The Who Tour 1979 wasThe Who's firstconcert tour after the death of original drummerKeith Moon. The tour supported their 1978 albumWho Are You, and consisted of concerts in Europe and the United States and acknowledged the band's return to live performance.

Following Keith Moon's death in September 1978, The Who decided to continue as a band, recruiting formerSmall Faces drummerKenney Jones; keyboardistJohn "Rabbit" Bundrick was also added to the line-up for live performances, adding another element to the band's sound. The post-Moon incarnation of The Who played as a five-piece for seven shows, the first occurring on 2 May at theRainbow Theatre in London.

In September, the group made their first trip to the United States since1976 for a series of shows at theCapitol Theatre inPassaic, New Jersey, andMadison Square Garden in New York City. A horn section was introduced to the band's act for the first time around this time. It would be retained through1980. They returned to the States in November for an official tour, which was marred by tragedy when11 fans were killed and 26 others were injured at a crowd crush before a concert atRiverfront Coliseum inCincinnati on 3 December.^[1] This led to the banning of festival seating in Cincinnati and many other cities and states around the United States for a considerable period.^[2] The disaster also caused a scheduled concert for 17 December inProvidence, Rhode Island, to be cancelled, leading to a second show inLandover, Maryland (the first was on 13 December) to be scheduled in its place. The group ended the year with a benefit appearance at theHammersmith Odeon, London, on 28 December as part of theConcerts for the People of Kampuchea.^[1]

The band added three new songs fromWho Are You in 1979, "Who Are You," "Sister Disco," and "Music Must Change";John Entwistle's "Trick of the Light" was also played occasionally, with Entwistle playing8 string bass andPete Townshend also playing a standard bass guitar. The horn section also allowed numbers like "5:15" and "Drowned" (now sung by Townshend) to be reintroduced to the act. Meanwhile, 1979 shows are known among Who fans for new material that Townshend introduced on some nights during jams, most of which did not see release until later on. Some notable songs that evolved from these jams are "Cat's in the Cupboard" and "I Am an Animal" from Townshend's 1980 albumEmpty Glass, as well as "How Can You Do It Alone" from The Who's 1981 albumFace Dances, and "Dance It Away," a bonus track on the reissued edition of Townshend's 1982 albumAll the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes.^[1]

Live material from 1979 has appeared on the following:

• The three-disc version of the Who biographical filmAmazing Journey: The Story of The Who includes the majority of the band's show of 8 December at theInternational Amphitheatre in Chicago.
• The version of "How Can You Do It Alone" from theFace Dances reissue also comes from the Chicago show.
• "5:15", "My Wife", "Music Must Change", and "Pinball Wizard" from theThirty Years of Maximum R&B Live video and DVD come from the same Chicago show.^[3]
• "Dancing in the Street" from theWon't Get Fooled Again EP was recorded atThe Spectrum in Philadelphia on 11 December.
• "Baba O'Riley", "Sister Disco", "Behind Blue Eyes", "See Me, Feel Me" from theConcerts for the People of Kampuchea album were recorded at theHammersmith Odeon in London on 28 December. "Sister Disco", "Behind Blue Eyes", and "See Me, Feel Me" appear in thefilm.^[4]

• Roger Daltrey – lead vocals, tambourine, harmonica
• John Entwistle – bass guitar, 8-string bass, vocals
• Pete Townshend – lead guitar, vocals, bass guitar
• Kenney Jones – drums

Additional musicians

• John "Rabbit" Bundrick – keyboards, piano, tambourine, backing vocals
• Reg Brooks –trombone
• Howie Casey – saxophone (mid-1979)
• Dave Caswell – trumpet
• Dick Parry – saxophone (late 1979)

This "leg" started from 2 May 1979 at theRainbow Theatre in London and went on until 1 September 1979 at theZeppelinfeld inNuremberg. Here is a fairly typical set list for this leg (actually taken from a concert at the Arenes de Frejus in Frejus on 12 May 1979).^[1] This leg featured the first performances of four songs from the band's most recent album,Who Are You: "Who Are You", "Trick of the Light", "Sister Disco" and "Music Must Change". All songs written byPete Townshend unless otherwise specified.

