List of the Who band members

The Who performing with orchestra at the T-Mobile Park in 2019. (from left to right) Simon Townshend, Billy Nichols, Roger Daltrey, Jon Button, Pete Townshend, Zak Starkey and Loren Gold.

The Who are an English rock band, founded in 1961 under the name the Detours. When they changed their name to the Who in 1964, their classic line-up was of founders Roger Daltrey (vocals), Pete Townshend (guitar) and John Entwistle (bass), with Keith Moon (drums). Founder members Daltrey and Townshend have been the only constant members throughout the band's history.

History

The band were first founded by Roger Daltrey under the name the Detours in 1959: the first line-up, in mid-1961, included Pete Townshend on lead guitar, Daltrey on rhythm guitar, John Entwistle on bass, Harry Wilson on drums, and Colin Dawson on vocals. Wilson was fired in mid-1962 and replaced by Doug Sandom.

Dawson left after frequently arguing with Daltrey and was briefly replaced by Gabby Connolly, before Daltrey moved to lead vocals. Townshend, with Entwistle's encouragement, became the sole guitarist. Sandom was fired after an argument with Townshend in 1964; the band continued with stand-in drummers until Keith Moon joined in April of that year.

Moon was the Who's drummer until his death on 7 September 1978; the band decided to continue without him. He was replaced that November by Kenney Jones, who had previously played with the Small Faces and Faces. Joining alongside Jones were keyboardist John "Rabbit" Bundrick and a four-piece horn section consisting of Dick Parry and Howie Casey (saxophone), David Caswell (trumpet), and Reg Brooks (trombone). The horn section departed in 1980, and Bundrick left in 1981. The latter was replaced by Tim Gorman for the band's final tour in 1982. The Who broke up in 1983.

The who reunited at Live Aid in 1985, with Jones and Bundrick reprising their roles. The band reunited again in 1988, which the same personnel. In 1989, the band embarked on a 25th-anniversary The Kids Are Alright reunion tour with Simon Phillips on drums, Steve "Boltz" Bolton on second guitarist, Jody Linscott on percussion, Simon Clarke and Tim Sanders on saxophone, Roddy Lorimer and Simon Gardner on trumpet, Neil Sidwell on trombone, and Chyna Gordon, Cleveland Watkiss and Billy Nicholls on backing vocals.

The band reformed again, at their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction with Paul Shaffer and The World's Most Dangerous Band as backup band.

The band tour again in 1996, with an expanded band, consisting of, John "Rabbit" Bundrick on keyboards, Zak Starkey on drums, Simon Townshend on second guitar, Jon Carin on keyboards Jody Linscott on percussion, Dennis Farias, Nick Lane and Roy Wiegand on horns, Simon Gardner on trumpet, Neil Sidwell on trombone, and Billy Nicholls on backing vocals, and as musical director.

In late 1999, The Who performed as a five-piece for the first time since 1985, with Bundrick on keyboards and Starkey on drums. The band toured the US and UK from June to October 2000, with Simon Townshend returning as second guitarist. The Who played concerts in the UK in early 2002 in preparation for a full US tour. On 27 June, the day before the first date, Entwistle, 57, was found dead of a heart attack at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. Cocaine was a contributing factor.

Entwistle's son, Christopher, gave a statement supporting The Who's decision to carry on. The US tour began at the Hollywood Bowl with touring bassist Pino Palladino. Bundrick took hiatus from the band to tend terminally ill wife between November 2006 and March 2007 and was substituted for by his keyboard tech Brian Kehew.

The band played at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, with Chris Stainton on keyboards and Morgan Nicholls on bass. The Quadrophenia and More tour started in November 2012 in Ottawa with keyboardists John Corey, Loren Gold and Frank Simes, the last of whom was also musical director, second guitarist Simon Townshend, and J. Greg Miller and Reggie Grisham on brass. Miller and Grisham both departed in 2013. Corey and Simes both departed in 2017.

The band started touring with an orchestra in 2019, Billy Nichols returned as musical director and backing vocalist, Keith Levenson joined as conductor, Katie Jacoby on lead violin, Audrey Q. Snyder on lead cello, Emily Marshall on second keyboards. Randy Landau joined as lead contrabassist in 2022.

