The Who appeared as musical guests on Friday’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, contributing a performance of “Behind Blue Eyes”. The acoustic rendering of the Who’s Next classic was filmed on March 25th at London’s Royal Albert Hall during a benefit concert.
The classic rocker’s performance served as night five of the Teenage Cancer Trust‘s annual concert series. The band, which features original members Roger Daltrey (lead vocals) and Pete Townshend (guitar, vocals), played a 16-song set with support from The Wild Things.
Related: Pete Townshend Recalls His Advice To Eddie Vedder After Roskilde: “Don’t Leave”
Last month’s concert marked The Who’s first public show since February 14th, 2020. The rendition of “Behind Blue Eyes” was instrumentally rich with a pair of acoustic guitars, keyboards, accordion (aka a squeezebox), violin, and backup singers. Percussively, the song featured only cymbals, missing the frenetic drumming of the late Keith Moon.
The Colbert appearance came as the band gears up for The Who Hits Back! tour of North America. Set to begin on April 22nd in Hollywood, FL, the tour will carry the stadium rockers from coast to coast through November, as well as include some international excursions to the group’s native U.K.
Watch The Who perform “Behind Blue Eyes” from Royal Albert Hall for Colbert and visit the group’s website for tickets and a full list of tour dates.
The Who – “Behind Blue Eyes”