The Who in Pontypridd

This is a cool picture of The Who taken at the Municipal Hall, Pontypridd, in January 1966. They posed for the shot before performing a 45 minute set for which they were paid a fee of £400. It was a memorable gig with 1000 mods turning up from all over south Wales. The only problem being that the venue’s capacity was just 800. Nevertheless, on police advice, everybody was allowed in to the hall as it was feared that a couple of hundred frustrated mods might cause disturbances outside. As it turned out there was no trouble at all. Much to the audience’s disappointment the band didn’t even smash up their instruments on stage. The Who’s success was, of course, built on their energetic live performances and it is remarkable just how relentlessly they gigged. Even when they were having hit singles between 1965-66 they turned up to play at such obscure Welsh locales as: Pill Social Centre, Milford Haven; Ritz Ballroom, Skewen; the Regal Ballroom, Ammanford; Coed Eva Community College, Cwmbran; and - my favourite - the British Nylon Spinners Club, Pontypool.