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So how refined that The Who, along with the Heart of England Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Keith Levenson, are playing at the renowned Badminton Estate, to promote a new live album, in an open-air concert arena with a capacity of around 8000. This makes for a glorious venue in Gloucestershire, if only the weather wasn’t quite so typically British! Showers aside, what a setting – here’s hoping to see more live music events here.
As a fan of The Who, since my youth when I was introduced to them by my Aunt – who very kindly gave me her copy of ‘My Generation’ at some point in my teens – I still remain the proud owner of that LP and a life-long fan. This has been a band I’ve wanted to see for many years. Over-excited like a kid at Christmas … that was me on a showery/sunny Sunday, full of anticipation for the gig to come!
UB40 with Ali Campbell opened at Badminton for The Who with a hit laden set and lots of audience interaction. UB40 take me back to the 80′s as soon as I hear them and they sound exactly the same as they did in their heyday, with a set including all of the classics from ’1 in 10′, ‘Many Rivers To Cross’, ‘Red, Red Wine’, ‘Kingston Town’ and demonstrating their breadth with a cheeky cover of ‘Purple Rain’ by Prince and closing with Elvis’ ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’.
With the orchestra in place, they commenced with an overture which allowed the audience to tune in their respective ears, The Who to take the stage, and the legend that is Roger Daltrey to finish his cuppa!
Kicking off proceedings with songs from the rock opera, ‘Tommy’ such as ’1921′ and ‘Amazing Journey’ the crowd are upstanding and the tempo really picks up when they launch into ‘Acid Queen’, followed by ‘Pinball Wizard’, ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ and a crowd pleasing singalong for ‘Who Are You’.
This initial set has Roger, demonstrating he can still hit all of those high notes and giving ample opportunity for Pete Townshend to demonstrate his legendary, windmill guitar skills and vocals.
If the crowd were happy before, they are ecstatic for the next segment which sees The Who perform as their full live band comprising 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.
They kick off proceedings with ‘The Kids Are Alright’, followed by ‘You Better You Bet’, and ‘Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere’ followed by cheeky banter from Roger and Peter about silver spoons, given the location of Badminton.
Not to take anything away from the orchestral versions – which breathe new life, versatility and bring a new format to the fore – it’s the band set that really grabs the crowd and takes them along on one hell of a rock journey. The Who belting out hit after hit, showing that they’ve got the energy, delivery and passion for live performance still, this is no swansong.
The sets are intertwined with plenty of jokey senior moments and banter which reflects the camaraderie that stretches over five decades. Frankly, many bands with more youth on their side would struggle to deliver at this pace or depth, let alone the number of decades The Who have under their belt.
Closing this set with ‘Behind Blue Eyes’, they are joined by a string section in readiness for the third and final set of the night, which sees the orchestra re-join proceedings. Opening with ‘The Real Me’ and delivering ’5:15′ and ‘The Rock’ with gusto, they close out with the classic ‘Baba O’Riley’.
The Who have delivered a legendary two-hour plus performance covering their 60-year catalogue and all getting a rapturous airing in an amazing venue notwithstanding a few rain showers. What a night!
Review by Karen Clayton
Gig review (O2 Arena, London, 12 July 2023)
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