THE WHO LIVE AT LEEDS

On the 40th anniversary of its release, Dave Lewis tells the story of how The Who came to record the greatest live album of all time Eyewitness photos by CHRIS McCOURT and JOHN RETTIE

Forty years ago this month, The Who released their first live album, Live At Leeds. Riding off the back of the astounding success of their Tommy rock opera, this six-track live album firmly established The Who as one of the world’s top rock attractions of the early 70s.

Packaged in a fairly anonymous bootleg style sleeve, the music within was anything but. Live At Leeds finally captured The Who in all their explosive on-stage glory. It has gone on to be acclaimed as the greatest live album of all time and, in turn, elevated The Who’s legacy as one of the greatest live bands of all time. This is a reputation they have maintained right up to the modern era – as was demonstrated by their remarkable 12-minute performance at this year’s Super Bowl event.

In hindsight, Live At Leeds can be viewed as one of the first bona fide rock live albums. Though the art of reproducing a live performance on record was nothing new – the likes of Frank Sinatra and Miles Davis had enjoyed success in their respective fields with live recordings – rock and pop acts had rarely been caught to full effect. Live albums such The Rolling Stones’ Got Live If You Want It and The Kinks Live At Kelvin Hall were primitive recordings, often made with one or two microphones slung over the stage and theatre balcony to capture audience …

by Dave Lewis
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