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The Who Announces UK Tour
Legendary rock band The Who has announced a UK tour that will see the band performing with a full orchestra each night.
Concerts run from July 6 through July 23, venues are located in Hull, London, Badminton, Durham, St Helens and Brighton. The Who will also visit the Scottish capital Edinburgh for the first time in over 40 years, as well as the English city of Derby, where they last visited in 1966. All dates below.
Joining The Who on all shows except for The O2 London and Edinburgh Castle will be UB40 featuring Ali Campbell.
Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey bring their full live band comprised of guitarist/backup singer Simon Townshend, keyboardist Loren Gold, second keyboardist Emily Marshall, bassist Jon Button, drummer Zak Starkey and backing vocals by Billy Nicholls, along with orchestra conductor Keith Levenson, lead violinist Katie Jacoby and lead cellist Audrey Snyder.
They will be performing music from throughout the band’s nearly 60-year career, including sections devoted to classic albums Tommy & Quadrophenia as well as other beloved Who tracks and songs from their 2019 Who album, their first studio release in 13 years.
The gigs follow last year’s highly acclaimed ‘The Who Hits Back’ tour of the U.S., where the band visited over thirty cities and shared the stage with some of the finest orchestras in America.
See: The Who Hit Back, Keep Their Promise For Yet Another Arena Tour
Some highlights of the Live Nation promoted U.S. run from Pollstar’s box office include a sold out Hollywood Bowl in LA, Nov. 11, where The Who sold 14,634 tickets for a $1,984,140 gross, a nearly sold-out Climate Pledge Arena concert, Oct. 22 (10,194 tickets, $1,195,707 gross), or a sold out Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, May 20 (11,544 tickets, $1,187,483 gross). The Who’s U.S. run closed with two nights at Dolby Live at Park MGM Las Vegas, Nov. 4-5 (9,349 tickets sold, $2,097,658 grossed).
Roger Daltrey commented, “Having not toured the UK for six years, it’s great that at this time of our careers we have the chance to go to places that are not on the usual touring map Edinburgh Castle and Derby, as well as the other cities across the country that we haven’t been to for decades, will make this very special for me. This opportunity will give our UK Who fans the chance to hear our current show, which, with the addition of an orchestra, takes our music to new heights.”
Pete Townshend added, “Roger initially christened this tour with an orchestra ‘Moving On!’ I love it. It is what both of us want to do. Move on, with new music, classic Who music, all performed in new and exciting ways. Taking risks, nothing to lose. I’m really looking forward to bringing this show to the UK.”
In July 2019, The Who headlined Wembley Stadium in London for the first time in forty years. The show was the only UK date on their ‘Moving On’ Tour and featured the band accompanied by an over 50-piece orchestra performing classic tracks and more as well tracks from their Who album. “The Who With Orchestra Live At Wembley” will be released March 31.
The Who has performed more than 2,000 gigs in a career spanning over 50 years including venues such as Woodstock, Monterey Pop, Glastonbury (twice), Hyde Park (four times), The Isle Of Wight (three times), the closing ceremony of the 2012 Olympics, Desert Trip, Shea Stadium, The Superbowl half time show and Live Aid to name a few.
The Who with Orchestra UK Tour 2023:
July 6 – Sewell Group Craven Park Hull, England*
July 8 – Edinburgh Castle, Scotland
July 9 – Edinburgh Castle, Scotland
July 12 – The O2 London, England
July 14 – The Incora County Ground Derby, England*
July 16 – Badminton Estate Bristol, England*
July 19 – Seat Unique Riverside Durham, England*
21st July – Totally Wicked Stadium St Helens, England*
23rd July – The 1st Central County Ground Brighton, England*
*joined by UB40 featuring Ali Campbell