''BBC Sessions'' by

The Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...

was released 15 February 2000 on

Polydor Records Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

internationally and

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...

in the

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

It contains 24 songs and two

jingle A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meanings that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually ...

s recorded live at the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

studios in London. With the exception of the jingles being used to

bookend A bookend is an object tall, sturdy, and heavy enough that is placed at either end of a row of upright books to support or buttress them. Heavy bookends—made of wood, bronze, marble, and even large geodes—have been used in libraries, sto ...

the album, and the third track being misplaced, The Who's recordings are presented in chronological order. Most of the recordings are for the programmes

Top Gear Top Gear may refer to: * "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission Television * ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme * ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the ori ...

or Saturday Club and were recorded between 24 May 1965 and 10 October 1967. Tracks 20-23 were recorded on 14 April 1970 for the

Dave Lee Travis David Patrick Griffin (born 25 May 1945), known professionally as Dave Lee Travis, is an English disc jockey and television presenter. He currently presents a Sunday programme between 10 am and 12 noon on ''Heritage Chart Radio''. Travis began ...

Show while tracks 24-25 were recorded on 29 January 1973 for

The Old Grey Whistle Test ''The Old Grey Whistle Test'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''Whistle Test'' or ''OGWT'') is a British television music series broadcast by the BBC. It was devised by producer Rowan Ayers, commissioned by David Attenborough, and aired on BBC2 from ...

Track listing

All tracks written by

Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is the co-founder, guitarist, keyboardist, second lead vocalist, principal songwriter and leader of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s an ...

except where noted. Due to publishing restrictions, the American version dropped "Man With Money" and edited out the few lines from "

Spoonful "Spoonful" is a blues song written by Willie Dixon and first recorded in 1960 by Howlin' Wolf. Called "a stark and haunting work", it’s one of Dixon's best known and most interpreted songs. Etta James and Harvey Fuqua had a pop and R&B record ...

" contained in "

Shakin' All Over "Shakin' All Over" is a song originally performed by Johnny Kidd & the Pirates. It was written by leader Johnny Kidd, and his original recording reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart in August 1960. The song is sometimes credited to Frederi ...

Recording and broadcast details

Tracks 2, 4, and 5 recorded 24 May 1965, at

Aeolian Hall, London Aeolian Hall, at 135–137 New Bond Street, London, began life as the Grosvenor Gallery, being built by Coutts Lindsay in 1876, an accomplished amateur artist with a predeliction for the aesthetic movement, for which he was held up to some ridic ...

. :Broadcast on '' Saturday Club'', 29 May 1965. ::Produced by Jimmy Grant and Brian Willey. Track 3 recorded 15 June 1965, at Aeolian Hall, London. :Broadcast on ''

'', 19 June 1965. ::Produced by Bernie Andrews. Tracks 6, 7, and 8 recorded 22 November 1965, at Aeolian Hall, London. :Broadcast on ''Saturday Club'', 27 November 1965. ::Produced by Jimmy Grant & Brian Willey. Tracks 9, 10, and 11 recorded 15 March 1966, at Aeolian Hall, London. :Broadcast on ''Saturday Club'', 19 March 1966. ::Produced by Jimmy Grant & Brian Willey. Tracks 12 and 13 recorded 13 September 1966, at the BBC Playhouse Theatre,

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

, London. :Broadcast on ''Saturday Club'', 17 September 1966. ::Produced by Jimmy Grant & Brian Willey. Tracks 14, 15, 16, and 17 recorded 17 January 1967, at the BBC Playhouse Theatre, London. :Broadcast on ''Saturday Club'', 21 January 1967. ::Produced by Bill Bebb & Jimmy Grant. Tracks 1, 18, 19, and 26 recorded 10 October 1967, at

De Lane Lea Studios Warner Bros. De Lane Lea Studios is a recording studio, based in Soho, London. The studios have mainly been used for dubbing feature films and television programmes. Major artists including the Animals, the Beatles, Herman's Hermits, Soft Machi ...

Kingsway, London The A4200 is a major thoroughfare in central London. It runs between the A4 at Aldwych, to the A400 Hampstead Road/Camden High Street, at Mornington Crescent tube station, via Holborn, Bloomsbury, Euston and Somers Town. Kingsway ...

. :Broadcast on ''Top Gear'', 15 October 1967. ::Produced by Bernie Andrews & Bev Phillips. Tracks 20, 21, 22, and 23 recorded 13 April 1970, at

IBC Studios The IBC Recording Studios were independent recording studios located at 35 Portland Place in London, England. In the 1960s and 1970s, the studios become internationally famous after being used by recording artists such ase Status Quo, the Kinks ...

, London. :Broadcast on the ''

'' show, 19 April 1970. ::Produced by Paul Williams. Tracks 24 and 25 recorded 29 January 1973, at the

BBC Television Centre Television Centre (TVC), formerly known as BBC Television Centre, is a building complex in White City, London, White City, West London, which was the headquarters of BBC Television from 1960 to 2013, when BBC Television moved to Broadcasting H ...

Wood Lane Wood Lane ( A219; formerly A40) is a street in London. It runs north from Shepherd's Bush, under the Westway (A40) past Wormwood Scrubs where it meets Scrubs Lane. The road is wholly in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham ( W12 posta ...

, London, using previously recorded backing tracks. :Broadcast on ''

'',

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

, 30 January 1973. ::Produced by Michael Appleton.

References

External links

BBC Sessions liner notes – Song-by-song liner notes for the album
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bbc Sessions BBC Radio recordings The Who live albums The Who compilation albums 2000 live albums 2000 compilation albums MCA Records compilation albums MCA Records live albums Polydor Records compilation albums Polydor Records live albums