Bravado The Who Quadrophenia T-Shirt

Product Information

In September ’72 Townshend had issued his first solo album, Who Came First, a devotional album dedicated to Meher Baba. Were there certain aspects of himself that couldn’t be accommodated in The Who? “It was mainly my interest in spiritual things, and artistic endeavours, that the band found hard to accommodate without taking the piss. The actors that filled the shoes of these troubled, fun-loving teens are loved for the affection they gave to their roles and their representation of the Mod culture of the 60s. His parents throw him out of the house after discovering his stash of amphetamine pills, then he quits his job and spends his severance on more, before finding out that his new love Steph is actually in a relationship with his friend Dave. It’s a complex, vaultingly ambitious work that is echoed in the music itself. Surging guitars and big vocals are tempered by brass arrangements, semi-orchestral strings and intricate layers of synths and piano.

From nostalgic Mods to younger generations inspired by this cult classic, Mod fashion can still be seen on high streets today as a dress code for the stylish elite. The first show is a highly theatrical, all-star hootenanny in Hyde Park, with giant video screens, and various guests taking key roles in the narrative – Phil Daniels (reprising his 1979 film role as Jimmy), David Gilmour, Ade Edmondson, Stephen Fry, Gary Glitter and, as news anchor, Trevor McDonald. It proves a huge success, enough for The Who to take Quadrophenia out on an extensive tour across the US, before returning to the UK for a handful of homecoming shows before Christmas and swinging over to Europe. The brawls between the two subcultures featured in the film did take place over two bank holiday weekends in 1964 and led to a media-fuelled, widespread perception that the two groups were nothing but troublemakers. On location in Brighton, Brighton Pier, The Grand Hotel, and the ballroom’s exterior from the film (which is now Brighton Sealife Centre) all have their original features. However, the iconic scene from the ballroom where Jimmy jumps from the balcony was filmed in Southgate, North London, at the old Royalty Ballroom (now a fitness centre).

The Who began recording Quadrophenia in early ’73. They’d recently bought an old church hall in Battersea, which they planned to strip down and convert into their own, state-of-the-70s recording studio and rehearsal room. But it still wasn’t ready, so they decamped to the mobile studio of good mate Ronnie Lane, then on the verge of leaving the Faces. Townshend singles out those early sessions as being particularly special, the band’s first major undertaking since Lifehouse and its resultant 1971 salvage operation, Who’s Next. Mod leader Ace Face is played by Sting, who was about to achieve global success with The Police at the time of the film’s conception. Just north of Shepherd’s Bush, Jimmy’s home still exists if you want to grab a picture-perfect shot.

Directed by Franc Roddam, Quadrophenia, released in 1979, is a British drama film co-written by Pete Townshend, co-founder of The Who, and is loosely based on The Who’s album of the same name.Part of what I wanted to do was re-establish with our fans the principles they themselves had set up when we’d started. I think The Who had been servants of the audience in 1964/65, not the other way around. Our job was always to give our audience something they needed, not make them think we were stars.

My strategy was always to run to Kit Lambert or Chris Stamp to fly new ideas,” Townshend explains. “By 1973 they had both lost interest in The Who to some extent. Kit had long-since left the stage as my songwriting mentor, but I was hoping he would co-produce. He turned out to be too distracted.”The Quadrophenia film follows Jimmy, a young man misunderstood by his parents who loathes his run-of-the-mill day job, working in the mailroom of an advertising firm.

One of the central themes of Quadrophenia is the idea of joining a tribe or gang for the purposes of personal development, perhaps best expressed by the song I’m One. Townshend: “As a young man I needed, and wanted, to be part of a gang of young men. I’d grown up in a gang, one that started when I was a street kid in Acton when I was four years old, running wild when it was still safe to do so. The record got delayed because there were certain problems with it,” recalls Barnes. “Roger used to complain that his voice had got lost in the mix. It was a bit of a dense, heavy mix, like an assault on the senses.” Beachy Head near Brighton is the place to visit if you want to see where Jimmy crashed the scooter over the side of the cliff.

Easy Returns & Exchanges

Fast forward to the summer of 1996. Quadrophenia has finally been remixed, with both Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend involved, and remastered on CD. The sound is sharper, clearer, the nuances of Townshend’s more intricate passages teased out in much greater relief against the bigger, more abrasively Who-like songs. Technology has finally caught up with Townshend’s original vision. It’s enough for the band to try out Quadrophenia live again. Notably, two fashion staples from the film that still take pride of place in every Mod’s wardrobe today are the Fred Perry polo shirt and the Clark’s Desert Boot. Easy to wear and pair with other classic wardrobe staples, they are key components of the signature Mod look. PeteTownshend: "Entwistle was stunning, he was also wonderful to work with" (Image credit: Redferns)