Who Footage Unearthed for New Documentary
Two years ago, filmmaker Murray Lerner sat down with Roger Daltrey to discuss plans to make the definitive movie on the Who. “Roger said, ‘The problem is that so much of our footage has been widely seen,'” Lerner says. So for Amazing Journey: The Story of the Who, Lerner scoured archives around the world, solicited fan footage via the Internet and tapped into the underground-bootlegger network. The search turned up remarkable treasure, from the earliest known live footage of the band (from 1964, shortly after Keith Moon joined) to a performance of the rarely played “I Can See for Miles” and a mid-1970s TV interview with Moon taped as he played pinball at home. Most exciting is newly unearthed film from their legendary 1970 Valentine’s Day gig at Leeds University, recorded as Live at Leeds. “It’s from a guy who claimed he found it at the bottom of a barrel,” Lerner says. “He was a Leeds student at the time.” The documentary – which features new interviews with Daltrey, Pete Townshend and famous fans including Eddie Vedder and the Edge – hits theaters in the fall.
This story is from the June 14th, 2007 issue of Rolling Stone.