The Who Charlton Athletic Football Club 31st May 1976
Support from the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Little Feat, The Outlaws, Chapman and Whitney Streetwalkers, and Widowmaker.
In 1976 The Who played three massive U.K. shows at football stadiums in Charlton, Glasgow and Swansea. The short tour was billed as “The Who Put the Boot In”. I attended the Charlton gig which was rated at the time as the loudest concert ever by the Guiness Book of Records. These were also The Who’s final UK concerts with drummer Keith Moon, apart from a couple of low key gigs filmed for “The Kids Are Alright” movie.
The Charlton concert took place on May bank holiday Monday 1976. A car load of us, with me driving, made the journey down to London on Sunday. We stayed at the flat of a mate who was studying in London, and on Monday morning we drove across London to Charlton and parked in a street somewhere close to the ground. When we got to the gates of the stadium it was very clear that something was wrong. There was a massive crush around the gate, a heavy police presence, and loads of fans being turned away, because they had counterfeit tickets which had been circulating in London for some days before the show. Our tickets were fine, and we eventually made our way through the crowds and into the stadium. When we did manage to get in, we found the place completely ram packed; even more so than for the previous Who concert in 1974. Reports suggest that more than 80,000 people were crammed into a stadium with a concert crowd limit of 50,000. Eventually the police stopped letting anyone in for safety reasons, and many fans with real tickets were not admitted. As compensation, they were given a free ticket to the Swansea show instead, and free buses were laid on to take them there.
Support came from the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Little Feat, The Outlaws, Streetwalkers, and Widowmaker, featuring Steve Ellis and Ariel Bender, who opened the proceedings and were pretty good too. Streetwalkers were also great, and SAHB were excellent, with Alex on top form; they almost (but not quite) stole the show from the Who.
It was wet, with rain falling throughout the day. Not much use for the sun visors which were given away free by Sounds magazine (I still have mine unworn, see left). There was some violence within the crowd, as there was at the 1974 concert, with fights breaking out on the pitch and the terraces. We waited patiently during a long delay before the Who came on, caused by a few fans who had scaled the lighting towers in the hope of gaining a better view. The couple of guys who made it up there were told, over the PA, that the show wouldn’t start until they came down. Some fans on the pitch started to chant “get down” and eventually the guys did so. Shortly afterwards the Who ran out onto the very wet stage, and Roger Daltrey slipped over, going his full length, sliding from one end of the stage to the other. He got up and introduced the band as “The Who On Ice”. They started, as usual, with “I Can’t Explain” followed by “Substitute”. Townshend taunted us all “thank you for waiting for us and getting so wet”. Pete continued to make cracks to the audience throughout the evening, and at one point shouted out to stop a fight at the front of the crowd. An audience recording exists, on which you can also hear Keith Moon shouting at Townshend: “Shut up! ….. You’d think you’ve got some kind of vested interest. I’ve seen your vests, and they stink…underneath this I’m totally nude, Peter! I don’t need any of your great flowing poncey robes. I don’t need all your glittering sequins to be a star! I don’t need to jump in the air, flash what little crotch I’ve got. And I must admit I’ve had no complaints.”
The set was similar to that which they had been playing since 1975, with several of the old ’60s classics, a couple from Quadrophenia, a couple from their current album “The Who By Numbers”, and a “Tommy” segment, with Keith playing his parts as “Uncle Ernie” in “Fiddle About” and “Tommy’s Holiday Camp.” The laser light show, first seen during the 1975 tour, was revealed during “See Me Feel Me”, by which time it was dark. The lasers shot through the smoke to mirrors on the light towers, with blue beams bouncing around the entire stadium, and red laser beams cutting through them. Im sure it would seem quite primitive now, but it was impressive at the time. I remember the entire stadium singing along to “Listening to you”: “Listening to you I get the music. Gazing at you I get the heat. Following you I climb the mountain. I get excitement at your feet!” with laser beams criss crossing the crowd in the darkness. An amazing moment. The Who finished with “Won’t Get Fooled Again”, ending with an incredible scream from Roger. We chanted “We Want The Who” for 5 or 10 minutes, but there was no encore, as was often the case for a Who concert at the time.
