Album · 20 years old this year
Endless Wire
Endless Wire is the eleventh studio album by the Who, and the first collection of new songs from the band in 24 years, following It's Hard in 1982. It was also their first record since the death of founding bassist John Entwistle. Plans had called for an earlier release under the working title WHO2, but it was released on 30 October 2006 through Universal Republic Records.
Critics were generally positive, and the album reached No. 7 on the Billboard chart and No. 9 in the UK. Much of the material was played on the band's 2006-2007 tour, and most of the songs were later used in a rock musical adaptation of The Boy Who Heard Music, staged at Vassar College in July 2007. For anyone who has followed the band since the 1960s and 1970s, it is a late chapter worth hearing.
Endless Wire: tracklist, credits and charts
19 tracks · 52:50Tracklist
- 1FragmentsLawrence Ball and Pete Townshend3:58
- 2A Man in a Purple DressPete Townshend4:15
- 3Mike Post ThemePete Townshend4:28
- 4In the EtherPete Townshend3:36
- 5Black Widow’s EyesPete Townshend3:07
- 6Two Thousand YearsPete Townshend2:51
- 7God Speaks of Marty RobbinsPete Townshend3:27
- 8It’s Not EnoughRachel Fuller and Pete Townshend4:03
- 9You Stand by MePete Townshend1:36
- 10Sound RoundPete Townshend1:21
- 11Pick Up the PeacePete Townshend1:29
- 12Unholy TrinityPete Townshend2:08
- 13Trilby’s PianoPete Townshend2:05
- 14Endless WirePete Townshend1:52
- 15Fragments of FragmentsLawrence Ball and Pete Townshend2:23
- 16We Got a HitPete Townshend1:18
- 17They Made My Dream Come TruePete Townshend1:13
- 18Mirror DoorPete Townshend4:14
- 19Tea & TheatrePete Townshend3:26
- Produced by
- Pete Townshend, Billy Nicholls, Bob Pridden, with (for Roger Daltrey's vocals only) Bob Pridden and Billy Nicholls
- Recorded at
- Pete Townshend's home studio and Eel Pie Oceanic Studios
- Recorded
- December 2004 – May 2006
- Mixed by
- Pete Townshend, Chris Lord‐Alge
- Mixed at
- Resonate Music
- Engineered by
- Myles Clarke, Pete Townshend
- Labels
- Universal Republic Records, Polydor, Universal Republic
- Length
- 52:50
Line-up
- Pete Townshend · guitar, drums (drum set), lead vocals, violin, viola
- Roger Daltrey · lead vocals
- Zak Starkey · drums (drum set) · guest
- Jolyon Dixon · acoustic guitar · guest
- Rachel Fuller · keyboard · guest
- Peter Huntington · drums (drum set) · guest
- Stuart Ross · bass · guest
- John “Rabbit” Bundrick · Hammond organ · guest
- Pino Palladino · bass
- Billy Nicholls · background vocals · guest
- Simon Townshend · background vocals · guest
- Ellen Blair · viola · guest
- Vicky Matthews · cello · guest
- Gill Morley · violin · guest
- Brian Wright · violin · guest
Singles
- “Mirror Door” · June 2006
- “Wire & Glass” · 17 July 2006
- “Tea & Theatre” · 2006
- “It's Not Enough” · 2006
- “Black Widow's Eyes” · 2006
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 · 2006 | 7 |
| UK Albums Chart · 2006 | 9 |
| Norwegian Albums · 2006 | 23 |
| Austrian Albums · 2006 | 28 |
| German Albums · 2006 | 34 |
| Italian Albums · 2006 | 36 |
| Swiss Albums · 2006 | 51 |
| Ireland 2 · 2006 | 52 |
| Spanish Albums · 2006 | 57 |
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 2006 | 60 |
All 14 charts
| French Albums · 2006 | 62 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 2006 | 63 |
| Dutch Albums · 2006 | 77 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 2006 | 81 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom · 2006 | Gold |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
64.0
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
2.4k
ListenBrainz listeners
45k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
2.0k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 30 October
