Show Notes
Tony Fletcher talks about his work with the Rock Academy and the challenge of directing a show dedicated to The Who, recording with his band The Dear Boys, what compelled him to write a Keith Moon biography, trying to separate the myths from the truth, the effect the book had on his well-being, the most surprising thing he learnt while writing the book, his experiences of interviewing Oliver Reed and John Entwistle, and where he ranks Dear Boy/Moon amongst his other work.
Plus: on the 60th anniversary of The Who’s first single ‘I Can’t Explain’ being released in the UK, Paul looks at how the band’s debut immediately established their identity and managed to stay relevant throughout the next six decades.
Episode transcript
Music by The Garage
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RELATED LINKS:
Tony Fletcher’s Substack page
The Dear Boys on Bandcamp
Tony’s website, books, podcasts and more
The Who – ‘I Can’t Explain’ (original version)
The Who – ‘I Can’t Explain’ (London Coliseum, 1969)
The Who – ‘I Can’t Explain’ (Royal Albert Hall, 2000)
Tony’s Substack post about the Rock Academy show, including their version of ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’
The Rock Academy website
The Beatles – ‘Doctor Robert’
Keith Moon with champagne bottle in wall image
Chris Charlesworth’s memoir Just Backdated
Tony’s festive recommendations post on Substack
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from Talking About The Who
Paul Bearman is joined by author and musician Dante DiCarlo to look at the news stories relating to The Who for September 2026 and travel down various tangents along the way:
Paul Bearman is joined by YouTuber Ethan Fisher and musician Matt Weston to report on two concerts from Roger Daltrey’s solo North American tour of 2026.
In 1983, Paul Bearman was three years old, hyperactive, and rarely slept. One evening, he defied his parents' expectations by sitting completely transfixed as BBC Two aired a documentary about Jimi Hendrix as part of its Rock Around the Clock programming… and his life was changed forever. Soon afterwards, he developed a love for The Who, watching The Kids Are Alright and The Who Rocks America on repeat, receiving albums and books for birthdays and at Christmas, and playing toy guitars while pretending to be Pete Townshend.
Rain. Crowd violence. Counterfeit tickets. Overcrowding. People climbing up floodlights. Lasers. Keith Moon’s last gig to a paying audience in England. The final entry in The Guinness Book of Records for loudest concert ever recorded.
The final episode of Season Three will now be released on Wednesday 22nd July. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.