It took ages to find the car. We walked from street to street; each one looked the same, and I hadn’t noted the street name. After what seemed like hours, but probably wasn’t, we located my car and set off through the crowded streets. At one point we were sat stationary in a queue of traffic, when a big black limo pulled up alongside. Sitting alone in the back seat was Pete Townshend. We waved but he didn’t respond.
It’s a long drive from London to the north east, and the dawn was breaking as I drove up Houghton Cut. My mates were all asleep around me. A couple of them went straight to work. Happy days. I think I’ve just decided that The Who actually were the greatest rock band of the 70s. 🙂
Setlist: I Can’t Explain; Substitute; My Wife; Baba O’Riley; Squeeze Box; Behind Blue Eyes; Dreaming From The Waist; Magic Bus; Amazing Journey; Sparks; The Acid Queen; Fiddle About; Pinball Wizard; I’m Free; Tommy’s Holiday Camp; We’re Not Gonna Take It; Summertime Blues; My Generation; Join Together; My Generation Blues; Won’t Get Fooled Again
The Who stopped touring after 1976, largely as a result of Keith Moon’s failing health, caused by alcohol issues. Keith Moon died on 7th Sept 1978 of an overdose of heminevrin, prescribed to combat alcoholism. The Who’s 1978 album “Who Are You” was released two weeks before his death. Keith Moon was one of rock’s finest drummers, but he was so much more. Moon was the crazy, manic, childish fun side of The Who; the perfect foil to Townshend’s moods, and although The Who would continue as a strong rock force, a Who concert could never be quite the same again.
Tomorrow I will write about the first time I saw The Who without Moon, at a low key comeback show at Edinburgh Odeon in 1979.
28 Dec
Vintagerock's Weblog. 
Posted by Hockey on December 30, 2014 at 6:05 pm
Great blog Peter, I didn’t know there was trouble at this show. I went to the slightly later Swansea gig on 12th June with two School mates, having been driven down from Huddersfield by one of our dads. Our first Who gig, and Daltrey later recalled it to be one of their best ever. The supporting acts were all really great too, especially Alex Harvey. Little Feat were a bit disappointing despite critical acclaim (check out a recent live CD/DVD from Holland ’76). The Who were amazing though with that record breaking 76,000 watt PA system and with the climactic lasers, we were blown away, and would see them many more times up to the recent farewell tour in December 2014. Happy days! regards, Mike
Posted by vintagerock on December 30, 2014 at 6:42 pm
Cheers Mike happy days indeed You can’t beat The Who Peter
Posted by Rob Bray on October 6, 2015 at 7:57 pm
Went 1974 and 76 shows the who r best live band of
Posted by Ian howell on December 22, 2018 at 11:25 am
I was there too, at 1 point you could barely see a section of the crowd due to the amount of cans flying around. I also remember many of them thrown to try & knock down the crazies climbing the floodlights. What a great day, will live forever, the band were awesome 👍
Posted by Stephen Cardwell on October 1, 2019 at 12:52 pm
Great memories. went to the 74 gig seeing Lou Reed and Madeline Bell with The Who topping the bill , a great venue really enjoyed 1974 so decided to do the 1976 gig with my best mates Spinner & Stash . got tickets and all travelled to London by car, we got to the gates and security was really heavy, very strict, people trying to get in with forged tickets, we took beers with us only to have this confiscated by security this was policy so they said and everyone had to surrender their alcohol , not put off by this we followed security the where they were taking and storing our beers we arrived at and area with hundreds of dustbins full of every