The Who Announce 2012/2013 'Quadrophenia and More' Tour

by: Matthew Wilkening

The Who will embark on a 37-date North American tour entitled 'Quadrophenia and More' this fall. Surviving members Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend will perform the 1973 album in its entirety, along with other popular songs from their catalog.

It will be the band's first North American tour in four years. As Townshend explains, "We've been trying to find something we can do together, Roger and I, for a while... 'Quadrophenia' was something that we both felt we could get together on and look again. The last time we did it (on tour) was in 1997. We've been anxious to work together before we drop dead."

Daltrey also seems game to once again climb what he refers to as the album equivalent of "Mt. Everest for a singer," and looks forward to bringing new visual and thematic elements to the production: "What�s great about doing it now, is that it's still a work in progress. Hopefully, it'll keep developing into something new. I don't know how many more years I'm going to be able to sing this music."

Although Townshend makes it clear that "we miss the other two guys (original drummer Keith Moon and bassist John Entwistle) very much," he also admitted to relishing the "liberating" challenge of presenting the music instead with the group's longtime supporting musicians, including Zakk Starkey (Ringo�s son) on drums, Townshend�s brother Simon on guitar and Pino Palladino on bass.

You can forget about any 2Pac-style holograms of Moon or Entwistle on stage, according to Daltrey: "We thought about it, but everybody�s doing it now. It's very expensive to carry, I don't know if we need it � there's other things you can do. It�s only a gimmick."

It's been a busy time for "Quadrophenia." The album was given the deluxe reissue treatment � with great results � last year. A documentary exploring the album, �The Who: Quadrophenia � Can You Still See the Real Me?,� will air in movie theaters across the country on Tuesday, July 24, and the �Quadrophenia� film will be given the high-class Criterion Blu-ray and DVD treatment on Aug. 28.

We'll have the tour dates and ticket sale information for you as soon as it becomes available.