The movie classic Quadrophenia – based on The Who’s 1973 double-album rock opera – is set to become a fully immersive cinematic and theatrical experience which, the producers claim, will “plunge fans into the sights and sounds of 1964 and capture the spirit of the era”.
Many of the film’s key stars will be taking part in the event which will be staged at London’s Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith on 11 February 2016. Joining Phil Daniels – who played the central role of disaffected Mod teenager Jimmy Cooper – will be Toyah Wilcox, Trevor Laird, Garry Cooper and Daniel Peacock. The stars will add an extra dimension to the event by sharing their memories in a special Q&A.
As well as a screening of the 1979 film and the Q&A session, there will be staged re-enactments throughout the night of scenes from the film to conjure up the feel of the mid-60s era in which it is set. The all-important sounds of the day will be performed live by leading Who tribute act Who’s Who, and there will also be a display of Sixties memorabilia (including original Vespas and their real life Mod owners).
Director Franc Roddam’s film is seen as a classic tale of alienation, disillusionment and escapism, as well as an important document capturing an important part of British youth history and rebellion. Watching the movie has been a rite of passage for millions since its release and the Mod era has been a source of fascination for generations, with its fashions and music continuing to resonate today.
Quadrophenia reflected the real-life situation of the day as partisan teenagers in fish-tails and leathers sought excitement through large scale scuffles when Mods and Rockers clashed at British seaside resorts.
Rolling Stone magazine has ranked the two-hour film as one of the top ten rock and roll movies of all time. The soundtrack featured many of The Who’s songs from the original Quadrophenia album, including tracks such as ‘5.15’.
Tickets for the immersive live performance are available from 9am on Friday 6 November at http://www.eventimapollo.com and http://www.axs.com. Standard ticket prices range from £30 to £43. VIP tickets £69.50.
Here’s The Who’s video for ‘5.15’ …
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Inspired by real events, “Gilbert’s Gift” tells the story of Gilbert Shilling—a rock star back in the Swinging Sixties—who becomes a living lung donor to save the life of a dying boy he has never met.
“Gilbert’s Gift” is available from Amazon as a US paperback, UK paperback and as an eBook from Amazon’s Kindle Store. It is also available from Apple’s iTunes Store (Books/Fiction & Literature/Brian Will Oliver), Barnes & Noble’s Nook Store, and from KoboBooks.
Union Square Music has launched a new double-CD compilation which features the original versions of the Kinks classics performed in the award-winning stage musical Sunny Afternoon. All the tracks were specially selected by The Kinks’ Ray Davies.
The musical Sunny Afternoon – named after The Kinks’ 1966 hit – uses songs by the band to tell the story of Ray Davies’s early life as well as the rise of the band he founded with his brother Dave in 1964. The musical has won four Olivier Awards.
Titled Sunny Afternoon – The Very Best of The Kinks, the new compilation contains nine of The Kinks’ UK Top Five hit singles, including three Number Ones. It features tracks such as ‘You Really Got Me’, ‘Waterloo Sunset’, ‘Sunny Afternoon’, and ‘Lola’. It also includes Kinks interviews and session tracks from the BBC’s archives.
The Kinks’ influence is now seen across a wide range of rock acts, such as The Who, Bruce Springsteen, The Jam, The Pretenders, Tom Petty, XTC and Elvis Costello – all of whom have paid homage to The Kinks at some point in covers or accolades.
The Who’s Pete Townshend was particularly influenced by the group’s sound: “Dave Davies was a real innovator and Ray was a gobsmacking genius,” he once remarked. “I desperately hope they work together again.”
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Inspired by real events, “Gilbert’s Gift” tells the story of Gilbert Shilling—a rock star back in the Swinging Sixties—who becomes a living lung donor to save the life of a dying boy he has never met.
“Gilbert’s Gift” is available from Amazon as a US paperback, UK paperback and as an eBook from Amazon’s Kindle Store. It is also available from Apple’s iTunes Store (Books/Fiction & Literature/Brian Will Oliver), Barnes & Noble’s Nook Store, and from KoboBooks.
The Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards has laid into fellow Sixties bands Led Zeppelin and The Who during an interview with Rolling Stone magazine.
The 71-year-old Stones legend reportedly described Led Zeppelin as “hollow” and said The Who were a “crazy” band and their frontman Roger Daltrey was “all flash”.
Richards revealed he has never been a fan of Led Zeppelin and while he thinks Jimmy Page is a great guitarist he doesn’t like him when he’s performing with the other members of the band.
“I love Jimmy Page,” he told Rolling Stone magazine, “but as a band, no, with John Bonham thundering down the highway in an uncontrolled 18-wheeler … Jimmy is a brilliant player. But I always felt there was something a little hollow about it, you know?”
Meanwhile, Richards also wrote off The Who. “I always thought Roger Daltrey was all flash,” he told Rolling Stone in the same interview. “I love Pete Townshend, but I always thought the Who were a crazy band anyway. You would say to Keith Moon, if you were in a session with him, ‘Just give me a swing,’ and he couldn’t … He was an incredible drummer, but only with Pete Townshend.”
Rolling Stone magazine has credited Keith Richards as the creator of “rock’s greatest single body of riffs” on guitar and ranks him fourth on its list of 100 Best Guitarists. Jimmy Page is ranked third …
(Photo: SolarScott)
What would YOU give to save the life of a stranger’s child? That’s the emotive question posed by this heartwarming novel of selfless courage, a quest for forgiveness, and a Swinging Sixties first love that never grew old.
“Gilbert’s Gift” is available from Amazon as a US paperback, UK paperback and as an eBook from Amazon’s Kindle Store. It is also available from Apple’s iTunes Store (Books/Fiction & Literature/Brian Will Oliver), Barnes & Noble’s Nook Store, and from KoboBooks.
The Who’s Pete Townshend is set to release his long awaited autobiography, titled Who I Am – A Memoir, in both hardcover and eBook form on October 11 2012.
According to publisher HarperCollins, the book will reveal Townshend’s “most intimate memories”.
“This book is not a vanity for me,” says Townshend. “It’s an essential rite of passage.”
Pete Townshend is working on a “definitive” re-mastered box set of The Who’s 1973 double album Quadrophenia.
He also hints that The Who may mount a 2012 tour based on the classic album. The last Quadrophenia tour took place between 1996 and 1997.
The new deluxe box set – titled Quadrophenia: The Director’s Cut – will be released on 14 November 2011. It will include surround-sound mixes of selected tracks, newly restored demos of songs that didn’t make it onto the original album, a deluxe hardback book, and other exclusive material.
Roger Daltrey is taking The Who’s legendary rock opera Tommy on the road for a three-week UK tour in July 2011.
The last time The Who performed Tommy live on tour was in 1989, although the band didn’t play the complete double album. Daltrey, though, will perform the album from start to finish.
The Who’s Roger Daltrey has confirmed that a film about the late Keith Moon has been delayed because of problems with the script.
Daltrey has spent years working on the film which was due to be released in 2012 under the title: See Me Feel Me: Keith Moon Naked For Your Pleasure. But he now admits the project is in trouble because he can’t find a script that manages to capture the essence of the hell-raising drummer who died in 1978.
Austin Powers star Mike Myers had been tipped to take the title role.
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Sh-Boom! is now available as a digital magazine. You can read a sample of the first issue here (best viewed in full-screen mode).
The Who’s Roger Daltrey says he is treasuring every minute he can sing because he has been warned he could lose his voice “at any time”.
The 66-year-old singer underwent surgery to remove a pre-cancerous growth from his throat in December 2009, and he has been working with a throat specialist in the United States to help save his vocal cords.
Daltrey hopes he will be able to keep singing for many more years, but he has been told his voice could suddenly disappear without warning.
He first became aware of a problem with his voice shortly after finishing a 30-date tour two years ago. “My voice wasn’t behaving in the normal way,” he told CBS television. “It was becoming hard work to sing.
“I got depressed after the operation, during what I call the Big Silence,” he said. “That’s when I realised what it would be like to not have a voice.”
Daltrey revealed he still has to have his throat checked regularly. “It could go bang at any time,” he said. “The time-bomb’s ticking away. But what do you do? I just enjoy every minute I have.”