alcohol drink you can imagine , (it was like an alcoholics paradise!) we waited for the security to disappear then helped our selves to our booze that had been thrown away, we had a choice ranging between Guinness and top of the range champagne Happy Days, there was tons of the stuff (obviously going to be shared by the security staff after the show) returning to the dustbins to replenish the drinks when we had ran out to this barrage of beers (giving most to the crowd around us made us very popular as you can imagine) Being brought up and raised in Burton on Trent the Beer Town of the UK and being immune to alcohol had little effect to me and my mates , however vaguely remember / listened only to the smaller bands but Alex Harvey (Clem Clemson on Less Paul) was amazing. Despite the ridiculous wait for The Who to take the stage but worth the wait as it turned out to be one of the greatest and most memorable Who gigs I’ve ever attended, with The Who being at the very top of their game, never to be bettered.the laser show and was blown away by it all – talking about it years later. I’ve still got my program and tickets. Happy days
Posted by Pete on January 27, 2016 at 7:40 am
Excellent I was at both the Charlton gigs , they were the first I ever went to it was great to read your account and be reminded of a lot of things I’d forgotten about it
Posted by vintagerock on January 27, 2016 at 8:29 am
Happy days Pete Cheers Peter
Posted by Chrissie on May 7, 2016 at 12:33 pm
Couldn’t remember what year I went which is how I found this, (’76) I don’t remember how I did it, but I got in for free. Remember the SAHB being truly sensational, don’t remember the rain though, it just didn’t feature for me.
The laser show was magnificent, or so it seemed to me at the time.
Off to see them again this year at the Isle of Wight, 40 years since I last saw them live. Not paying this time either, but that’s because I’ve got a free ticket 😊
Posted by Kevino on July 30, 2016 at 10:43 am
I was there, and this description is perfect. In fact it bought back some bits I’d forgotten.
It was rock history in the making!
Posted by matey on August 23, 2016 at 9:59 am
I was at Charlton for the Who concert with Alex Harvey and Little Feat, and remember the drizzling rain most of the day until the Who appeared. I thought they started with something like Barbara O’Reilly and the laser show which coincided with the rain stopping. I was pretty much out of it so memories are hazy and the Who set seemed to be over quickly as I drifted into a dream like experience. Goodness knows what someone had given me! They were amazing !
Posted by Rigoberto Gruner on December 30, 2016 at 11:11 pm
I’m brazilian and was there.
Great show!
Posted by Ivar Hamilton on June 19, 2017 at 10:08 pm
One of my greatest concert memories ever!
Posted by neil on October 12, 2017 at 10:22 pm
I was there with my wife. I became a fan of Little Feat a few years later, and I was gutted that I’d seen them at this gig but never realised their awesomeness. I remember the rain, Roger slipping, the floodlight climbers. Regret not getting a tee-shirt, but I did get the program! One of the best days in my life.
Posted by Michael on October 22, 2017 at 4:12 pm
As one of the comments already on here I couldn’t remember which year I went to Charlton (76), so ended up searching the net – although pretty sure not 74 due to age/think I would have remembered seeing loopy Lou. Who were awesome + SAHB – massive fan, so a great day. Remember the rain + lasers bouncing around the floodlights (cutting edge at the time/the future had come to South London). Happy days. M
Posted by Rigoberto Gruner on November 15, 2017 at 3:33 am
Thanks God. I was there, 31st May 1976.
I’m from Brazil.
