The Who returned to the stage for the first time in more than a year on Thursday, March 27, at the Royal Albert Hall in London, as part of the 2025 Teenage Cancer Trust benefit concert series. The show was the first of two performances the British rock legends will give during this year’s fundraising series.
According to Setlist.fm, The Who played a 22-song set made up mostly of the band’s classic tunes, with a few deeper cuts thrown in for good measure.
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As seen in fan-shot video, just began The Who kicked into the first song, a fan who yelled out something, prompting frontman Roger Daltrey to jokingly respond, “Who the f— are you!”
The band began the show with two of its earliest U.K. hits “I Can’t Explain” and “Substitute.” The Who then ripped into the 1978 classic “Who Are You.”
In the middle of the concert, The Who delivered a four-song mini set devoted to the 1973 rock opera Quadrophenia. Those tunes were “The Real Me,” “5:15,” “I’m One,” and “Love, Reign O’er Me.” The album most heavily represented in the show was 1971’s Who’s Next, with five songs from that record spread throughout the evening. One of those tunes, the deep cut “Love Ain’t for Keepin’,” hadn’t been played live by The Who since 2004.
Among the many other well-known songs the band performed from various eras of its career were “I Can See for Miles,” “Pinball Wizard,” “The Seeker,” “My Generation,” “Eminence Front,” and “You Better You Bet.”
The Who closed out the show with a rendition of the 2006 acoustic tune “Tea & Theatre,” which the band has regularly used for encores for many years.
Daltrey and Pete Townshend’s Comments to the Audience
According to recaps of the concert in U.K. newspaper The London Evening Standard and Mojo magazine, both Daltrey and guitarist Pete Townshend quipped to the audience about their advancing ages during the show.
At one point, Daltrey drew parallels between him and the main character in The Who’s 1969 rock opera Tommy, a boy who was deaf, blind, and unable to speak.
“The joys of getting old mean you go deaf,” the 81-year-old singer commented. “I also now have got the joy of going blind. Fortunately, I still have my voice, [otherwise] I’ll have a full Tommy.”
The 79-year-old Townshend, meanwhile, talked about the knee operation he recently underwent.
“I had a complete knee replacement four-and-a-half weeks ago,” he said. “But because I’m Superman, I’m here! Maybe I should auction off the old one.”
You can check out some photos from the concert at the Teenage Cancer Trust’s Instagram page.
The Who’s Upcoming Concerts
The Who will be back at the Royal Albert Hall on Sunday, March 30, for their second scheduled 2025 Teenage Cancer Trust benefit show. The band’s last two concerts took place in March 2024 during last year’s edition of the charity series.
Daltrey, of course, was the longtime curator of the concert series, although he stepped down from that role after the 2024 event.
The Who only have two other confirmed concerts lined up in 2025. Those shows are scheduled for July 20 in Padua, Italy, and July 22 in Milan, Italy.
Daltrey, meanwhile, has more than a dozen 2025 concerts scheduled with his solo band, all in the U.K.
Pete Townshend’s Solo-Albums Box Set Was Just Released
In other news, an eight-CD box set featuring all seven of Townshend’s solo studio albums was released Friday, March 28.
The aptly titled The Studio Albums collection includes Townshend’s 1972 solo debut, Who Came First; his 1977 collaboration with the Faces’ Ronnie Lane, Rough Mix; Empty Glass (1980); All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes (1982); White City: A Novel (1985); The Iron Man: The Musical by Pete Townshend (1989); and two versions of his 1993 concept album Psychoderelict.
One CD features the original version of Psychoderelict, while a second CD presents the album without dialogue and spoken-word introductions.
A post on The Who’s social media pages about the box set features a new quote from Townshend in which he hints that some new music may eventually be on the way from him.
“I have stories to tell about every [solo] song, and one day I may write a book that tells of that journey,” he wrote. “[B]ut I’m probably happier spending my time today writing new music rather than explaining how the old stuff came about.”
The Who Set List, London, U.K., The Royal Albert Hall, 3/27/2025:
- “I Can’t Explain”
- “Substitute”
- “Who Are You”
- “The Kids Are Alright”
- “I Can See for Miles”
- “Bargain”
- “Pinball Wizard”
- “Love Ain’t for Keepin’”
- “The Seeker”
- “Behind Blue Eyes”
- “The Real Me”
- “5:15”
- “I’m One”
- “Love, Reign O’er Me”
- “My Generation”
- “Cry If You Want”
- “See Me, Feel Me
- “Eminence Front”
- “You Better You Bet”
- “Baba O’Riley”
- “Won’t Get Fooled Again”
- “Tea & Theatre”
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