55 Years Ago: The Who Record 'Live at Leeds' Without a Safety Net

If Tommy announced the Who’s ascent to rock-band immortality, Live at Leeds was the headline’s exclamation point. The live album cemented their distinction as one of the world’s most powerful acts, yet it came together almost by accident.

The 1969 Tommy tour saw the Who performing to massive audiences across the globe, including a historic stop at Woodstock. Keenly aware of their popularity, and having seen the success of live albums from many rock contemporaries, the Who decided to record performances along the way. By the end of 1969, the Who had taped 30 shows in the U.S. and an additional eight in the U.K.

This abundance of material seemed like a blessing at first, but it was actually too much of a good thing. Poring through hours of music was a daunting task and the band could not feasibly do it, considering the amount of time that would take. Frustrated, Pete Townshend took a scorched earth approach: He instructed an audio engineer to burn all of the concert recordings. The Who would instead book two shows from which a live album would be constructed.

Without the previous tapes to fall back on, the band was bravely performing without a net.

The Who wanted to capture the ferocity of their live shows, and that wasn't possible with Tommy’s high-art concept. “We were better known for doing Tommy than we were for all the rest of the stuff," bassist John Entwistle noted in the book The Complete Chronicle of the Who. “I mean, all the guitar smashing and stuff went completely out of the window. We’d turned into snob rock.”

The Who planned one concert for Feb. 14, 1970, at the University of Leeds, with a second the following day in Hull. As fate would have it, the Hull performance was plagued with technical problems. Thankfully, the Who needed only the first show to make history.

Listen to the Who's 'Substitute' at Leeds

One of Rock's Best Live Albums

The Leeds concert saw the band play more than 30 songs, including the earlier hit “My Generation” and almost all of the songs from Tommy. More than 2,000 students – many of whom had been lining up since 6AM that day – filled the capacity of the University’s refectory.

Their energy was palpable. "The students there were a great audience for us,” Roger Daltrey later told the BBC. “It was packed to the rafters and then some more. I heard there was a thousand fans on the roof!"

Keith Moon echoed those sentiments. “We fed on the audience as much as they fed on us,” he told the university's student newspaper. “They were just too incredible.”

The Who initially planned on releasing a double live album from the set, but instead honed Live at Leeds to a powerful six-song LP that included “Young Man Blues,” “Substitute,” “Summertime Blues,” “Shakin’ All Over,” “My Generation” and “Magic Bus.”

Originally released on May 23, 1970, Live at Leeds was quickly hailed as a triumph and has sealed its legacy as one of the greatest live records ever made. The complete Leeds and Hull shows were eventually released on various expanded editions of the album.