Posted by Jacquie Flynn on February 25, 2018 at 9:48 pm
Great memories. I was also there with my best friend Kim. It was the day before my 15th birthday – looking back I can’t believe my dad let me go – first time we had travelled to that part of London on our own but we went and had a fabulous day. I also remember the laser show and was blown away by it all – talking about it for months to come. I’ve still got my program and tickets. Happy days
Posted by John Sark on March 1, 2018 at 1:03 am
I went with some mates. I remember it was hot and sunny in the early part of the day and fairly chilled but it did get very crowded. People were sitting in the sun watching the early acts. The beer was flowing. I cant remember if we brought our own or they were selling it there. The first trouble i saw started when a local guy who looked a bit like jesus stood up and started dancing. About a hundred cans and bottles were thrown at him. Some people were hurt i remember the st johns ambulance people helping out. All calmed down till the bassist of little feat had the brilliat idea of gifting maraccas to the crowd by baseballing them from the stage. Bottles and cans were returned and their set ended. I agree there was some delay with the guy on the lights but the main delay was caused by sahb using a stage set which looked like the side of a warehouse. This took about an hour to erect. During which time capital radio dj nicky horne did his best to keep the crowd amused. If you think youre wet you should see this next record im playing. Sahb were superb remember alex bursting through the wall dressed as Hitler to do a cover of framed. It took about thirty minutes to dismantle their set. The who didnt get on till around nine due to this. They were superb it was the only time i ever saw them. I got hit on the back of the head by a hurled half full can and as was to the right of the stage suspect thats why i now have tintinus in my right ear. My ears rang for three days after the show.
Posted by Adam Primus on June 14, 2018 at 12:14 pm
“My ears rang for three days after the show”
You know that is one of the things I’d entirely forgotten, but the Who’s (record-breaking) cranked up volume levels left our heads ringing for days afterwards
Posted by Bob on March 1, 2018 at 9:08 pm
I was there. I wax15. We slept outside the night before. There were fights outside with locals when the pubs closed. We saw them practicing with lasers, the first time we’d ever seen them. Remember the rain during the Who set. The lasers were amazing. Brilliant performance.
Posted by Adam Primus on June 14, 2018 at 12:17 pm
“Remember the rain during the Who set”
The mists of time seems to have caused you to misrecall, because in fact the incessant teeming rain stopped – almost miraculously – just as the Who were about to take to the stage.
Posted by Andy on March 21, 2019 at 8:20 pm
Yes. My recollection was it raining in the afternoon and the lead up to the Who. I thought it seemed to stop raining as the laser show started to what I thought was a big intro to Baba O’Riley, but I think I got that wrong. I was in a zombie like trance by then and The Who seemed to be over very quickly. I think I must have been wasted! I remember the idiot climbing the floodlight tower and causing a delay!
Posted by Steve Merchant on March 14, 2018 at 3:16 pm
I too remember Roger’s slip, the lasers etc. Anyone else verify {from the music press in the run up to the show} the specially reinforced snare drum that Keith had commissioned and which he did indeed stand on after Pete announced that “Keith Moon is going to talk to you” or words to that effect. I also remember Alex halting the band and glaring down at the fight bellowed “Stop that fucking fighting!” It got a huge cheer from the stadium and It worked too. Temporarily I suppose. Another mental image is of the state of some people, utterly wasted in the mud and rain, one guy face down I remember.
Posted by Andy on March 15, 2018 at 2:16 pm
Ha ha! You’ve reminded me of a couple of things which because of my wasted state I’d forgotten.
I do remember the fight but the main attraction seemed to be the lunatic climbing the floodlight tower. I completely drifted into an alternate world when The Who came on, the laser show started and it stopped raining. Their session seemed to pass at lightning speed.
Anyway, I survive with some memories!
Posted by Andy on March 21, 2019 at 8:30 pm
Ooops! I think the multiple Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin concerts I attended in addition to the Who must have given me brain damage. I’ve just looked at a post after I posted a new comment, and thought, that’s exactly my thoughts on the day? Only to realise I’d posted the similar comment a year ago! One memory which everyone does seem to agree on is that the Who were absolutely fantastic live and particularly at Charlton. To me the studio albums never did the Who justice to how good they were live.
Posted by Adam Primus on June 10, 2018 at 12:14 am
My word this brings back memories!
I didn’t have a ticket, but I never used to let things like that stop me back in the day…
Charlton proved to be an impossible nut to crack however, with heavy security locking down the estate behind the ground and parking their men in the gardens of any the vacant terraced houses that backed onto the ground, and even paying some householders to have security men in their back gardens!
