Courtesy of The WhoThere’s bad news and good news for The Who‘s U.K. fans. The bad news: the band is postponing its late-August and early-September U.K. concerts to April. The good news: those shows will feature a revamped set that’ll include an acoustic performance showcasing the group’s 1969 rock opera, Tommy.
Prior to the rescheduled U.K. gigs, The Who will play two special shows on March 30 and April 1 of next year at The Royal Albert Hall in London as part of the annual benefit concerts for the Teenage Cancer Trust charity that will include the rock legends’ first full-band performances of Tommy since 1989. The historic shows will coincide with the 100th Teenage Cancer Trust benefit concert. The band also will play a selection of their classic tunes along with the full rock opera.
Meanwhile, the postponed U.K shows also will include performances of some of the band’s hits, plus some lesser-known tunes. The concerts are being designed to emulate the performances The Who gave around 1969 and 1970, which also featured a segment devoted to Tommy. To accompany the new Tommy section, the band is creating an updated video presentation.
People with tickets for the postponed dates can use them for the rescheduled concerts, or can get a full refund at the point of purchase. Tickets for the Royal Albert Hall shows will go on sale on September 23.
The Who’s other announced 2016 concerts will go ahead as planned. These include a run of European dates in September, the band’s two appearances at the Desert Trip Festival with Roger Waters on October 9 and 16 in Indio, California, and performances that same month in Santa Barbabra, California, and Mexico City.
Here are all of The Who’s upcoming concerts:
9/10 — Oberhausen, Germany, Koenig Pilsener Arena
9/12 — Stuttgart, Germany, Schleyer-Halle
9/14 — Vienna, Austria — Wiener Stadhalle — Tickets
9/17 — Bologna, Italy, Unipol Arena
9/19 — Milan, Italy, Mediolanum Forum
10/6 — Santa Barbara, CA, Santa Barbara Bowl
10/9 — Indio, CA, Desert Trip
10/12 — Mexico City, Mexico, Palacio de los Deportes
10/16 — Indio, CA, Desert Trip
3/30/17 — London, U.K., Teenage Cancer Trust – Royal Albert Hall
4/1 — London, U.K., Teenage Cancer Trust – Royal Albert Hall
4/3 — Liverpool, U.K., Liverpool Echo Arena*
4/5 — Manchester, U.K., Manchester Arena*
4/7 — Glasgow, U.K., The SSE Hydro*
4/10 — Sheffield, U.K., Sheffield Arena*
4/12 — Birmingham, U.K., Barclaycard Arena*
* = rescheduled date.
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