The forthcoming The Who “Live at Leeds” vinyl reissue will be a three-LP package that features the FULL setlist, as played on the night. The Who booked two shows, one at the University of Leeds for February. 14th and a second in Hull the next day, and would choose the songs from there. Unfortunately, there were technical problems with the Hull recording — John Entwistle’s bass was inaudible on the first six songs — and they were forced to use just the one concert.
They couldn’t be bothered to trawl through the recordings from the US tour so they decided to record the Leeds and Hull gigs and release the best. The Hull recording was unusable, because the cable connecting the bass guitar to the tape recorder didn’t work. That left Leeds. The three-hour concert took place on Valentine’s day 1970. Students queued for hours to get a ticket and many who failed took to the roof of the building that evening to hear and feel the music.
Townshend joked: “We decided before that we were going to put it out whatever. It was lucky it was good”.
As it turned out the recording was more than good: it was phenomenal and would become one of the most successful live albums of all time. the tapes caught the Who at their absolute best. The original release clocked in at just under 38 minutes and featured only seven songs. This will be a half-speed mastered 33RPM pressing and unlike the two-CD deluxe edition issued in 2001, this new vinyl release will feature the 33-song set in the order that the songs were performed on the night (Valentine’s Day 1970!)
This is packaged as a six-panel gatefold with three inner bags. SDE ran a deal alert for this last week (now finished), but even the non-deal price of £25 in the UK is pretty good for a triple vinyl, half-speed mastered set that celebrates this landmark live album.
This will be released on 25th November 2016
The Fat Angel Sings 