The weak spot however turned out to be just 50 yards from the main entrance, where just over the grounds front wall, topped by nothing more than a flimsy strand of barbed wire (not razor wire!) a temporary woman’s toilet had been erected and had canvas screens erected around the facility, very helpfully screening the flow of rascals pouring over the wall and out into the ground!
Anyway, I have to say that the next few hours hardly seemed worth the torn jeans (It may not have been razor wire, but the regular barbed wire can still do a fair bit of damage to a set of well-worn Levis!) as I endured the monotonous American cowboy band in the seemingly endless rain.
But then The Sensational Alex Harvey Band took to the stage, and the dial was turned up all the way to Outstanding… they really had their mojo working overtime and the tedium of the previous bands was forgotten.
The gig could have ended after their set and it still would have been an awesome day. Nonetheless, the best was yet to come. After, of course, those antics up the floodlight pylons…
I distinctly recall the MC begging some guy to come down from high up on the pylon; it was wet and slippery and he was playing to the gallery. A copper went up there after him, which caused him to move up even higher… I guess it was resolved without him falling to his death, I’m sure I would have remembered that, but I have no recollection of how or when he eventually came down.
I have to dispute one contributor’s assertion about the reason for the Who’s late entrance however. The fact is they were waiting for Princess Margaret to turn up, as she was late (as usual). That pissed me off no end. But then the sun came out, The Who bounded onto the stage (with Daltrey promptly falling on his jacksie – i’d thought it was Moon, but everyone else says it was Daltrey so…) and then it all went into overdrive.
I’ve been fortunate enough to have seen the Who – with both Keith Moon and Kenny Jones – on several occasions both before and after Charlton, but I am in no doubt that this show was easily the best; it really was the canine’s reproductive organs, the leg joints of the social honey-gathering insects… and the laser light show (The Who had the first commercial laser system in the UK) was quite astonishing, as basic as it may seem now. It only added to the spectacle when it started a small fire on one of the pylons – the thick smoke billowed over the stadium, pierced only by the laser lights, making it seems as though there was a nebulous roof over the whole place. I remember being absolutely transfixed, it was an entirely novel experience.
And then everyone singing “Listening to you, I get the music…”, and then of course “Won’t Get Fooled Again” and that… well I’ve run out of superlatives, I don’t know how to describe that scream… you know the one…
Yes, despite the rain, despite the boring bands on the undercard (notable exception being Alex Harvey), despite the interminable wait for The Who to take the stage, it turned out to be one of the greatest and most memorable gigs I’ve ever attended, with The Who being at the very top of their game, never to be bettered.
Posted by Rigoberto Gruner on June 11, 2018 at 11:09 am
Congrats for you father too.
It was first time I saw the lasers.
I’m writing from Porto Alegre, Brazil and still loving the british music.
Posted by John on October 5, 2018 at 3:52 am
As a 6th former somehow I was working at this concert for “Feedback Caters”….part of their contract meant as well as supplying the food and drink kiosks around the ground they had to cater for the artists. At one point I was sent out to the high street to try and buy slat pepper and mustard for the Who’s dressing room (it was a Bank Holiday luckily I found and Indian corner shop and bought the stuff which I then had to deliver to the dressing room and some to the Alex Harvey band who were on their own bus). Pete Townsend turned up in a Daimler and left his lights on – we told him ..I did a brief stint in the guest bar and served Steve Harley who was with Sireta. Kenny Jones was there too. The day before the concert we were working at the stadium and a roller turned up and Harvey Goldsmith, Keith Moon and Graham Chapman (Monty Python) got out …we shouted and they waved..During the concert I didn’t have any duties so went and sat in the Directors box of the stand about 10 rows behind the band (I didn’t get wet !). To my recollection the reason the Who went on late was that Keith Moon insisted on having a dustbin full of ice and beer cans beside his kit before he’d go on – we had to raid all the bars for ice..