1. "Substitute"
2. "I Can't Explain"
3. "Baba O'Riley"
4. "The Punk and the Godfather"
5. "Boris the Spider" (John Entwistle)
6. "Sister Disco"
7. "Music Must Change"
8. "Behind Blue Eyes"
9. "Dreaming from the Waist" (dropped after 18 August)
10. "Pinball Wizard"
11. "See Me, Feel Me"
12. "Long Live Rock" (not played on 1 September)
13. "Bargain" (dropped after 8 June)
14. "Who Are You"
15. "My Generation"
16. "Join Together"
17. "My Generation Blues" (dropped after 9 June)
18. "Magic Bus"
19. "Keyboard Bridge" (Townshend andJohn Bundrick; dropped after 18 August)
20. "Won't Get Fooled Again"

Encores (variations of the following list):^[1][5]

• "The Real Me"
  • Performed every show except 8 June.
• "Summertime Blues" (Eddie Cochran,Jerry Capehart)
  • Performed on 12, 16 and 17 May; 8 and 9 June; and 18 August.
• "Young Man Blues" (Mose Allison)
  • Performed on 13 and 17 May; and 8 June.
• "Shakin' All Over" (Johnny Kidd)
  • Performed on 13 May.
• "My Wife" (Entwistle)
  • Performed on 1 September.

There were some set list substitutions, variations, and order switches during the tour. "Behind Blue Eyes" switched places with "Music Must Change" after the second concert. "Bargain" was dropped after a concert inGlasgow, Scotland, on 8 June 1979. Also, some other songs were played which are not in the above lists:^[5]

• "Trick of the Light" (Entwistle)
  • Performed on 18 August and 1 September.
• "5:15"
  • Performed on 18 August and 1 September.
• "Drowned" (Townshend on vocals)
  • Performed on 18 August and 1 September.
• "Blue Black White" (unreleased Who song)
  • Performed on 1 September.

This leg was one of the shorter ones of the tour, only lasting from 10 to 18 September (two nights at theCapitol Theatre inPassaic, New Jersey, and five nights at theMadison Square Garden in New York City), but it was also the one with the most set list variations. Nearly nightly, Townshend was improvising and incorporating new songs into the set list, such as "Dance It Away", "That's Rock And Roll", "I'm London", "Cat's in the Cupboard" and others. This particular set list is taken from the second show in New York, 14 September 1979.^[5] All songs written byPete Townshend unless otherwise specified.

1. "Substitute"
2. "I Can't Explain"
3. "Baba O'Riley"
4. "The Punk and the Godfather"
5. "Boris the Spider" (John Entwistle)
6. "Sister Disco"
7. "Behind Blue Eyes"
8. "Music Must Change"
9. "Drowned"
10. "Who Are You"
11. "5:15"
12. "Pinball Wizard"
13. "See Me, Feel Me"
14. "Long Live Rock"
15. "My Generation"
16. "Blue Black White" (dropped after 16 September)
17. "Join Together" (dropped after 14 September)
18. "Magic Bus"
19. "Won't Get Fooled Again"

Encores (variations of the following list):^[5]

• "Trick of the Light" (Entwistle)
  • Performed on 10 (not as encore), 11, 13 and 16 September.
• "Young Man Blues" (Mose Allison)
  • Performed on 10 and 14 September.
• "The Real Me"
  • Performed on 10, 14, 17 and 18 September.
• "Summertime Blues" (Eddie Cochran,Jerry Capehart)
  • Performed on 11 and 13 September.
• "Road Runner" (Ellas McDaniel)
  • Performed on 11 and 18 September.
• "All Right Now" (Andy Fraser,Paul Rodgers)
  • Performed on 11 September.
• "Pictures of Lily"
  • Performed on 11 September as an abbreviated version.
• "Big Boss Man" (Al Smith,Luther Dixon)
  • Performed on 11, 13, 16 and 17 September.
• "Cat's in the Cupboard"
  • Performed on 13 and 17 (not as encore) September.
• "Naked Eye"
  • Performed on 13 September.
• "Dance It Away"
  • Performed on 16 (not as encore) and 17 September
• "Shakin' All Over" (Johnny Kidd)
  • Performed on 16, 17 (not as encore) and 18 September.
• "Spoonful" (Willie Dixon)
  • Performed on 16 September.
• "That's Rock And Roll" (unreleased Who song)
  • Performed on 16 September.
• "Sparks"
  • Performed on 17 September.

There were some set list substitutions, variations, and order switches during the tour. "My Wife" was played on 17 September and took the place of "Boris the Spider" on 18 September. Some of the songs in the encore list also made appearances in the regular set, and vice versa. Also, some other songs were played which are not in the above lists:^[5]