Members

Current members

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	Roger Daltrey	1961–1982 1989 1996-present	lead vocals harmonica rhythm guitar percussion	All releases
	Pete Townshend		lead and rhythm guitar lead and backing vocals keyboards synthesizers

Former members

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	John Entwistle	1961–1982 1989 1996–2002 (died 2002)	bass backing and lead vocals brass piano synthesizers	All releases from My Generation (1965) to Live at the Royal Albert Hall (2003)
	Colin Dawson	1961–1963	lead vocals	none
	Harry Wilson	1961–1962	drums
	Doug Sandom	1962–1964 (died 2019)
	Gabby Connolly	1963	lead vocals
	Keith Moon	1964–1978 (died 1978)	drums percussion occasional vocals	All releases from My Generation (1965) to Quadrophenia soundtrack (1979)
	Kenney Jones	1978–1982 1985 1988 (one off 2014)	drums	All releases from Quadrophenia soundtrack (1979) to Who's Last (1984)

Touring members

Current touring members

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	Zak Starkey	1996–present	drums percussion	All current releases from Live At The Royal Albert Hall (2001) to present
	Simon Townshend	1996–1997 2002–present	guitar vocals
	Loren Gold	2012–present	keyboards backing vocals	All current releases from 12-12-12 The Concert for Sandy Relief (2013) to present except Who (2019)
	Jon Button	2017–present	bass guitar backing vocals	Tommy - Live At The Royal Albert Hall (2017)
	Billy Nicholls	1989 1996–1997 2019–present	backing vocals	Who Are You (1978) Join Together (1990) Tommy And Quadrophenia Live With Special Guests (2005) Music For The Closing Ceremony Of 2012 The Olympic Games (2012)
	Keith Levenson	2019–present	music coordinator conductor	none
	Katie Jacoby		violin
	Audrey Q. Snyder		cello
	Emily Marshall		keyboards associate conductor
	Randy Landau	2022–present	contrabass

Former touring members

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	John "Rabbit" Bundrick	1979–1981 1985 1988 1989 1996–2011	keyboards backing vocals	Join Together (1990) Thirty Years of Maximum R&B (1994) Live At The Royal Albert Hall (2001/2003) Live In Boston (2004) Tommy and Quadrophenia Live with Special Guests (2005) Live At The Isle Of Wight Festival 2004 (2017)
	Howie Casey	1979–1980	saxophone	none
	Dick Parry
	David Caswell		trumpet
	Reg Brooks		trombone
	Tim Gorman	1982	keyboards backing vocals	It's Hard (1982) Who's Last (1984) Thirty Years of Maximum R&B (1994) Live from Toronto (2006)
	Chyna Gordon	1989	backing vocals	Join Together (1990)
	Cleveland Watkiss
	Simon Clarke		saxophone
	Tim Sanders
	Roddy Lorimer		trumpet
	Simon Philips		drums	Thirty Years of Maximum R&B (1994) Join Together (1990)
	Steve Bolton		rhythm and lead guitar
	Jody Linscott	1989 1996–1997	percussion
	Simon Gardner		trumpet	Join Together (1990)
	Neil Sidwell		trombone
	Jon Carin	1996–1997 2001 (substitute)	keyboards	The Concert for New York City (2001) Tommy and Quadrophenia Live (2005)
	Dennis Farias	1996–1997	trumpet	none
	Roy Wiegand
	Nick Lane		trombone
	Pino Palladino	2002–2016	bass	all releases from Live In Boston (2004) to Live At The Isle Of Wight Festival 2004 (2017) Who (2019)
	Frank Simes	2012–2017	keyboards backing vocals musical director	12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief (2013) Quadrophenia Live In London (2014) Live In Hyde Park (2015) Tommy - Live At The Royal Albert Hall (2017)
	John Corey		keyboards backing vocals
	J. Greg Miller	2012–2013	brass	12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief (2013) Quadrophenia Live In London (2014)
	Reggie Grisham