Posted by John Redford on October 30, 2018 at 4:36 pm
I was there (Charlton 1976).. drove down from Enfield in my white 1500 beetle G reg.. what a great day.. rain.. One thing I remember was when a little group raised an American flag.. was the height of anti US feeling about the Vietnam war (not that I was against it).. then rained a load of cans and bottles on those poor yanks… The laser lighting was simply amazing..
The support bands were magic, my mates were Micky Rawlinson, John Boone & Simon Evenden
John Redford – Hertford
Posted by doi209 on January 22, 2019 at 9:25 am
What a great day that was. I was really impressed by Little Feat and became a fan. Bought loads of their stuff afterwards.
As previously said, the lasers were tremendous at the time. I particularly remember them splitting and rotating. Brilliant and happy memories.
I also remember the rain and getting soaking wet. I took an ex-girlfriend trying to get her back on the premis I was being friendly and she would repay me for her ticket. Never got her back and never got paid either. Great music.
Posted by Neil S on March 20, 2019 at 2:32 pm
I was there with 3 mates from Woolies, High Wycombe, thanks to Budgie who organised it all. Terrific day out, great music. I loved Little Feat, sung or screamed along to Delilah and The Who were fantastic. Many great memories including the guy in front of us very carefully over a couple of minutes accurately peeing into an empty can of Special Brew, standing up and launching it high and spinning forward over 50 rows of people. Happy days!
Posted by Rigoberto Gruner on March 21, 2019 at 11:49 am
Very happy days!
Posted by David Rising on May 26, 2019 at 9:16 pm
Just had a note from an LA friend who is off to 50 yr Little Feat show. So I mentioned that I had seen them in London a life time ago. Does anyone remember if it was Lowell George. And I have a memory of Stone the crows playing with Maggie Bell. Great day out , don’t remember the drive back north.
Posted by Tom Lloyd on October 29, 2019 at 5:38 pm
It was the full Little Feat line-up to my memory – unfortunately I spent most of their act twisting my neck to watch the lunatic swinging on the lighting tower as we all feared he would fall any second – he never did !
Posted by Bobbby k on March 8, 2020 at 2:56 pm
Great day great band about 40 of us from Brighton went up to charlton that day most of us bunked in over the fence absolutely rammed all kicking off everywhere found our mates middle front one had a flag with his wife’s knickers stuck to it found them in the end 😂😂😂 loved the who from mods to rockers ❤️
Posted by MJS on April 1, 2020 at 3:37 pm
Was at both Charlton shows – took some photos in 76 – great memories – http://www.ukrockfestivals.com/
who-ptbin-76-charlton.html
Posted by MJS on April 1, 2020 at 3:38 pm
Let’s try that link again: http://www.ukrockfestivals.com/who-ptbin-76-charlton.html
Posted by Steve on May 28, 2020 at 12:07 pm
Nice.
Went to that one. A rolling Wild West style punch up moved around the pitch some/all of the day.
Little feat? Didn’t really get it. Had already seen streetwalkers(Hyde park). Really there to see SAHB,the who were a bonus.
Huge skips full of grog smashed by the police on the way inPretty vile actually,but as English and football lads and seventeen we were ok.
Had seen SAHB a number of times,down to Eastbourne a few days before((pat travers support). They were the business.
The who? Baba oreilly was great. My generation? (As we left,early,with all them laser things in the sky. Football trick,leave early,avoid the rough lads and the queues).
Thank **** for punk rock.
Met Keith Moon in the ship in wardour street a year before he died.
He was a complete gentleman. (A very old man of 32,crash landed Roller on the kerb outside. He wasn’t driving.)
Posted by vintagerock on May 28, 2020 at 1:15 pm
Thanks for your memories Steve Happy days Peter
Posted by Bill Plastiras on September 22, 2020 at 4:10 am
I was there too in 1976. I remember Roger running out onto the stage and slipping over. I next saw The Who in 2009 in the Hunter Valley, at a vineyard outside of Sydney. It was a magical evening that I’ll never forget. My wife and I ran to the front of the stage for the encore like 2 teenagers. They were so good we flew to Paris the family from Sydney in 2013 to see them. Our kids thought it was best concert they had ever seen. Flew again to Paris in 2015.
