Random Fascinating Facts You Didn't Know About Who's 'Who Are You' (12 items)

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  (#1) The Band Were In Bad Shape When Recording Started

  After decades of rock excess, The Who were in bad shape when they arrived at the sessions for Who Are You in 1977. The group had taken a three-year hiatus, and engineer Jon Astley, who co-produced the album alongside Glyn Johns, recalled the initial sessions for Who Are You weren't particularly fruitful.

  According to Astley, the band members were breaking apart from one another and often worked separately. Pete Townshend, in particular, was having a rough time. As Astley recalled:

  He was going through some hell, he cut his hand very badly, couldn’t play guitar some days and then there was some of his drinking. He’d then go off in the afternoon to collect the kids, while Roger liked to work in the afternoon, so it was all a bit bitty.
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  (#2) It Was The Last Album To Feature Keith Moon

  Pete Townshend wasn't the only one in rough shape. Drummer Keith Moon's struggles with drugs and alcohol were on full display by the time of Who Are You. Moon's legendary appetite for partying left him overweight and struggling to play. As co-producer Jon Astley recalls:

  I do know at the beginning he really wasn’t playing well, and he was all over the place, and they had to sit him down and tell him to get his shit together. I don’t think he was drinking at the time, he was on slimming aid and things like that. In fairness to him, he did get it together on the album, and he really plays really well on parts.

  On September 7, 1978, just a few weeks after the album's release, Moon was found dead of an overdose on pills he took to help his alcohol abuse. He was 32.

  "It was a silly mistake," Townshend later said. "He just always took pills in handfuls; it was just a habit that he had." 

  Though the last album to feature Moon, the band moved forward with replacement drummers. 
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  (#3) The Band's Keyboardist Broke His Arm After Partying With Keith Moon

  John "Rabbit" Bundrick, the band's longtime touring and recording keyboardist, was slated to play on Who Are You. But a night out drinking with Keith Moon following his audition for the group caused him to fall out of a taxi and break his arm - rendering him useless for the sessions. 

  Bundrick feared he'd lose his job, but his boss let it slide when he discovered the identity of his drinking partner.

  "Everybody is entitled to one mistake, and you just made yours hanging out with Keith. Now you know better. Just let us know when your hand is healed, and you're still in the band," Bundrick recalled manager Bill Curbishley saying in response to his injury.  
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  (#4) The Zombies' Rod Argent Filled In On Keys

  Rod Argent, the keyboard legend and member of The Zombies, was scheduled to replace Bundrick. Although initially hired to work on the entirety of Who Are You, Argent left the sessions after only performing on a few songs. As Argent explained:

  The Who were going through a lot of political changes at the time with their management. I mean, we weren’t party to what was going on, obviously, but day after day they’d be ensconced upstairs in meetings, and an awful lot of recording didn’t get done. After three tracks I said ‘Look, I’ve got to start the Andrew Lloyd Webber album now.’

  Townshend forced Argent to choose between their project and the Webber one, and the keyboardist picked the latter as he didn't want to back out of a commitment. 
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  (#5) A Notable Musician Sang On The Album's Title Track

  Andy Fairweather Low, a notable session and touring musician, contributed to a few songs on the album as a backup singer - particularly the title track, "Who Are You." Low, who's spent decades touring with Eric Clapton, got the gig at a time when his band had dissolved after scoring modest hits in the late '60s. 

  Following his work on Who Are You, Low became a go-to player for many, including Roger Waters, Stevie Nicks, and Jeff Beck. 
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  (#6) 'Sister Disco' Is Pete Townshend's Least Favorite Song To Play

  "Sister Disco" became a staple in the band's set following the release of Who Are You, but Townshend once claimed it was his least favorite song to play.

  "Every time we’ve done it, there’s a point when Roger (Daltrey) comes up to me and makes some kind of soppy smile that’s supposed to communicate some kind of Everly Brothers-type relationship to the audience which isn’t actually there," Townsend explained in an interview.

