Sunday, May 31, 2015

The Who's Super Fan



When The Who’s 50th anniversary concert tour hits the states next fall, my neighbor Seth will be front and center as usual (he’s already got the tickets) and Pete Townshend might even give him a shout-out from the stage. That’s because Seth’s loyalty and friendship go way back and he’s got the autographed photos to prove it.

His ties to the legendary super group are a result of  his connections as an entertainment  lawyer,  successful bids  at charity auctions and a lot of persistence. Seth doesn’t wear his loyalty on his sleeve but he does display it on his cars and on the walls of his house. His collection includes lots of posters and photos as well as a cymbal, a guitar and Roger Daltrey’s microphone.



It takes two rooms to hold this super fan’s collection. Upstairs there are LP’s, books and CDs…all from the Who.



Downstairs is the wall of fame and the piece de resistance: a genuine working pinball machine, just the way Tommy would have played it.


I may not make it to the concerts but I am trying to catch the new documentary, “Lambert and Stamp,” about the two guys who helped take the Who from rock band to household names. Roger Daltrey describes Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp as the fifth and sixth members of the group. It includes some great footage from the early days (I’ve seen the trailer) in part because the two protagonists were film makers who started out to do a documentary on a typical 60’s group and follow it on the road to fame. When they saw the band (known then as High Numbers), they decided to switch from filming to managing. The rest is another chapter of our music history.