• Writer: Pete Townshend
• Producers: The Who
• Recorded: June 1973 at The Kitchen, Battersea, England
• Released: September 1973
• Players:
  Roger Daltrey — vocals
  Pete Townshend — guitar, vocals
  John Entwistle — bass, horns, vocals
  Keith Moon — drums
  Chris Stainton – piano
• Album: Quadrophenia (Track/MCA, 1973)
• Also On:
  Quadrophenia (soundtrack) (Polydor, 1979)
  Hooligans (MCA, 1981)
  Who’s Greatest Hits (MCA, 1983)
  Join Together (MCA, 1990)
  Thirty Years Of Maximum R&B (MCA, 1994)
  My Generation: The Very Best Of The Who (MCA, 1996)
• “5:15” was the first single in the U.K. from Quadrophenia, the Who‘s second full-length rock opera. Released to precede the album in September 1973, it reached Number 20 on the British pop chart. The single’s B-side was a non-album track called “Water,” which the band had been including in their live act as far back as 1970.
• It wasn’t released as a single in the U.S. until September 1979, to help promote the Quadrophenia movie soundtrack. It reached Number 45 on the Billboard Hot 100.
• The film version of Quadrophenia was not a hit on its initial release, but later became a popular midnight movie. It featured budding rock star Sting in a cameo role as Ace Face, the Mod hero who has a day job as a bellboy.
• For the purposes of Quadrophenia‘s convoluted coming of age story, “5:15,” according to Who chronicler Chris Charlesworth, “relates (main character) Jimmy’s extra-sensual experiences on the train from London to Brighton sandwiched between two city gents.”
• “5:15” is marked by some of Pete Townshend‘s wildest guitar soloing and one of Roger Daltrey‘s most impassioned vocals, while Keith Moon approximates the sound of wheels decelerating on his drums. In later years, during the Who’s concerts, the late John Entwistle played an extended bass solo during this song.
• The Quadrophenia album peaked at Number Two on both the Billboard 200 and the U.K. album chart. It was also the group’s fifth consecutive million-seller.

FAST FORWARD:

• The Who decided to continue on after drummer Keith Moon‘s death in 1978. They brought in Kenney Jones from the Faces to take Moon’s place. He eventually left and was replaced by other drummers.
• The Who technically broke up with a farewell tour in 1982, but they’ve continued to perform over the years, including a 1989 reunion tour, and a road version of Quadrophenia in 1996 and 1997.
• Townshend oversaw productions of The Who’s Tommy on Broadway in New York City and in London, both of which were hugely successful.
• The Who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.