• "I'm London" (unreleased Who song)
  • Performed on 10 September.
• "You've Got Rock And Roll" (unreleased Who song)
  • Performed on 11 September.
• "The Relay"
  • Performed on 11 and 13 September, both as abbreviated versions.
• "Highway to Hell" (Bon Scott,Angus Young,Malcolm Young)
  • Performed on 13 September, as a snippet intro to "Long Live Rock".
• "Let's See Action"
  • Performed on 14 December
• "My Generation Blues"
  • Performed on 16 September, as an intro to "My Generation".
• "Dreaming from the Waist"
  • Performed on 16 and 18 September.
• "Harmonica Solo"/"Drum Solo"/"Bass Solo"/"Keyboard Solo" (John Entwistle,Roger Daltrey,Kenney Jones,John Bundrick)
  • Performed on 17 September, due to Townshend's leaving the stage due to a cut on his hand.
• "My Wife" (Entwistle)
  • Performed on 17 and 18 (with an interruption due to crowd troubles) September.
• "Please Don't Touch" (Johnny Kidd, Guy Robinson)
  • Performed on 17 September.
• "Sweets for My Sweet" (Doc Pomus,Mort Shuman)
  • Performed on 17 September.
• "Pretty Vacant" (Paul Cook,Steve Jones,John Lydon,Glen Matlock)
  • Performed on 17 September.
• "I Am an Animal"
  • Performed on 17 September.

This leg featured the second leg of the US tour, as well as its four warm-up shows from 10 to 17 November inBrighton andStafford, England. The US tour started on 30 November 1979 at theDetroit Masonic Temple inDetroit,Michigan, and ended on 17 December 1979 at theCapital Centre inLandover, Maryland.^[3] The concert at theHammersmith Odeon in London on 28 December for theConcerts for the People of Kampuchea could also be included here. A crowd crush occurred at theCincinnati concert on 3 December leading to the death of 11 fans and the cancellation of one scheduled concert. This particular set list is taken from a concert inNew Haven, Connecticut, on 15 December 1979.^[4]

1. "Substitute"
2. "I Can't Explain"
3. "Baba O'Riley"
4. "The Punk and the Godfather"
5. "My Wife" (John Entwistle)
6. "Sister Disco"
7. "Behind Blue Eyes"
8. "Music Must Change"
9. "Drowned"
10. "Who Are You"
11. "5:15"
12. "Pinball Wizard"
13. "See Me, Feel Me"
14. "Long Live Rock"
15. "My Generation"
16. "I Can See for Miles"
17. "Sparks"
18. "Won't Get Fooled Again"

Encores (variations of the following list):^[3][4]

• "Trick of the Light" (Entwistle)
  • Performed on 11 November and 10 December.
• "Big Boss Man" (Al Smith,Luther Dixon)
  • Performed on 11 November; and 8 and 16 December.
• "Young Man Blues" (Mose Allison)
  • Performed on 11 and 30 November; and 4 and 8 December.
• "How Can You Do It Alone"
  • Performed on 11 November; and 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 13 and 15 December.
• "Shakin' All Over" (Johnny Kidd)
  • Performed on 11 November and 16 December.
• "Dancing in the Street" (Marvin Gaye,William "Mickey" Stevenson,Ivy Jo Hunter)
  • Performed on 11, 16, 17 and 30 November; and 2, 7 (not as encore), 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16, 17 and 28 December.
• "Dance It Away"
  • Performed on 16 and 30 November; and 2, 4 (not as encore), 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16, 17 and 28 December.
• "The Real Me"
  • Performed on 16 and 30 November; and 3, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15 and 28 December.
• "Magic Bus"
  • Performed on 2, 7 and 17 December.
• "Summertime Blues" (Eddie Cochran,Jerry Capehart)
  • Performed on 3, 4, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, 15 and 28 December.
• "Hoochie Coochie Man" (Willie Dixon)
  • Performed on 8 and 28 (not as encore) December.
• "I'm a Man" (Ellas McDaniel)
  • Performed on 8 and 28 (not as encore) December.
• "Road Runner" (McDaniel)
  • Performed on 8 December.
• "Take a Fool Like You"
  • Performed on 10 December.
• "Baby Don't You Do It" (Holland-Dozier-Holland)
  • Performed on 16 December.

There were some set list substitutions, variations, and order switches during the tour. "Boris the Spider" was played in the first half of this leg, being dropped after 7 December. Some of the songs in the encore list also made appearances in the regular set, and vice versa. Also, some other songs were played which are not in the above lists:^[3][4]

• "Boris the Spider" (Entwistle)
  • Performed on 10, 11, 16 and 30 November; and 2, 4, 6 and 7 December.
• "Dreaming from the Waist"
  • Performed on 11 November.
• "I'm London"
  • Performed on 2 December.
• "I Sent You a Letter"
  • Performed on 2 December.
• "Slip Kid"
  • Performed on 4 December as a snippet.
• "The Relay"
  • Performed on 8 December as a snippet.
• "Mystery Train" (Junior Parker,Sam Phillips)
  • Performed during "5:15" on 28 December. Short tease only.
• "I Am the Sea"
  • Performed (loosely) on 28 December before the intro of "Pinball Wizard".
• "I Don't Want To Be an Old Man" (a.k.a. "Fuck All Blues")
  • Performed on 28 December.

• List of The Who tours and performances

• The Who Concert Guide