At the same time, Pete Townshend’s hearing problems are also threatening The Who’s future.
After decades of playing and listening to loud music, Townshend suffers from both tinnitus and partial deafness. Last year, the 65-year-old guitarist had to endure a severe recurrence of tinnitus which forced The Who to cancel a number of shows.
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We’ll soon be launching Sh-Boom! as a digital magazine. You can read a sample edition of the magazine here (best viewed in full-screen mode).
Stacks of black Marshall amplifiers have dominated the stage at most rock concerts for nearly 50 years. Even Sixties rock fans who can’t actually remember the Sixties will surely remember The Who’s bassist John Entwistle having to make his Marshall Stack bigger and bigger so he could hear himself over Keith Moon’s drums!
Now, Pure has launched a unique radio which combines the audio features of its popular EVOKE-1S series with the iconic style of Marshall Amplification. It’s a revamp of Pure’s earlier and very successful Marshall-branded Evoke 1xt
The portable digital and FM radio looks like a mini version of the famous amplifier – complete with black vinyl wrap, Marshall carrying handle, brass effect front and authentic Marshall badge.
It has an input for an iPod or MP3 player, an auto-dimming easy-to-read text display, and the ability to pre-set 30 digital or FM radio stations for quick access. A matching S-1 speaker for stereo sound is also available.
And for true rock fans, the volume control even goes up to ‘11’ … a feature inspired by the famous scene from the cult movie This Is Spinal Tap!
The EVOKE-1S Marshall has a suggested retail price of £119.99 and is initially being sold exclusively through specialist music retailer HMV.
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Check out our SH-BOOM! digital magazine. It’s FREE! You can read a sample HERE…
Fans of The Who are at last being given a chance to see a full-length version of the band’s famous 1977 concert in Kilburn, North London which many Who aficionados regard as Keith Moon’s finest hour and one of the band’s greatest performances.
A film of the legendary event is now being made available on DVD for the first time. It is part of a 2-disc package which will be released in the UK on November 17, 2008.
On December 15, 1977, The Who performed in front of a select invited audience at the Gaumont State Theatre in Kilburn, North London to record a concert for Jeff Stein’s film, The Kids Are Alright. It was one of Keith Moon’s last public appearances with the band before his death in 1978.
Over the years, footage of the show has become a much sought-after “holy grail” for Who fans because only a few glimpses of the concert ended up in the final cut of The Kids Are Alright.
The performance was originally shot in 35mm, but the rare footage – showing drummer Keith Moon in fiery form – has now been digitally restored and remastered in High-Definition and Surround Sound from the original film elements.
The 2-DVD set also includes another never-before-seen rarity: The Who’s landmark live performance at The London Coliseum in 1969 which is said to be one of the band’s personal favorites.
Full tracklisting for Kilburn 1977 (DVD Disc 1)
1. Can’t Explain
2. Substitute
3. Baba O’Reilly
4. My Wife/Going Mobile
5. Behind Blue Eyes
6. Dreaming From The Waist
7. Pinball Wizard
8. I’m Free
9. Tommy’s Holiday Camp
10. Summertime Blues
11. Shakin’ All Over
12. My Generation
13. Join Together
14. Who Are You
15. Won’t Get Fooled Again
Full tracklisting for The Coliseum 1969 (DVD Disc 2)
1. Heaven And Hell
2. Can’t Explain
3. Fortune Teller
4. Tattoo
5. Young Man Blues
6. A Quick One While He’s Away
7. Happy Jack
8. I’m A Boy
9. I’m Free
10. Tommy’s Holiday Camp
11. See Me, Feel Me
12. Summertime Blues
13. Shakin’ All Over
14. My Generation
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Check out our SH-BOOM! digital magazine. It’s FREE! You can read a sample HERE…
The movie classic Quadrophenia – based on The Who’s 1973 double-album rock opera – is set to become a fully immersive cinematic and theatrical experience which, the producers claim, will “plunge fans into the sights and sounds of 1964 and capture the spirit of the era”.
Sh-Boom! Magazine 