| "Who Are You" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 UK single picture sleeve | ||||
| Single bythe Who | ||||
| from the albumWho Are You | ||||
| A-side | "Had Enough"[1] | |||
| Released |
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| Recorded | 4 October 1977 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length |
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| Label | Polydor 2121 361 (UK) MCA (US) | |||
| Songwriter | Pete Townshend | |||
| Producers | ||||
| The Who singles chronology | ||||
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| Who Are You track listing | ||||
9 tracks
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| Music video | ||||
| "Who Are You" (Promo Video) onYouTube | ||||
"Who Are You" is the title track onthe Who's eighth studio album,Who Are You (1978), the last album released by the band beforeKeith Moon's death in September 1978. It was written byPete Townshend and released as adouble A-side single with theJohn Entwistle composition "Had Enough", also featured on the album. The song was one of the band's biggest hits in North America, peaking at number 7 in Canada and at number 14 on the USBillboard Hot 100, and has become one of the band'ssignature songs at their live shows. The piano on the track is played byRod Argent ofthe Zombies andArgent.
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The lyrics of "Who Are You" were inspired by an incidentPete Townshend experienced. After going out drinking withSteve Jones andPaul Cook of theSex Pistols, Townshend was found in a "Soho doorway" by a policeman, who recognized him and said he would let him go if he could safely walk away.[3]
"Who Are You" was written about meeting Steve Jones and Paul Cook of the Sex Pistols after an awful 13-hour encounter withAllen Klein who, in my personal opinion, is the awesomerock leech-godfather. In one sense the song is more about the demands of new friendship than blood-letting challenge.Roger [Daltrey]'s aggressive reading of mynihilistic lyric redirected its function by the simple act of singing "Who the fuck are you..." when I had written "Who, who, who are you..." Steve and Paul became real 'mates' of mine in the English sense. We socialized a few times. Got drunk (well, I did) and I have to say to their credit, for a couple of figureheadanarchists, they seemed sincerely concerned about my decaying condition at the time.
— Pete Townshend[4]
However, as explained by Townshend in his memoirWho I Am (2012), the last verse is about an early incident that happened on the last North American leg of the Who's1971 tour: the day before the first concert inCharlotte, North Carolina, Townshend took the opportunity to visit theMeher Spiritual Center—a retreat owned by his guruMeher Baba—in nearbyMyrtle Beach.[5]
"Who Are You" was released as adouble A-side with theJohn Entwistle song, "Had Enough", but "Who Are You" was the more popular song, reaching the Top 20 on both the United StatesBillboard Hot 100 andUK Singles Chart. The song has since been featured on multiple compilation albums. The single mix contains an alternate acoustic guitar solo to the album mix.
The album version includes a third verse compared to the much shorter single. Additionally, a "lost verse" mix of the song was released on the 1996 reissue ofWho Are You, with a completely different second verse: "I used to check my reflection / Jumping with my cheap guitar / I must have lost my direction, 'cause I ended up a superstar / One-nighters in the boardroom / Petrify the human brain / You can learn from my mistakes, but you're posing in the glass again."
The song is unusual in that it contains two instances of the word "fuck"—at 2:16 and 5:43 (at 2:14 and 4:27 in the single edit version)—yet has been played frequently in its entirety on rock radio stations (as compared to an edited form replacing it with "hell"). The expletives, while not clearly enunciated and slightly obscured byKeith Moon's drum fills, are nevertheless quite audible. This led to some controversy whenABC's unedited broadcast of the Who'sLive 8 performance retained them.[6] The American single edit changes this to "Who the hell are you?" and can be heard at 1:55. Other versions replaced the phrase with just one of the main choruses, "Tell me, who are you?" and "I really want to know."
"Who Are You" is widely regarded as one of the band's best songs.Cashbox said that it "has a gentle, jumpychorus riding atop driving guitar chording by Townshend" and that "Daltrey's lead vocals are gritty and inquiring."[7]Record World said that "The instrumentation is powerful in contrast to the flowing vocal hook."[8]
A promotional music video was filmed on 9 May 1978 forThe Kids Are Alright rockumentary; originally, the intent was to have the Who simply mime to the single version's backing track with Roger Daltrey adding live vocals, but the decision was made to also re-record the guitars, backing vocals, drums, and piano. Only John Entwistle's bass and the synthesizer backing remained intact from the original version.[citation needed]
This song was first performed live at theGaumont State Cinema inKilburn on 15 December 1977, albeit without synthesizers and only a portion of the lyrics. This can be seen in the filmThe Who at Kilburn: 1977 (2008). Despite that being the first performance, this song had its roots in jams in the band's1976 concerts, most notably atMaple Leaf Gardens inToronto on 21 October 1976, drummer Keith Moon's last North American appearance with the Who, where the band played a very early version of the song with Townshend on vocals.
The first live performance with synthesizers (using a backing tape of the same synthesizer track found on the studio version of the song) was at theRainbow Theatre in London on 2 May 1979, which was alsoKenney Jones's first live show with the band. Since that time it has remained a staple of their live shows. The Who opened their segment ofThe Concert for New York City on 20 October 2001 with the song and performed amedley featuring the song during their halftime performance atSuper Bowl XLIV in 2010. They also used the song to begin their set at12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief on 12 December 2012.[9] In later performances, Roger Daltrey also plays acoustic rhythm guitar.
| Chart (1978) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada Top Singles (RPM)[10] | 7 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[11] | 44 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[12] | 23 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[13] | 18 |
| USBillboard Hot 100[14] | 14 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[15] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
The Who
Additional personnel
There's even a mash-up put together when it comes to the episode's opening theme, combining CSI's "Who Are You?" together with it, bizarrely.
But the Who still had the stadium shouting along on choruses Townshend wrote decades ago: "Who are you" and "We don't get fooled again!"
In the first chunk, Louie does some extended air-drumming to the car radio playing The Who's "Who Are You?"