Substitutes

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Notes
	Scot Halpin	1973 (died 2008)	drums	Moon lost consciousness during a show in San Francisco on 20 November 1973, and was substituted for by audience member Halpin.
	Peter Huntington	2004–2006		Due to Starkey's touring commitments with Oasis, Huntington was the main drummer on Endless Wire.
	Steve White	2005		Starkey and Palladino were not able to join the band at Live8 in 2005, and were substituted for by White and Minchella.
	Damon Minchella		bass
	Brian Kehew	2006–2007	keyboards	Bundrick was tending to his terminally ill wife between November 2006 and March 2007 and was substituted for by his keyboard tech Kehew.
	J.J. Blair	2006		Kehew was unable to join the band on 8 November 2006, and was substituted for by Blair.
	Chris Stainton	2012		Nicholls and Stainton performed with the band at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony.
	Morgan Nicholls		bass
	Scott Devours	2013	drums	Starkey was unable to join the band from 5–14 February and from 8 June – 8 July 2013, and was substituted for by Scott Devours.

Session musicians

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	Jimmy Page	1965	lead guitar twelve string guitar	My Generation (1965) "I Can't Explain" (1965)
	The Ivy League		backing vocals
	Perry Ford	1965 (died 1999)	piano	My Generation (1965)
	Nicky Hopkins	1965 1971 1974 (died 1994)		My Generation (1965) Who's Next (1971) Tommy (soundtrack) (1975) The Who by Numbers (1975)
	Speedy Keen	1967 (died 2002)	vocals	The Who Sell Out (1967)
	Al Kooper	1967 1971	organ	The Who Sell Out (1967) Who's Next (1971)
	Dave Arbus	1971	violin	Who's Next (1971)
	Leslie West	1971 (died 2020)	lead guitar
	Jon Curle	1972–1973	voice	Quadrophenia (1973)
	Chris Stainton	1972–1974	piano organ acoustic guitar	Quadrophenia (1973) Tommy (soundtrack) (1975)
	Arthur Brown	1974	vocals	Tommy (soundtrack) (1975)
	Tina Turner	1974 (died 2023)
	Eric Clapton	1974	vocals guitar
	Elton John		vocals piano
	Mick Ralphs		guitar
	Caleb Quaye
	Ronnie Wood
	Davey Johnstone
	Alan Ross		acoustic guitar
	Gerald Shaw		organ
	Phil Chen	1974 (died 2021)	bass
	Dave Wintour	1974
	Tony Stevens
	Dee Murray	1974 (died 1992)
	Fuzzy Samuels	1974
	Mike Kellie		drums
	Tony Newman
	Graham Deakin
	Nigel Olsson
	Ray Cooper		percussion
	Rod Argent	1977–1978	synthesizer piano keyboards	Who Are You (1978)
	Ted Astley		string arrangements
	Andy Fairweather-Low	1977–1978 1982	backing vocals rhythm guitar	Who Are You (1978) It's Hard (1982)
	Greg Lake	2003–2004 (died 2016)	bass guitar	"Real Good Looking Boy" (2004)
	Jolyon Dixon	2004–2006	acoustic guitar	Endless Wire (2006)
	Lawrence Ball		electronics
	Stuart Ross		bass
	Peter Huntington		drums
	Gill Morley		violin
	Brian Right
	Ellen Blair		viola
	Vicky Matthews		cello
	Rachel Fuller	2004–2006 2019	keyboards orchestrations	Endless Wire (2006) Who (2019)
	Mick Talbot	2014	keyboards	"Be Lucky" (2014)
	Andrew Synowiec	2019	acoustic guitar	Who (2019)
	Gordon Giltrap
	Benmont Tench		organ mellotron
	Dave Sardy		mellotron synthesizer programming
	Martin Batchelar		programming orchestration arrangements conducting
	Peter Rotter		orchestra fixer
	Bruce Dukov		orchestra leader
	Gus Seyffert		bass
	Joey Waronker		drums
	Carla Azar
	Matt Chamberlain
	Josh Tyrrell		handclaps
	Rowan McIntosh

