Uploaded August 2025 | Updated September 2026, 15 hours ago
A comparison of the Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus 1968 film footage and the 1979 documentary footage for The Kids Are Alright.
"A Quick One, While He's Away" is a 1966 song written by Pete Townshend and recorded by the Who for their second album A Quick One. In their Live at Leeds album Townshend calls the nine-minute "epic" track a "mini-opera" and introduces it as "Tommy's parents".
The song tells the story of an unnamed girl whose lover has been gone "for nearly a year". Her friends inform her that they "have a remedy"; the remedy comes in the form of Ivor the Engine Driver. When the lover returns, the girl confesses her infidelity, and she is ultimately forgiven.
The song has six distinct movements. The brief harmonised a cappella intro is titled "Her Man's Been Gone". The "Crying Town" section is sung by Roger Daltrey in an atypical low register. Daltrey also sings "We Have a Remedy" in his more usual voice. John Entwistle plays "Ivor the Engine Driver" in that section. Then comes "Soon Be Home", another harmonised section. Finally, "You Are Forgiven" is sung by Pete Townshend – his only lead vocal on the album (except, on a small part of "Heat Wave"). The Who wanted cellos at the final "mini"-movement, "You Are Forgiven", but producer and manager Kit Lambert could not afford it so they ended up saying "Cello, cello, cello".
A performance filmed for The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus in 1968 can be seen on that film (released in 1996) and on the 1979 documentary The Kids Are Alright. It also appears on both films' soundtrack albums.
The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus is a British concert film hosted by and featuring the Rolling Stones, filmed on 11–12 December 1968. It was directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, who proposed the idea of a "rock and roll circus" to Jagger. The show was filmed on a makeshift circus stage with Jethro Tull, The Who, Taj Mahal, Marianne Faithfull, and the Rolling Stones. John Lennon and his fiancée Yoko Ono performed as part of a one-shot supergroup called The Dirty Mac, featuring Eric Clapton on guitar, Mitch Mitchell (of The Jimi Hendrix Experience) on drums, and the Stones' Keith Richards on bass. As the Who's Pete Townshend recalled, an earlier idea for a circus-themed concert tour had been floated; it would have featured the Stones, the Who, and the Small Faces.
#thewho #petetownshend #rogerdaltrey #keithmoon #johnentwistle #kenneyjones
A comparison of the Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus 1968 film footage and the 1979 documentary footage for The Kids Are Alright.
"A Quick One, While He's Away" is a 1966 song written by Pete Townshend and recorded by the Who for their second album A Quick One. In their Live at Leeds album Townshend calls the nine-minute "epic" track a "mini-opera" and introduces it as "Tommy's parents".
The song tells the story of an unnamed girl whose lover has been gone "for nearly a year". Her friends inform her that they "have a remedy"; the remedy comes in the form of Ivor the Engine Driver. When the lover returns, the girl confesses her infidelity, and she is ultimately forgiven.
The song has six distinct movements. The brief harmonised a cappella intro is titled "Her Man's Been Gone". The "Crying Town" section is sung by Roger Daltrey in an atypical low register. Daltrey also sings "We Have a Remedy" in his more usual voice. John Entwistle plays "Ivor the Engine Driver" in that section. Then comes "Soon Be Home", another harmonised section. Finally, "You Are Forgiven" is sung by Pete Townshend – his only lead vocal on the album (except, on a small part of "Heat Wave"). The Who wanted cellos at the final "mini"-movement, "You Are Forgiven", but producer and manager Kit Lambert could not afford it so they ended up saying "Cello, cello, cello".
A performance filmed for The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus in 1968 can be seen on that film (released in 1996) and on the 1979 documentary The Kids Are Alright. It also appears on both films' soundtrack albums.
The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus is a British concert film hosted by and featuring the Rolling Stones, filmed on 11–12 December 1968. It was directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, who proposed the idea of a "rock and roll circus" to Jagger. The show was filmed on a makeshift circus stage with Jethro Tull, The Who, Taj Mahal, Marianne Faithfull, and the Rolling Stones. John Lennon and his fiancée Yoko Ono performed as part of a one-shot supergroup called The Dirty Mac, featuring Eric Clapton on guitar, Mitch Mitchell (of The Jimi Hendrix Experience) on drums, and the Stones' Keith Richards on bass. As the Who's Pete Townshend recalled, an earlier idea for a circus-themed concert tour had been floated; it would have featured the Stones, the Who, and the Small Faces.
#thewho #petetownshend #rogerdaltrey #keithmoon #johnentwistle #kenneyjones
