The Who announced that they are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year by launching The Who Hits 50! British tour, which frontman Roger Daltrey says "is the beginning of the long goodbye."There is no word yet if the tour plans will extend to other markets across the globe but Daltrey's comments have lead to speculation that this is the first leg of the band's farewell tour.
The British trek is scheduled to kick off on November 26th in Dublin, Ireland and will include stops in Belfast, Glasgow, Leeds, Nottingham, Birmingham, Newcastle, Liverpool, Manchester, Cardiff and will conclude on December 17th in London.
The Who Hits 50! tour will feature music spanning the legendary band's entire career from present day songs, classic hits and deep cuts from the band's classic albums including Who's Next, Tommy, My Generation, Quadrophenia and even material from their The High Numbers days.
Guitarist Pete Townshend bills the setlist as 'Hits, Picks, Mixes and Misses'. Here is what he had to say about the tour, "Trying to stay young. Not wearing socks. Growing a great big woodcutter's beard. Might even wear a check shirt on stage and get a tattoo of a Union Jack. Always a fashion victim. But under no illusions.
"We are what we are, and extremely good at it, but we're lucky to be alive and still touring. If I had enough hairs to split I would say that for thirteen years since 1964 The Who didn't really exist, so we are really only thirty-seven."
Here are the British Tour dates according to the band's official site:
Nov 26 - Dublin, Ireland - O2
Nov 28 - Belfast, Ireland - Odyssey Arena
Nov 30 - Glasgow, Scotland - SSE Hydro
Dec 02 - Leeds, UK - First Direct Arena
Dec 05 - Nottingham, UK - Capital FM Arena
Dec 07 - Birmingham, UK - NIA
Dec 09 - Newcastle, UK - Metro
Dec 11 - Liverpool, UK - Echo Arena
Dec 13 - Manchester, UK - Phones4U Arena
Dec 15 - Cardiff, UK - Motorpoint
Dec 17 - London, UK - The O2