Timeline

Official members

Touring members timeline

Line-ups

Period	Members	Studio and live releases
The Detours (1962 – January 1963)	Colin Dawson – lead vocals Pete Townshend – lead guitar Roger Daltrey – rhythm guitar, backing vocals John Entwistle – bass, backing vocals Doug Sandom – drums
The Detours (January–December 1963)	Gabby Connolly – lead vocals Pete Townshend – lead guitar Roger Daltrey – rhythm guitar, backing vocals John Entwistle – bass, backing vocals Doug Sandom – drums
The Detours / The Who (December 1963 – April 1964)	Roger Daltrey – lead vocals, harmonica Pete Townshend – lead and rhythm guitars, backing vocals John Entwistle – bass, backing vocals Doug Sandom – drums
The Who (April 1964 – September 1978)	Roger Daltrey – lead vocals, harmonica Pete Townshend – lead and rhythm guitars, keyboards, backing and lead vocals John Entwistle – bass, backing and lead vocals Keith Moon – drums, occasional vocals	My Generation (1965) A Quick One (1966) The Who Sell Out (1967) Tommy (1969) Live at Leeds (1970) Who's Next (1971) Quadrophenia (1973) Tommy (soundtrack) (1975) The Who by Numbers (1975) Who Are You (1978) Quadrophenia (soundtrack) (1979) Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970 (1996) BBC Sessions (2000) View from a Backstage Pass (2007) Greatest Hits Live (2010) (disc one only) Live at Hull 1970 (2012) Live at the Fillmore East 1968 (2018)
Death of Keith Moon (7 September 1978)
The Who Who Are You Tour (1979–1980)	Roger Daltrey – lead vocals, harmonica Pete Townshend – lead and rhythm guitars, backing and lead vocals John Entwistle – bass, backing and lead vocals Kenney Jones – drums with John "Rabbit" Bundrick – keyboards Reg Brooks – trombone David Caswell – trumpet Howie Casey – saxophone Dick Parry – saxophone	Quadrophenia (soundtrack) (1979) (two tracks only)
The Who Face Dances Tour (1981)	Roger Daltrey – lead vocals, harmonica Pete Townshend – lead and rhythm guitars, backing and lead vocals John Entwistle – bass, backing and lead vocals Kenney Jones – drums with John "Rabbit" Bundrick – keyboards	Face Dances (1981)
The Who It's Hard Tour (1982)	Roger Daltrey – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica Pete Townshend – lead guitar, backing and lead vocals John Entwistle – bass, backing and lead vocals Kenney Jones – drums with Tim Gorman – keyboards	It's Hard (1982) Who's Last (1984) Live from Toronto (2006)
Hiatus (1983–1988)
One-off performances at Live Aid (1985) and the BPI Awards Ceremony (1988)	Roger Daltrey – lead vocals, harmonica Pete Townshend – lead and rhythm guitars, backing vocals John Entwistle – bass Kenney Jones – drums with John "Rabbit" Bundrick – keyboards
The Who 25th Anniversary Tour (1989)	Roger Daltrey – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica Pete Townshend – lead, acoustic, and rhythm guitars, backing and lead vocals John Entwistle – bass, occasional vocals with John "Rabbit" Bundrick – keyboards Simon Phillips – drums Steve "Boltz" Bolton – rhythm and lead guitars Jody Linscott – percussion Simon Clarke – saxophone Roddy Lorimer – trumpet Simon Gardner – trumpet Neil Sidwell – trombone Tim Sanders – saxophone Chyna Gordon – backing vocals Cleveland Watkiss – backing vocals Billy Nicholls – backing vocals, musical director	Join Together (1990) Greatest Hits Live (2010) (five tracks only)
One-off performance at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony (1990)	Roger Daltrey – lead vocals Pete Townshend – lead and rhythm guitars, backing vocals John Entwistle – bass with Paul Shaffer – keyboards, musical director The World's Most Dangerous Band – house band
Hiatus (1990–1995)
The Who Quadrophenia Tour (1996–1997)	Roger Daltrey – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica Pete Townshend – lead and rhythm guitars, backing and lead vocals John Entwistle – bass with John "Rabbit" Bundrick – keyboards Zak Starkey – drums Simon Townshend – rhythm and lead guitars, backing vocals Jon Carin – keyboards Jody Linscott – percussion Dennis Farias – horn section Nick Lane – horn section Roy Wiegand – horn section Simon Gardner – trumpet Neil Sidwell – trombone Billy Nicholls – backing vocals, musical director
The Who (1999 – February 2002)	Roger Daltrey – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica Pete Townshend – lead guitar, backing and lead vocals John Entwistle – bass, occasional vocals with John "Rabbit" Bundrick – keyboards Zak Starkey – drums	Blues to the Bush (2000) Live at the Royal Albert Hall (2003) Greatest Hits Live (2010) (two tracks only)
The Who (February–June 2002)	Roger Daltrey – lead vocals, harmonica Pete Townshend – lead guitar, backing vocals John Entwistle – bass with John "Rabbit" Bundrick – keyboards Zak Starkey – drums Simon Townshend – rhythm guitar, backing vocals	none – This line-up rehearsed for the 2002 tour, but did not actually perform in concert, as John Entwistle died shortly before the first show of the tour.
Death of John Entwistle (27 June 2002)
The Who (July 2002 – 2011)	Roger Daltrey – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica Pete Townshend – lead guitar, backing and lead vocals with John "Rabbit" Bundrick – keyboards Zak Starkey – drums Simon Townshend – rhythm guitar, backing vocals Pino Palladino – bass	Endless Wire (2006) Greatest Hits Live (2010) (two tracks only) Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 2004 (2017)
One-off performance at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony (2012)	Roger Daltrey – lead vocals Pete Townshend – lead guitar, backing vocals with Zak Starkey – drums Simon Townshend – rhythm guitar, backing vocals, keyboards Billy Nicholls – backing vocals, musical director Morgan Nicholls – bass Chris Stainton – piano, keyboards
The Who Quadrophenia and More Tour (2012–2013)	Roger Daltrey – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica Pete Townshend – lead guitar, backing and lead vocals with Zak Starkey – drums Simon Townshend – rhythm guitar, backing vocals Pino Palladino – bass Frank Simes – keyboards, backing vocals, musical director Loren Gold – keyboards, backing vocals John Corey – piano, keyboards, backing vocals J. Greg Miller – brass Reggie Grisham – brass	Quadrophenia Live in London (2014)
The Who (2014–2016)	Roger Daltrey – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica Pete Townshend – lead guitar, backing and lead vocals with Zak Starkey – drums Simon Townshend – rhythm guitar, backing vocals Pino Palladino – bass Frank Simes – keyboards, backing vocals, musical director Loren Gold – keyboards, backing vocals John Corey – piano, keyboards, backing vocals	Live in Hyde Park (2015)
The Who (2017)	Roger Daltrey – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica Pete Townshend – lead guitar, backing and lead vocals with Zak Starkey – drums Simon Townshend – rhythm guitar, backing vocals Frank Simes - keyboards, backing vocals, musical director Loren Gold – keyboards, backing vocals John Corey – keyboards, backing vocals Jon Button – bass, backing vocals	Tommy Live at the Royal Albert Hall (2017)
The Who (2019–present)	Roger Daltrey – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica Pete Townshend – lead guitar, backing and lead vocals with Zak Starkey – drums Simon Townshend – rhythm guitar, backing vocals Loren Gold – keyboards, backing vocals Jon Button – bass, backing vocals Billy Nicholls - backing vocals, musical director Katie Jacoby – lead violin Audrey Q. Snyder – lead cello Emily Marshall – keyboards, associate conductor Keith Levenson – conductor	Who (2019) (with Palladino)

References

Bibliography

• Marsh, Dave (1983). Before I Get Old: The Story of The Who. Plexus Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-0-85965-083-0.
• Neill, Andrew; Kent, Matthew (2009). Anyway Anyhow Anywhere: The Complete Chronicle of The Who 1958–1978. Sterling Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7535-1217-3.
• Townshend, Pete (2012). Who I Am: A Memoir. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-212726-6.

External links

• List of every concert performed by The Who, including the personnel for each concert