The Who recruited Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder and the Kaiser Chiefs to open an upcoming gig at London’s Wembley Stadium on July 6th, the first U.K. date they’ve announced as part of their symphonic “Moving On” tour.
General tickets go on sale Friday, February 1st at 3 p.m. ET. Fans can access a pre-sale by pre-ordering signed copies of the band’s upcoming LP from their webstore.
Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey recently announced two North American legs of the “Moving On” trek, which includes full orchestral accompaniment at all dates. The summer run kicks off May 7th in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and the fall stint launches September 6th in St. Paul, Minnesota.
“Be aware Who fans!,” Daltrey said in a statement upon announcing the trek. “Just because it’s The Who with an orchestra, in no way will it compromise the way Pete and I deliver our music. This will be full throttle Who with horns and bells on.”
While the duo have yet to finish their next LP, which will be their first since 2006’s Endless Wire, Townshend only agreed to the tour if they had new songs ready to record. “I said I was not going to sign any contracts unless we have new material,” the guitarist-songwriter told Rolling Stone‘s Andy Greene. “This has nothing to do with wanting a hit album. It has nothing to do with the fact that the Who need a new album. It’s purely personal. It’s about my pride, my sense of self-worth and self-dignity as a writer.”
Townshend told Rolling Stone in early January that, at that time, the record consisted of 15 demos, which he recorded in late 2018 at five studios throughout England. He said he hoped Daltrey will record his vocals later this year for an eventual 2019 release.
For the time being, the Who are focused on the symphonic tour, which Daltrey pitched after performing their album Tommy with orchestras in summer 2018. “I’ll be 75 years old in March and this feels like a dignified way to go and do music,” he said. “That’s all we’re really left with. We’re old men now. We’ve lost the looks. We’ve lost the glamour. What we’re left with is the music and we’re going to present it in a way which is as fresh and powerful as ever.”