The Who Shares “Baba O’ Riley” Live Performance In Wembley
via TheWho / Youtube
The Who are sharing the live performance of their 1971 song “Baba O’Riley,” from the upcoming collection The Who With Orchestra Live At Wembley.
The live video is taken from their July 6, 2019 show which also marked The Who’s first headline performance at the famed London stadium in 40 years. It saw the band performing music from their studio albums while being supported by the Isobel Griffiths Orchestra.
“Baba O’Riley” is one of the twenty songs The Who performed during their UK stop for the Moving On Tour. Released in 1971, the song was the opening track from Who’s Next which went to No. 1 in the UK. It was written by guitarist Pete Townshend who got the idea from his two leading philosophical and musical inspirations: Maher Baba and Terry Riley.
In a previous interview, Townshend shared what the song is about explaining:
“The absolute desolation of teenagers at Woodstock, where audience members were strung out on acid, and 20 people had brain damage. The irony was that some listeners took the song to be a teenage celebration: ‘Teenage Wasteland, yes! We’re all wasted!'”
The Who With Orchestra Live At Wembley will be released on March 31 in various formats, including a limited edition yellow, orange, and red 3LP set, triple black vinyl, and a 2CD / Blu-Ray set that includes the audio remixed in Dolby Atmos. All formats also include a booklet with never-before-seen photos from the performance.
Meanwhile, The Who Hits Back! tour will continue this June in Spain. Check out their live performance below.
