The Who are an English rock band that first came to prominence in the 1960s. They grew in stature to become one of the Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Bands of All-Time.

Except for periods of retirement from 1983 to 1988 and from 1990 to 1995, the band have continued to perform as a live act and have recently reentered the studio.

Noted for the dynamism of their performances and for their thoughtful and art-influenced music, they are also acknowledged as having been rock pioneers, popularising, along with contemporaries The Kinks, the power chord and the rock opera (most notably Tommy) under the leadership of Pete Townshend. Their earlier "mod" albums, which boasted short, aggressive pop songs, Townshend's distinctive power chords, Keith Moon's explosive drumming, and constant themes of youthful rebellion and romantic confusion, were formative influences on punk rock and power pop, helping them earn the accolade "The Godfathers of Punk".[5] In their early days they were notorious for auto-destructive art displays, destroying their instruments at the end of shows (especially Townshend, whose guitar-smashing would become a rock cliché, and infamous wildman Keith Moon).

The Who are on a world tour, as of June 2006, that will last into 2007.

The Who are #8 on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock and #9 on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Rock 'n' Roll.

(1973) - which marked time as Townshend completed work on Quadrophenia. This complex concept album was a homage to the mod sub-culture which provided the artist with his first inspiration. Although compared unfavourably with Tommy, the set's plot and musical content, while stylistically the antithesis of the band's early outburst, has shown a greater longevity and was the subject of a commercially successful film, featuring future stars Toyah and Sting.

Roger Daltry started out as a sheet metal worker;

Pete Townshend started out as an art student
Legend has it that Keith Moon 'made' himself the band's drummer by jumping on stage at a gig, smashing the drum kit and shouting out "Your drummer's crap"
Bassist John Entwhistle was nicknamed 'The Ox' ( R.I.P. John)
Performed at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, Woodstock in 1969 and Live Aid in 1985!

They've never had a #1 single in Britain or the United States
Rock operas Tommy and Quadrophenia were both made into films
"My Generation" was used to advertise Wall's Ice Cream in 1999