live at leeds

The Who captured their ferocious live energy with this incendiary performance recorded at the peak of their powers.    In the wake of the tour supporting 'Tommy', the band had developed a reputation for their concerts that led them to consider putting out a live album.  Faced with the prospect of listening to countless hours of tapes from their recent tour, Pete Townshend decided that they should instead record a couple of shows for the purpose of creating the live album.  The first show at the University of Leeds took place on February 14, 1970 and the second then next night in Hull utilizing the Pye Mobile Recording Unit.  Jon Astley and Kit Lambert produced the recording alongside The Who; but, when there were problems with some of the recording at Hull, the concert at Leeds was the only one used.  

Townshend looks back:    "There was some nice stuff there. I don’t know what possessed me to actually start to play like that. I suppose it just must have been the influence of Hendrix. Because up to that point I just wasn’t interested in single-note work. It seemed mad for me to even try to compete with the likes of Beck and Clapton and Jimmy Page. I first saw Jimmy Page when I was 14 or 15 and he was already in a professional band. He was one year older than me and he was in a professional band at 16 and he was earning 30 pounds a week when I was just still in school. He was playing really fast stuff and Ritchie Blackmore was in a heavy pop band like a Ventures-type outfit. You would just listen to records like that open-mouthed at the time. But at one particular time after Hendrix I decided it was worth trying to express myself through single note work. I think a lot of the help was when Henry introduced me to the SG. It fitted my sound and had a lyrical quality to it because the neck was so uncluttered at the top you could play high."

'Live at Leeds' charted at number thirteen in Norway, eight in Germany, six in Australia, five in the Netherlands, four in the US, three in the UK, and number two in Canada.  It is considered by many to be one of the greatest live rock albums ever released.  






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Side one
1. "Young Man Blues" (Mose Allison) 4:46
2. "Substitute" (Pete Townshend) 2:10
3. "Summertime Blues" (Jerry Capehart and Eddie Cochran) 3:22
4. "Shakin' All Over" (Johnny Kidd) 4:20




Side two
1. "My Generation" (Pete Townshend) 14:45


2. "Magic Bus" (Pete Townshend) 7:57







'Live at Leeds'
full album:
original LP



Side one
1. "Young Man Blues" (Mose Allison) 4:46
2. "Substitute" (Pete Townshend) 2:10
3. "Summertime Blues" (Jerry Capehart, Eddie Cochran) 3:22
4. "Shakin' All Over" (Johnny Kidd) 4:20
Side two
1. "My Generation" (Townshend) 14:45
2. "Magic Bus" (Townshend) 7:57




'Live at Leeds'
deluxe edition full concert:  



All songs written by Pete Townshend, except where noted.


1. "Heaven and Hell"  (John Entwistle) 5:07
2. "I Can't Explain"   2:26
3. "Fortune Teller"  (Naomi Neville)   2:35
4. "Tattoo"   3:01
5. "Young Man Blues"   5:14
6. "Substitute"   3:04
7. "Happy Jack"   2:14
8. "I'm a Boy"   2:46
9. "A Quick One, While He's Away"   8:41
10. "Summertime Blues"   3:22
11. "Shakin' All Over"   4:35
12. "My Generation"   15:25
13. "Magic Bus"   7:56