In October 1982, The Who played two historic concerts at the now-demolished Shea Stadium in New York City. Now, a recording of the British rock legends’ full second show at the stadium, which took place October 13, will be issued on CD and vinyl LP for the first time.
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Live at Shea Stadium 1982 will be released on March 1 as a two-CD set and a three-LP collection. The date coincides with Who frontman Roger Daltrey’s 80th birthday. The audio collections serve as companions to the DVD and Blu-ray capturing the same show that were released in 2015.
[RELATED: Roger Daltrey Casts Doubt on His Future with The Who]
About the Shea Stadium Concert
The concert took place during The Who’s tour in support of its 1982 studio album It’s Hard. The band’s lineup at the time featured founding members Daltrey, Pete Townshend, and John Entwistle, along with drummer Kenney Jones. Jones had taken over for Keith Moon after Moon’s death in 1978.
The show featured performances of such Who classics as “Substitute,” “I Can’t Explain,” “Behind Blue Eyes,” “Baba O’Riley,” “Who Are You,” “Pinball Wizard,” “Love Reign O’er Me,” “Long Live Rock” and “Won’t Get Fooled Again.” The band also played four songs from It’s Hard, among them “Eminence Front.”
Shea Stadium, of course, was the site of famous Beatles concerts in 1965 and 1966, and The Who gave a nod to the Fab Four by playing “I Saw Here Standing There” and “Twist and Shout” at their own show.
The Who’s 1982 North American tour turned out to be the band’s last trek to feature Jones. After completing the outing, the group wound up not touring again until 1989.
More About the Live at Shea Stadium 1982 Releases
The two-CD and three-LP versions of Live at Shea Stadium 1982 can be pre-ordered now at MercuryStudios.co.
You can check out video of The Who performing “Love Reign O’er Me” and “Behind Blue Eyes” at the Mercury Studios YouTube channel.
The Who’s 2024 Concert Plans
As previously reported, The Who currently have just two concerts lined up in 2024. The band will play at the Royal Albert Hall in London on March 18 and 20 as part of the Teenage Cancer Trust benefit concert series. Squeeze will open both shows.
In addition, Daltrey and Townshend are part of the lineup for the March 24 Teenage Cancer Trust benefit event. That show, dubbed “Ovation,” will celebrate Daltrey’s work as the founder and curator of the concert series. Daltrey, who is a longtime patron of the Teenage Cancer Trust, is stepping away from his duties as the series’ main organizer after this year.
Also on the bill of the “Ovation” concert are Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant and his side group Saving Grace, Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, ex-Jam frontman Paul Weller, and Kelly Jones of the Welsh band Stereophonics.
Live at Shea Stadium 1982 Track List (Two-CD Version):
CD 1
- “Substitute
- “I Can’t Explain”
- “Dangerous”
- “Sister Disco”
- “The Quiet One”
- “It’s Hard”
- “Eminence Front”
- “Behind Blue Eyes”
- “Baba O’Riley”
- “I’m One”
- “The Punk and the Godfather”
- “Drowned”
- “Tattoo”
- “Cry If You Want”
CD 2
- “Who Are You”
- “Pinball Wizard”
- “See Me Feel Me”
- “Love Reign O’er Me”
- “Long Live Rock”
- “Won’t Get Fooled Again”
- “Young Man Blues”
- “Naked Eye”
- “I Saw Her Standing There”
- “Summertime Blues”
- “Twist and Shout”