Posted by vintagerock on September 22, 2020 at 8:53 am
Great story Bill happy days Peter
Posted by Vince on September 25, 2020 at 10:58 am
Haven’t read all the comments, but the reason why the Who were delayed on stage was that the fans who climbed the towers disturbed the mirrors that were set up for the LASER show, which if not the first was one of the first laser shows at an outdoor gig.
Brilliant day, fondly remembered.
Posted by vintagerock on September 25, 2020 at 12:03 pm
Happy days Vince welcome to my blog and thanks for signing up cheers Peter
Posted by Woody on October 19, 2020 at 11:56 pm
*** nightmare day. Massive problems getting in and missed Widowmaker and Streetwalkers. Crowd fighting all day. Little feat bottled. Pickpockets galore. Overcrowded by thousands. Pissing with rain all day. Again hailstorms of bottles and cans that only seemed to hit girls in the crowd Like a nice wet afternoon watching Millwall scrapping with West Ham in shit conditions. So bad left during the long wait for SAHB. Worse attempt at a gig ever.
Posted by Merv Dedynski on April 4, 2021 at 8:39 am
I was there. I remember the rain on for most of the concert. But , it was a great concert. The Sensational Alex Harvey Band were nearly as good as the Who. The Who were , of course , brilliant. Great memories of the Who with Keith Moon at his best. I remember the lasers and the massive crowd there. It was a very packed , very wet show , but I’m glad I went. Every now and again the concert comes up in conversation but I never meet anybody who was actually there ! Struggling to remember who I went with. Anybody remember ? Lol.
Posted by vintagerock on April 4, 2021 at 11:15 am
Hi Merv sounds like you had a great day as I did. Happy days. You can’t beat The Who on a great day! Peter
Posted by Merv Dedynski on May 8, 2021 at 5:30 pm
Yeah was great Peter , times remembered. Supposedly one of the loudest U.K. concerts as well , might explain why I’m partially deaf !
Posted by vintagerock on May 8, 2021 at 5:40 pm
Hi Merv
My hearing is not too good either. Happy days. There was nothing like going to a loud concert and your ears ringing for days after. I once put my head in the PA cabinet at a Motorhead gig. Silly thing to do but it seemed fun at the time. It’s strange what crazy things you do when you are young and full of beer! Cheers Peter
Posted by Paul Titcomb on May 8, 2021 at 4:24 pm
I have a confession to make. I was there in 1976, sat on the stone terrace with my girlfriend. It rained from the moment we got there. We had no protection from the rain, inappropriate clothing for the persistent downpour, no headwear not even an old bin bag. We sat on the cold damp terrace and watched all the support acts. We were like a pair of drowned rats by the time SAHB had finished. Then there was the interminable delay whilst the crowd misbehaved, and the Who refusing to start until all was calm. We had literally had enough. We were absolutely sodden from head to toe and looked at each other in agreement. We left the stadium before the Who came on. Looking back I can’t believe that we left, but I guess time has erased the intense feelings of discomfort we experienced back then. I bet there are not many people who have walked out of such an iconic show at that eleventh hour.
Posted by vintagerock on May 8, 2021 at 5:28 pm
Hi Paul thanks for your honest account. I do remember it being wet, but sat it out and saw the Who and enjoyed the show in the end. Happy (wet) days Cheers Peter
Posted by Nick Cory on May 20, 2021 at 11:57 pm
Thanks for the set list- I was there, and thank goodness not down at the front where the fights were going on – it takes something for a band like The Who to feel responsible enough to need to intervene!
