The Who’s Roger Daltrey to release live Tommy orchestral album

(Image credit: Bill Kelly)

Roger Daltrey has revealed he’ll release a live orchestral version of The Who’s classic 1969 album Tommy this summer.

The package combines shows from Bethel Woods – the site of the original Woodstock – with Daltrey and his band joined by the Hudson Valley Philharmonic Orchestra, while the rest of the album features performances from Budapest with The Budapest Scoring Orchestra.

Tommy Orchestral will be released on July 14 on CD, 2LP and on digital and streaming platforms via Polydor and has been planned in celebration of the original record’s 50th anniversary.

Daltrey says: “Pete Townshend’s music is particularly suited to being embellished by the sounds that an orchestra can add to the band. 

Tommy can mean whatever you want it to mean. I use the characters in it as metaphors for parts of the human condition, so it’s a kind of a story of the human spirit.

“Even though it is 50 years on, I approach it as though I'm singing it for the first time.”

To mark the album announcement, a stream of Pinball Wizard from the performance has been released and can be listened to below.

The Who, meanwhile, are currently on tour across North America on the first leg of their Moving On! tour.

The band will then return to England on July 6 for a special show at London’s Wembley Stadium where they’ll be joined by an orchestra.

Roger Daltrey: Tommy Orchestral
1. Overture
2. It's A Boy
3. 1921
4. Amazing Journey
5. Sparks
6. Eyesight To The Blind
7. Christmas
8. Cousin Kevin
9. The Acid Queen
10. Do You Think It's Alright
11. Fiddle About
12. Pinball Wizard
13. There's A Doctor
14. Go To The Mirror
15. Tommy, Can You Hear
16. Smash The Mirror
17. Refrain - It's A Boy
18. I’m Free
19. Miracle Cure
20. Sensation
21. Sally Simpson
22. Welcome
23. Tommy's Holiday Camp
24. We're Not Gonna Take It

Roger Daltrey: Tommy Orchestral

<a href="https://target.georiot.com/Proxy.ashx?tsid=38569&GR_URL=https%3A%2F%2Famazon.co.uk%2FTBC-VINYL%2Fdp%2FB07R558CGY%3Ftag%3Dhawk-future-21%26ascsubtag%3Dhawk-custom-tracking-21" data-link-merchant="Amazon UK"" target="_blank">Roger Daltrey: Tommy Orchestral
Roger Daltrey and his band played a landmark live set in upstate New York last summer, showcasing The Who's classic album Tommy with a live orchestra. This is not to be missed.

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.