The Who performed a couple of charity shows on the 27th and 30th of March 2025, to help raise money for the annual Teenage Cancer Trust gala that was held at the Royal Albert Hall last week.
It’s always a special evening of music when The Who play to their hometown crowd in London. These were the first shows they have played since the TCT shows in March 2024, so everyone was very excited to see them. Level 42 was the opening band on both nights.
Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey were backed by a stripped down band, featuring Simon Townshend (guitar), Zak Starkey (drums), Loren Gold (keyboards), Jon Button (bass), and John Hogg (backing vocals). It was quite a change in lineup from their recent tours that featured the full orchestra that they had been using since 2019. Many fans were happy to see them get back to their roots with a leaner and looser sound again.
The shows kicked off with the perfect show opener, I Can’t Explain, in celebration of the recent anniversary of the bands first hit single, which was originally released on 15 January, 1965. How exciting that they are still performing it 60 years later! The rest of the set ran through a nice collection of hits from their classic era that have been staples of their recent live shows, with the welcome additions of Tea and Theatre, which closed the show on the first night, and a couple from Who's Next, Love Ain’t For Keeping and The Song Is Over, which closed the show on the second night.
Since there was a year off since their last performance, with a new arrangement for everyone to adjust to without the orchestra, there were a few rough spots here and there, and some of the songs were restarted during the shows. But Pete and Roger both sounded great, and the band put on wonderful shows both nights. Their performances were especially impressive, given Pete is now 79 and Roger is 81, and both have had recent health issues to deal with.
Pete told the audience early on during the first night, “I had a complete knee replacement four and a half weeks ago, but because I’m Superman, I’m here! Maybe I should auction off the old one. Elton John had one done, and he wears his as a bracelet. Unfortunately, mine’s in three bits…” Despite his knee replacement, Pete stood for the majority of the songs at both shows, and his guitar playing was as powerful as ever.
Then on the second night, Pete’s fingernail got pulled off on the very first song while he was windmilling during I Can’t Explain! After playing through a couple songs with a blood splattered Strat, his wife Rachel and guitar tech Simon Law helped him out with some pain spray medication and glued his nail down during the guitar swap. That seemed to do the trick, and Pete soldiered on through the rest of the show.
Roger also revealed problems with his hearing and eyesight with a comment that has been grabbing a few headlines, “The joys of getting old mean you go deaf, I also now have got the joy of going blind, fortunately I still have my voice, because then I’ll have a full Tommy.” Judging from Roger’s performance, his voice is still very strong indeed! His singing sounded fantastic throughout both shows.
Despite the issues they have had to deal with, The Who still sounded in fine form, and the slimmed down lineup has potential to be a powerful act that can hopefully explore some new songs and territory in the bands deep catalog of work. It wouldn’t take much to kick the dust off and fine tune their set after a few more performances, if they decide to continue on. Right now, there are only a couple Who shows in Italy scheduled for July, and Roger’s solo shows this summer, so fingers crossed Pete and Roger will add a few more shows later in the year!
Many thanks to Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey, for all the amazing charity work they do for Teenage Cancer Trust!
Special thank you to everyone who contributed all the fantastic photos, videos and reviews that are up on our concert pages!
Be sure to check them out here: TCT night 1 and TCT night 2
Photo credit: Lloyd Fox
Photo credit: Sean Duke Cassidy
Photo credit: Simon Nicholl
Photo credit: Melissa and Gary Hurley
Photo credit: Simon Nicholl
Photo credit: Simon Nicholl
Photo credit: Lloyd Fox
Photo credit: Melissa and Gary Hurley
Photo credit: Melissa and Gary Hurley
Photo credit: Simon Nicholl
Photo credit: Max Ker-Seymer
Photo credit: Simon Nicholl
Photo credit: Simon Nicholl
Photo credit: Melissa and Gary Hurley
Photo credit: Sean Duke Cassidy
Photo credit: Melissa and Gary Hurley
Photo credit: Lauren J. Hammer
Photo credit: Lauren J. Hammer
Photo credit: Lloyd Fox
Photo credit: Simon Nicholl
Photo credit: Melissa and Gary Hurley
Photo credit: Matthew North
Photo credit: Lauren J. Hammer
Stage setlists for both nights. Tea & Theatre was not performed 2nd night. Photo credit: Ian McLean and Lloyd Fox
Photo credit: Ian McLean
