Album
WHO
WHO is the twelfth studio album by the English rock band the Who, released on 6 December 2019 through Polydor. It arrived thirteen years after Endless Wire, the band's previous studio record, and it is only the second album made by the duo of singer Roger Daltrey and instrumentalist Pete Townshend. Three singles promoted it, with "Ball and Chain" leading the way.
The songs range across ballads, straightforward rock, electronic experimentation and what Townshend calls "classic Who-ish" numbers, so it sounds like a band taking stock rather than repeating itself. It reached number three on the UK Albums Chart and number two on the American Billboard 200, and critics received it warmly. The Moving On! Tour followed in support, making it a worthwhile stop for anyone who has followed the band beyond the 1970s.
WHO: tracklist, credits and charts
14 tracks · 57:07Tracklist
- 1All This Music Must FadePete Townshend3:21
- 2Ball and ChainPete Townshend4:30
- 3I Don’t Wanna Get WisePete Townshend3:55
- 4DetourPete Townshend3:46
- 5Beads on One StringJosh Hunsacker and Pete Townshend3:40
- 6Hero Ground ZeroPete Townshend4:53
- 7Street SongPete Townshend4:48
- 8I’ll Be BackPete Townshend5:02
- 9Break the NewsSimon Townshend and Pete Townshend4:30
- 10Rockin’ in RagePete Townshend4:05
- 11She Rocked My WorldPete Townshend3:23
- 12This Gun Will MisfirePete Townshend3:35
- 13Got Nothing to ProvePete Townshend3:38
- 14Danny and My PoniesPete Townshend4:02
- Produced by
- Myles Clarke, Dave Eringa, David Sardy, Pete Townshend, Pete Townshend and Dave Sardy, with (for Roger Daltrey's vocals only) Bob Pridden and Dave Eringa
- Recorded at
- British Grove and Metropolis Studios, London, England
- Recorded
- 3 February–August 2019
- Mixed by
- David Sardy, Pete Townshend
- Engineered by
- Myles Clarke, Cameron Barton, Rowan McIntosh, James Monti, David Sardy, Daryl Johnson, Pete Townshend
- Mastered by
- Stephen Marcussen, Stewart Whitmore
- Labels
- Polydor, Interscope
- Length
- 57:07
Line-up
- Pino Palladino · bass
- David Sardy · tambourine, percussion, shakers, mellotron, synthesizer · guest
- Zak Starkey · drums (drum set)
- Benmont Tench · mellotron, organ, Hammond organ · guest
- Pete Townshend · guitar, tambourine, lead vocals
- Roger Daltrey · lead vocals, vocals
- Simon Townshend · background vocals · guest
- Carla Azar · drums (drum set) · guest
- Gus Seyffert · bass guitar, bass · guest
- Rowan McIntosh · handclaps · guest
- Josh Tyrrell · handclaps · guest
- Joey Waronker · drums (drum set)
- Matt Chamberlain · drums (drum set) · guest
- Andrew Synowiec · acoustic guitar · guest
- Fergus Gerrand · percussion · guest
- Gordon Giltrap · acoustic guitar · guest
Singles
- “Ball and Chain” · 13 September 2019
- “All This Music Must Fade” · 3 October 2019
- “I Don't Wanna Get Wise” · 22 November 2019
- “Beads on One String (remix)” · 6 October 2020
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 · 2019 | 2 |
| UK Albums Chart · 2019 | 3 |
| US Top Rock Albums · 2019 | 1 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard) · 2019 | 2 |
| Scottish Albums · 2019 | 2 |
| German Albums · 2019 | 5 |
| Swiss Albums · 2019 | 5 |
| Austrian Albums · 2019 | 14 |
| Finnish Albums · 2019 | 19 |
| Spanish Albums · 2019 | 23 |
All 21 charts
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 2019 | 27 |
| Swedish Albums · 2019 | 27 |
| Ireland 2 · 2019 | 28 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 2019 | 31 |
| Italian Albums · 2019 | 35 |
| Dutch Albums · 2019 | 38 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 2019 | 41 |
| French Albums · 2019 | 43 |
| Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan) · 2019 | 51 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 2019 | 64 |
| Czech Albums · 2019 | 81 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom · 2021 | Gold |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
67.0
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
1.0k
ListenBrainz listeners
58k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
11k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 6 December
Every year →
Beggars Banquet
The Rolling Stones · 1968
Next Year
Foo Fighters · 2000
See You on the Other Side
Korn · 2005
The Path of Totality
Korn · 2011
Sixteen Stone
Bush · 1994
Train
Train · 1996
The Beatles’ Million Sellers
The Beatles · 1965
Welcome to Shepherd’s Bush
The Rolling Stones · 2024
Undercover
Ministry · 2010
Frozen Alive
Obituary · 2006
KC50, Vol. 48 – I Talk to the Wind
King Crimson · 2019
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
Endless Wire
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
The best of 2019
All of 2019 →
We Are Not Your Kind
Slipknot · 2019
Fear Inoculum
Tool · 2019
![[Rammstein] by Rammstein, album cover](/img/e4d39d2e-9420-4007-881a-9b5bc23944e0/300)
[Rammstein]
Rammstein · 2019
Abbey Road
The Beatles · 2019
Weezer
Weezer · 2019
NINE
blink‐182 · 2019
Hyperspace
Beck · 2019
Spider‐Man
Ramones · 2019
Bridges to Bremen
The Rolling Stones · 2019
Order in Decline
Sum 41 · 2019
Distance Over Time
Dream Theater · 2019
The Later Years: 1987–2019
Pink Floyd · 2019
More on Polydor
The label →
My Bonnie
The Beatles · 1963
Wish
The Cure · 1992
Hackney Diamonds
The Rolling Stones · 2023
Tommy
The Who · 1969
Songs of a Lost World
The Cure · 2024
Blue & Lonesome
The Rolling Stones · 2016
Perfect Strangers
Deep Purple · 1984
Rising
Rainbow · 1976
The Who
The Who · 1967
This Is My Generation
The Who · 1988
Substitute
The Who · 1976
It’s Hard
The Who · 1982
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + wikidata; also seen: 2019-11-22 (musicbrainz)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 22 November 2019 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 6 December 2019 | |
| Wikidata | 6 December 2019 | |
| US release | 6 December 2019 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 6 December 2019 | earliest UK or European date |
12 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 November 2019 | XW | Polydor | 0602508394539 | original |
| 6 December 2019 | AI | Polydor | 00602508243790 | other |
| 6 December 2019 | US | Interscope Records | 602508373701 | other |
| 6 December 2019 | XE | Polydor | 602577430367 | other |
| 6 December 2019 | XW | Polydor | 00602508264757 | deluxe |
| 6 December 2019 | JP | Polydor | 4988031355848 | other |
| 6 December 2019 | DZ | Polydor | 00602508264764 | deluxe |
| 6 December 2019 | XE | Polydor | 602508264658 | deluxe |
| 6 December 2019 | US | Interscope Records | 602577430367 | other |
| 30 October 2020 | US | Interscope Records | 602435129433 | deluxe |
| 30 October 2020 | DZ | Polydor | 00602435129266 | deluxe |
| 30 October 2020 | XW | Polydor | 00602435129211 | deluxe |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · upscaled: minor: best source 1400x1400, upscaled to 1500 (x1.07)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 1400×1400 | upscaled: minor: best source 1400x1400, upscaled to 1500 (x1.07) |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |