Along with the Beatles, the Stones and, rather less charmingly, the Sex Pistols, few bands have made such entertaining TV as The Who. Sure, they are famous for their music but with a mischievous - OK, near-certifiable - drummer to seize the limelight, their TV appearances could be as madly ridiculous as most modern pop shows are soul-numbingly bland.This week's rock-doc Amazing Journey: The Story of The Who (released on DVD late last year to glowing reviews) shows that the surviving pair of Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend have lost little of their amusing frankness in interviews, even if the days of brandy-soaked mayhem are long past. Time, then, to rewind and revel in The Who's most memorable TV moments...
- Smothers Brothers Show 1967- By some distance their most infamous TV appearance. Unbeknown to anyone, Keith Moon had bribed a stage-hand with alcohol to pack his bass drum with a surfeit of explosives. As the band ended My Generation with their trademark stage-destruction, the cameras were momentarily blinded by the blast. As the smoke cleared, Moon lay on the floor, his arm sliced open by cymbal shrapnel, Townshend's hair was on fire and, it is said, his hearing damaged for ever. Waiting in the studio's wings, Bette Davis fainted in Mickey Rooney's arms. Naturally, the band was banned from further US shows.
- Talkin' 'bout my religion 1969/1971- After the success of Tommy, Townshend had to get used to explaining its spiritual ideals. On the German show Beat Club he was out-philosophised by a presenter asking perhaps the most pretentious questions seen on a pop show (seek it out in The Kids are Alright). In other interviews, spirituality and his drug experiences were a recurring theme, not least during this rarity we found from 1971 (“I became obsessed by the fact I felt my consciousness was expanding”).
- The Russell Harty Show 1973- Harty braved out-of-control antics from Moon, who stripped to his pants, bit his bandmates, began a shirt-ripping contest with Townshend and taunted the then-in-the closet host about how long he had been married. They did find time to play on the show as well.
- Top of the Pops 1973- This ill-tempered performance of 5.15 on Top of the Pops ended not just with a mass instrument trashing but a grumpy Townshend flipping V signs towards the audience. They hurled wigs at him in return. All this, plus a tussle backstage, resulted in a ban from TV Centre. It lasted until a recent Later with Jools Holland.
- Keith Moon the TV host 1974- Acting as guest host on an American live-music TV show, Moon, with cat's whiskers painted on his face, broke off to offer a drum solo not far removed from the Muppets' Animal. In answer to an audience member asking why his tom drum contained live goldfish, he replied: “Well, even the best drummers get hungry ...”
- Townshend and Moon on Good Morning America 1978- A surprisingly searching and poignant rock interview for a cheesy breakfast show. It turned out to be the 31-year-old Moon's last (he died less than a month later). Looking shockingly old and overweight, he admitted that most days he is “quite out of control. I mean ... amazingly drunk”.
- Daltrey on Tiswas 1981- Roger Daltrey and new drummer Kenney Jones appeared on Compost Corner and endured being gunged while wearing green-leotard flower outfits. Chris Tarrant, Maggie James and Lenny Henry (as David Bellamy) cheerfully ignored the presence of rock royalty as they went about their shtick. A frankly bizarre spectacle.
- Live Aid 1985- The only people to see the whole performance were those in Wembley Stadium thanks to the TV feed failing halfway through the band's first song. The technical hitch was fixed in time for the world to see a ring-rusty Townshend fall flat on his back after trying one of the high kicks of old.
- The Concert for New York City 2001- Amazing Journey makes a big deal of The Who's performance at Madison Square Gardens in the wake of 9/11. (Eddie Vedder, of Pearl Jam, declares: “That could be one of the best illustrations of the power of music.”)
