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The Who‘s 2007 documentary, Amazing Journey: The Story Of The Who, is now available for streaming via Amazon Prime’s streaming video channel, Coda Collection. The film features archival interviews with late-Who co-founders Keith Moon and John Entwistle, along with recent, exclusive interviews with Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, and former-Who drummer Kenney Jones.
In a statement announcing the doc’s streaming premiere, Roger Daltrey said:
It’s not easy to capture in film the power and energy of any rock band, especially the four characters that made up the Who, the brilliance of Pete Townshend’s music, and the magic that happened between Pete, John, Keith and myself. But Who fans tell me Amazing Journey does just that.
From the moment that Keith joined us in the Railway Hotel back in 1964, it was like a bottle of champagne being uncorked. We just clicked. And here we are, all these years later — we’ve lost our dear bandmates Keith and John, and Pete and I continue to play together and carry this story forward. Thanks to Coda for putting this show up, and enjoy this film about our journey. I’m still living it!
Upon the film’s release back in 2007, Roger Daltrey told us he threw his entire support behind it: “Y’know, these guys have made this documentary. It’s a documentary on us, it’s not our documentary. We gave them the blessing to make it and we really should support them in getting it out there because it’s a tough world. I mean, they took the time and the energy, and I think they put an incredible amount of love into this thing. They really do, or have ended up, really loving the Who. That deserves to be supported.”
The clips in the film feature both rare and unseen footage of the band, including their first professionally filmed show, on August 11th, 1964 in Wealdstone, England at the Railway Hotel, and the never-before scene footage of the Who’s second-to-last show with Keith Moon on December 15th, 1977 at London’s Kilburn Gaumont State, performing the then-unreleased “Who Are You.”
Among the others featured in the documentary are, Daltrey’s wife Heather, Entwistle’s first wife Allison, Moon’s mother Kit Moon and his sister Leslie Fox, the Who’s late original co-manager Chris Stamp, producers Shel Talmy and Glyn Johns, longtime sound man Bobby Pridden, and the Who’s manager for over 45 years, Bill Curbishley.
Also appearing in the film are longtime fans Sting, Eddie Vedder, the Sex Pistols‘ Steve Jones, the Edge, and Oasis’ Noel Gallagher.
Amazing Journey was notable at the time for premiering the then-unseen footage of the Who at London’s Kilburn Gaumont State. Dougal Butler, who began working for the Who as a roadie in 1967, became Keith Moon’s personal assistant in 1971. He quit working for Moon in 1976 to help out on the band’s retrospective The Kids Are Alright. Butler says that when he saw the shape that Moon was in prior to the Kilburn show, he was shocked and saddened: “It was just the start of filming for The Kids Are Alright, and he’s put on so much weight. I mean he’s ballooned up like I’ve never seen him before. I mean, they had to do quite a few retakes on that — and he was totally gone. Absolutely lost his whole pattern of drumming as well. And it was very sad to see. Sad situation.”