RETURN TO APRIL EVENT LISTINGS
In conjunction with the Hendrix premiere, we’re proud to present other Murray Lerner music documentaries including:
“LISTENING TO YOU” (The entire1970 Isle of Wight performance of the Who—one of their most seminal performances!).
Just one year after Woodstock, the Isle of Wight Music Festival drew more than 600,000 people to a small island off the coast of England. At 2:00 a.m. on August 30, 1970, this normally quiet island rumbled with a potent and expressive force of energy as The Who mounted the festival stage. Roger Daltrey (vocals), Keith Moon (drums), John Entwistle (bass), and Pete Townshend (guitar) played continuously until 5:00 a.m., pounding through seven of their powerful pop hits, plus 13 songs from the rock opera Tommy. With Townshend spontaneously smashing his electric guitar and Moon destroying his drum kit, The Who once again proved themselves the greatest live act in the history of rock with this whirlwind performance.
Originally a straightforward R&B band that played for England's short-lived mod subculture, The Who gradually developed a creative and forceful style that led the British Invasion's second wave and gave them lasting fame. Chief songwriter Townshend impulsively began smashing his electric guitar at London's Marquee Club, while Moon (who joined the band after vaulting onstage and announcing he could best The Who's original drummer, Doug Sandom) followed Townshend's cue, regularly destroying his drum kits at the end of the band's shows. Daltrey and Entwistle, the band's talented role players, watched the smoke and violence with bemusement.
