John
Entwistle's Isolated Bass Track from The Who's "Won't Get Fooled
Again" at Shepperton Studios
Today,
we'd like to remember the legendary John "The Ox" Entwistle of the
Who, who was born October 9, 1944.
Below,
check out some extraordinary footage of Entwistle's isolated bass track from
the Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again," as performed May 25, 1978, at the
U.K.'sShepperton Studios. Entwistle,
who is standing in front of a wall of Sunn cabinets, is
playing his Alembic Spyder bass (Dean makes a limited-run version of this bass,
the USA John Entwistle Spider)
The
performance is from a mini-concert set up by the band for use in The Kids Are Alright, their
career-spanning 1979 documentary. It turned out to be the last performance,
ever, by the original lineup of the band. Drummer Keith Moon, who is noticeably
bloated in the full-band version of the performance below (bottom video), died
just a few months later, on September 7, 1978, at age 31 after mixing the
alcohol-withdrawal drug Clomethiazole with alcohol.
Sadly,
Entwistle died June 27, 2002, at age 57 while the Who were on tour in Las
Vegas. The local medical examiner determined that his death was due to a heart
attack induced by cocaine.
The
next day, the Who's Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey published a tribute onTownshend's
website, saying, "The Ox has left the building; we've lost
another great friend."
Regardless
of the fact that the band were clearly rusty in May 1978, this footage of
"Won't Get Fooled Again" is one of the most exciting and powerful Who
performances caught on film. And then there's Daltrey's freaking amazing scream
at 7:50. Enjoy!
Damian Fanelli is the
online managing editor at Guitar World and Guitar Aficionado. His New York-based band, the Blue Meanies, has
toured the world and elsewhere. Fanelli, a former member of Brooklyn
jump-blues/swing/rockabilly band the Gas House Gorillas and New York City
instrumental surf-rock band Mister Neutron, also composes and records film soundtracks. He writes
GuitarWorld.com's The Next Bend column,
which is dedicated to B-bender guitars and guitarists. His
latest liner notes can be found in Sony/Legacy's Stevie Ray Vaughan: The Complete Epic
Recordings Collection. Follow him on Facebook,Twitter and/or Instagram.- collected.
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