The Who announce Liverpool date to coincide with new album release

Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey of The Who reveal Sir Peter Blake designed album cover at PACE Gallery opening

A TOTAL of 55 years have passed since legendary rockstars The Who made their first recording.

This first recording would propel the band, who have arguably the greatest rock legacy in music history, to sell more than 100 million records worldwide including nine US and 10 UK top ten albums plus 14 UK top ten singles.

To mark this incredible feat, The Who have revealed that their first new album in 13 years will land on November 22.

The 11-track album called WHO was mostly recorded in London and Los Angeles during Spring and Summer of this year and was co-produced by Pete Townshend and D.Sardy with vocal production by Dave Eringa.

Singer Roger Daltrey plus guitarist/songwriter Pete Townshend are joined on the album by long-time Who drummer Zak Starkey, bassist Pino Palladino along with contributions from Simon Townshend, Benmont Tench, Carla Azar, Joey Waronker and Gordon Giltrap.

The artwork for WHO, created by pop artist Sir Peter Blake, was unveiled on Thursday, September 12 at the opening night of an eight-storey Pace contemporary art gallery where the band also performed a short acoustic set.

To mark the release of the new album, The Who will also hit the road for a full UK Arena Tour with a date with M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool on April 6, 2020.

Fans can also listen to new single 'Ball and Chain' which features on WHO via all streaming services.

Pete said: "This album is almost all new songs written last year, with just two exceptions.

"There is no theme, no concept, no story, just a set of songs that I (and my brother Simon) wrote to give Roger some inspiration, challenges and scope for his newly revived singing voice. Roger and I are both old men now, by any measure, so I’ve tried to stay away from romance, but also from nostalgia if I can.

"I didn’t want to make anyone feel uncomfortable.

"Memories are OK, and some of the songs refer to the explosive state of things today.

"I made new home studio demos of all these songs in the summer of 2018 using a wide collection of instruments old and new.

"We started recording as The Who in March 2019, and have finished now in late August just in time to make some vinyl... maybe even some cassettes - ready for release in November."

Full UK 2020 tour dates:

16 March // Manchester // Manchester Arena
18 March // Dublin // 3 Arena
21 March // Newcastle // Utilita Arena
23 March // Glasgow // The SSE Hydro
25 March // Leeds // First Direct Arena
30 March // Cardiff // Motorpoint Arena
1 April // Birmingham // Resorts World Arena
3 April // Nottingham // Motorpoint Arena
6 April // Liverpool // M&S Bank Arena
7 April // London // The SSE Wembley Arena
 
Tickets for the UK tour will go on sale on Friday, September 20 via https://www.livenation.co.uk/artist/the-who-tickets

Pre-order WHO now via http://thewho.lnk.to/NewAlbumWE