Pete Townshend attended the private opening of a special exhibition of Tom Wright’s photography at the Iconic Images Gallery in Piccadilly last Thursday, 26th June.
The show was in celebration of a new book called Their Generation: The Who in America 1967-69, which was written by Andy Neill and recently published by Omnibus Press.
The exhibition highlights fifteen beautiful prints from the book, including three exclusive editions that are co-signed by Pete Townshend and Tom Wright, who sadly passed away in 2022.
Pete gave a nice speech to the small crowd of invited attendees, and spoke about his longtime friend that he shared rooms with during his time at Ealing Art College in the early 60’s, along with Richard Barnes, who was also at the show and joined in during the discussion. Pete talked about how important Tom’s musical influence was to him in the early days of The Who, introducing him to American R&B and blues music through his vast record collection.
Also on display at the gallery was a stack of the new hard back books for sale.
This lovely book features a stunning collection of photos from Tom Wright’s archives that were taken when he worked as The Who’s official tour manager and photographer during the bands first visits to North America, which gave him incredible access to the band during this critically important time in their career. It includes great shots of The Who performing on stage, recording in the studio, and behind the scenes on tour at hotels, on the bus, and in dressing rooms. Many of the photos have only recently been discovered, so this is the first time they have been published anywhere.
Pete Townshend wrote the Foreword for the book, and there are also extensive quotes from him that accompany the photos. Andy Neill sat down with Pete last year to look through the photos, and his running commentary is included throughout the book, along with Andy's factual description of the events.
Their Generation: The Who in America 1967-69 is available now at the usual book sellers. This book is a must have for any Who fan, so be sure to check it out!
Tom Wright's photos of The Who will be on display at the Iconic Images Gallery in Piccadilly until the 26th of July.
Many thanks to Iconic Images for letting us share their photos from the event!
Photo credit: Iconic Images
Photo credit: Iconic Images
Photo credit: Iconic Images
Photo credit: Iconic Images
Photo credit: Iconic Images
Photo credit: Iconic Images
Photo credit: Iconic Images
Photo credit: Iconic Images