  The song, written about the band's allegiance to rock music in the age of disco, was described by Townsend as being "a perfect example of the progression" the band was making "towards theatrical music writing." 
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  (#7) The Title Track Was Written After A Night Of Drinking With The Sex Pistols

  As the story goes, "Who Are You" was written about a drunken night Pete Townshend had in the SoHo area of New York City. Townsend reportedly felt upset about the idea that his band had possibly sold out, and met two members of the Sex Pistols. 

  He got extremely drunk, passed out in a random doorway, and was awoken by a police officer. Hence the lyrics:

  I woke up in a SoHo doorway

  
  A policeman knew my name

  
  He said you can go sleep at home tonight

  
  If you can get up and walk away

  Townshend later said he didn't clearly remember the process of writing the song, but claimed it was "an outlet" for the anger he felt towards his manager at the time. 
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  (#8) Keith Moon Sat In A Chair On The Cover To Hide His Distended Stomach

  By the time of the photoshoot for the album, Keith Moon's lifestyle was increasingly destructive. His addictions were so severe that his stomach became distended from alcohol abuse - which the band's photographer attempted to cover up by making him sit in a chair.

  Eerily, the chair Moon sits on for the cover included the words "not to be taken away" painted on it. When Moon passed away just weeks after the album's release, the cover became the most powerful and tragic image in the band's history. 
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  (#9) Reviews Of 'Who Are You' Were Mixed

  Despite eventually becoming a beloved album - mostly for being Moon's last work with the band - Who Are You received mixed, often lukewarm reviews from critics. Rolling Stone originally said it was "by no means a great album," and criticized it for lacking "a natural, kinetic groove."

  The review read:

  The drive we expect from The Who is replaced by chunky, sometimes clunky orchestration: strings, horns, synthesizer music. This gives one the feeling that the Who aren’t moving, that they aren’t gearing up for a great rock and roll shoot-out with the competition, heading off for better times, claiming the future - rather, they’re face to face with limbo, and trying to think their way out of it.
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  (#10) Moon's Alcoholism Almost Got Him Kicked Out Of The Band

  According to Dear Boy: The Life of Keith Moon, a book written about Moon's career, Townshend became so fed up with the drummer during recording that he planned to fire him if he didn't get his act together. 

  By that point, Moon's behavior had started spilling over into his personal life. His daughter, Mandy Moon, recalled life in her home was not necessarily normal or calm.

  It was a very unusual house, maybe not that conducive an atmosphere for a child. The good memories I have are mostly when there would be something written about Keith and a photographer would come over. We’d have to get dressed up, and we’d all be together, which was nice because that wasn’t always the case.
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  (#11) Glyn Johns Quit The Sessions After Roger Daltrey Headbutted Him

  An argument about the addition of strings to the song "Had Enough" made Daltrey come to blows with producer Glyn Jones. Upon hearing strings, Daltrey told the producer he wasn't a fan of the arrangement. The rest of the story became something of a Who legend:

  I had a punch-up with Glyn Johns, mainly because he put strings on John's track 'Had Enough.' I went into the studio in the afternoon the day before they put on the strings. I thought, 'f*cking hell, strings on a Who track?' When I heard it, it was just slushy strings, and I don't like slushy strings. 

  Daltrey claimed when he told Johns he didn't like the strings, the producer "went up the f*cking wall." The exchange became heated, and Daltrey reportedly headbutted Johns. The co-producer left the session soon after, opting to work on an album with Joan Armatrading. 
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  (#12) 'Who Are You' Was Still A Commercial Success

  Despite the drama and tragedy surrounding the album - and the lukewarm reviews by critics - Who Are You remains an important record in the band's catalog. It was also a commercial success, going platinum and reaching number two on the Billboard charts in the US. The album also reached number six on the charts in the UK. 

  The album, which became the group's highest-charting release alongside Quadrophenia, was the last the band would release for three years.

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