Every year →
All That You Can’t Leave Behind
U2 · 2000
Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold · 2007
Spreading the Disease
Anthrax · 1985
Raditude
Weezer · 2009
Schizophrenia
Sepultura · 1987
Perfecth
Queens of the Stone Age · 2026
Judas Priest Judas Priest 1996
Judas Priest
Judas Priest · 1996
Necroticism: Descanting the Insalubrious
Carcass · 1991
Def Leppard
Def Leppard · 2015
Everything Under the Sun
Nickelback · 2026
Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy
The Who · 1971
It’s Christmas All Over
Goo Goo Dolls · 2020
More from The Who
Full discography →
My Generation
1965
Ready Steady Who
1966
A Quick One
1966
The Who
1967
The Who Sell Out
1967
Number Two
1968
Magic Bus: The Who on Tour
1968
Direct Hits
1968
Tommy
1969
Live at Leeds
1970
Who’s Next
1971
Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy
1971
Quadrophenia
1973
Odds & Sods
1974
Investigacion de mercado
1975
Tommy
1975
The Who by Numbers
1975
Substitute
1976
The Story of The Who
1976
Who Are You
1978
The Kids Are Alright
1979
Face Dances
1981
Hooligans
1981
It’s Hard
1982
Who’s Greatest Hits
1983
The Singles
1984
Who’s Last
1984
Who’s Missing
1985
Two’s Missing
1987
This Is My Generation
1988
Who’s Better, Who’s Best
1988
Won’t Get Fooled Again
1988
Join Together
1990
Thirty Years of Maximum R&B
1994
My Generation – The Very Best of The Who
1996
Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970
1996
20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: The Best of The Who
1999
BBC Sessions
2000
The Who Live: The Blues to the Bush 1999
2000
Live at the Royal Albert Hall
2001
The Ultimate Collection
2002
Then and Now
2004
Live From Toronto
2006
Amazing Journey: The Story of the Who
2008
Greatest Hits
2009
Greatest Hits Live
2010
Live at Hull 1970
2012
Quadrophenia: Live in London
2014
The Who Hits 50!
2014
Live at Shea Stadium 1982
2015
Ready Steady Who Two
2016
Ready Steady Who Three
2017
Live at the Fillmore East 1968
2018
WHO
2019
The best of 2006
All of 2006 →
Stadium Arcadium
Red Hot Chili Peppers · 2006
The Black Parade
My Chemical Romance · 2006
10,000 Days
Tool · 2006
Saturday Night Wrist
Deftones · 2006
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam · 2006
Love
The Beatles · 2006
A Matter of Life and Death
Iron Maiden · 2006
Revelations
Audioslave · 2006
Blood Mountain
Mastodon · 2006
Christ Illusion
Slayer · 2006
Life on the Murder Scene
My Chemical Romance · 2006
Sacrament
Lamb of God · 2006
More on Universal Republic Records
The label →
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + wikidata; also seen: 2006-10-27 (musicbrainz)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 27 October 2006 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 30 October 2006 | |
| Wikidata | 30 October 2006 | |
| US release | 30 October 2006 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 27 October 2006 | earliest UK or European date |
9 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | XW | Polydor | 00602517095205 | other |
| 2006 | US | Universal Republic Records | other | |
| 27 October 2006 | XE | Polydor | 602517122307 | original |
| 27 October 2006 | XE | Polydor | 602517126558 | original |
| 30 October 2006 | GB | Polydor | 602517095205 | other |
| 30 October 2006 | US | — | other | |
| 30 October 2006 | GB | Polydor | 602517095199 | other |
| 31 October 2006 | US | Universal Republic Records | 602517092600 | other |
| 31 October 2006 | US | Universal Republic Records | 602517091467 | other |
Cover art sources
deezer · upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1200×1200 | upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25) |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| coverartarchive | 599×534 | rejected |