Posted by vintagerock on May 21, 2021 at 9:08 am
Hi Nick it was a great day! Happy days Peter
Posted by Steve Din on May 28, 2021 at 1:03 pm
The lasers were first seen at Charlton 1974. I was there… with Elizabeth Taylor (well I spoke to her on the way out)
Note: 1976 there’s a web picture of Widowmaker at Charlton 1976 with a hippy walking in the foreground – it’s me!
Posted by vintagerock on May 28, 2021 at 1:33 pm
Great story Steve. I wish I had met Elizabeth Taylor! Happy days Peter
Posted by Neil on July 2, 2021 at 10:03 pm
I’m amazed no-one else has commented on sunburn. The drizzle resumed during the Tommy set, and the rain refracted the lasers enough to give me and my friends a seriously redskin look. SAHB were crowd pleasers, but if the Who had ever been better, Mount Olympus would have been overcrowded.
Posted by vintagerock on July 3, 2021 at 9:51 am
Hi Neil thanks for your memories of a great day. Happy days Peter
Posted by Patrick Van Cleef on November 27, 2021 at 1:34 am
Thank you for jogging my memory of a wonderful day out. I lived in London at the time so I didn’t have the hassle getting to the gig and back. Alex Harvey and his theatrical ” Delilah” DID bring the house down and the horror of a head case swinging from the Floodlights will stay in my memory forever. Where did the 45 years go??😁😁😁
Posted by vintagerock on November 27, 2021 at 11:21 am
Hi Patrick
Happy days. Great concert. Many thanks for signing up to my blog. I hope you enjoy reading my memories. Best wishes Peter
Posted by Marge Dillon on December 1, 2021 at 7:50 pm
Wow I hitched down from Liverpool with a friend from Liverpool, I was at Uni to see the Who. Forgot about the rain but it didn’t affect what was an amazing gig! What amazing memories.
Posted by vintagerock on December 2, 2021 at 12:53 pm
Hi Marge a great day and some great memories. Happy days Peter
Posted by joski333 on May 19, 2022 at 8:29 am
I was there. I was 17 and this was my first big gig. I got there are around mid day with my mate who was a huge Who fan and a friend of his who drove us there in his Morris Minor. It didn’t rain early on and we sat on the grass on our coats looking at the other cool or scary people. I do remember fans having punch-ups and people on the lighting rigs and funny smells in the air. I didn’t know Aerial Bender was in the Widowmakers tho we saw every act. It was very crowded but I remeber the bands. Little Feat were very good and SAHB with the bass player in his blue jockstrap. I do remember it being loud, there were huge walls of speakers at the front. I remeber thinking that this is what I want to do – not go to boring work in the City of London. I felt alive. The WHO were amazing – so powerful and yest Daltrey did slip over and say “The Who on ice” when he got up. My mate had been going on about the expensive laser lights the Who had invested in and they were amazing. You take these things for granted at the time but apparently it was a legendary gig and I wish I could live it again. I too still have the program with the Keith Moon naked spread in the centre pages. I’m glad I caught some of the authentic mid 70’s rock and styles around then. Wow!
Posted by vintagerock on May 19, 2022 at 1:14 pm
Thank you for sharing your memories of the day. Yes The Who were (and still are) possibly the best rock band this country has ever produced, along with the Stones, in my view. Happy days Peter
Posted by joski333 on May 19, 2022 at 3:08 pm
Yes love the Stones as well, have never seen them but have seen lots of others and Led Zep at Knebworth in ’79. Best wishes. J
Posted by vintagerock on May 19, 2022 at 4:40 pm
Led Zeppelin at Knebworth! Now that was a great day! 🙂 Peter
Posted by Andy on May 19, 2022 at 7:29 pm
Yes, I remember The Stones at Knebworth who finally came on after a long delay following 10 cc who were brilliant. The crowd were restless and some guy jumped on stage dropped his trousers to show his disappointment. They dragged him off but much to the delight of the crowd he got back on the stage and repeated his displeasure!!
Posted by vintagerock on May 20, 2022 at 11:22 am
Yes those were crazy days Andy! Cheers Peter