beatles, The Who have grown into antiquity after five decades of deserved fame with relentless hits pulling their music forward from generation to generation. Now their legacy is now believed to be heading towards its climactic end with the two remaining members talking about retirement.

“We are what we are, and extremely good at it, but we’re lucky to be alive and still touring, if I had enough hairs to split I would say that for 13 years since 1964 the Who didn’t really exist, so we are really only 37.” Said Townshend when reminiscing about his history with the band.

Since they grabbed the attention of the teenage youths back in the swinging sixties, The Who have always been iconic and had it not been for the tragic death of Keith Moon in 1978 and the more recent death of bassist John Entwistle in 2002 the four original lads could have rocked their fiftieth together. Now only Daltrey and Townshend to play together with an entourage of touring musicians.

The last album that The Who produced with all original members was their famous ‘Who Are You’ which was released the same year as Moon’s death. After which three more albums were recorded, but the most recent entitled ‘Endless Wire’ being released in 2006,  twenty-four years after ‘It’s Hard’ in 1982.

This pause in music history had a bleak beginning markedly due to the ‘Cincinnati Tragedy’ which occurred on December 3^rd 1979 where 11 fans were crushed during the sound check at the Riverfront Coleseum.  Daltrey took a break from the band to work on his acting career and after the release of ‘It’s Hard’ Townshend fallen into depression whilst dealing with the reality that maybe his legacy was coming to an end, leading to a brief heroin addiction.

After finally playing at the Live Aid concert in 1985 – considered to be their reunion – Kenny Jones had dropped from the band, leaving only Daltrey and Townshend to carry their torch to the finish line.

It is with much sadness that The Who have begun to comment on retirement, but all good things must come to an end. Their legacy will always remain and in no doubt inspire the ears and minds of aspiring musicians to come, but perhaps for the last time ever fans of the world-wide critically acclaimed godfathers of Rock can see them play, as the veterans of a bygone age play their 50^th anniversary tour this winter.

You can buy tickets for the gigs here.

Tour Venues:

Nov 30^th Glasgow SSE Hydro
Dec 2^nd Leeds First Direct Arena
Dec 5^th Nottingham Capital FM Arena
Dec 7^th Birmingham NIA
Dec 9^th Newcastle Metro Arena
Dec 11^th Liverpool Echo Arena
Dec 13^th Manchester Phones 4u Arena
Dec 15^th Cardiff Motorpoint
Dec 17^th London O2