What you have failed to take account of is the fact that The Who have been hugely succesful in both the UK and the USA since the mid 60s, they were for instance one of the first acts to be booked at the original Woodstock festival and one of only a few British acts AND the organisers who were on a limited budget (being all for love and peace man and not finance) paid for The Who to fly to the USA for literally a one night stand so that they didn't even bring any instruments with them apart from Keith Moons drumsticks - THAT how important they were in the USA at the time.

How important are they now in the USA ?

Which band provides all of the title, incidental and closing music to one of the most popular, probably definitive, crime drama series in the US in the last ten years ?

I'm sure you know the answer and its that popularity that keeps The Who still relevant today, still touring (even with only 50% remaining) and still earning the sort of income from the USA that most of the other acts on there last night would kill their grannies for.

Rather than symbolising decay and lack of hope they actually symbolise exactly the opposite and I hope that I'm able to work as hard as Roger Daltry when I'm his age (otherwise The Nationwide will be wanting my house keys).

Sat watching them now, I don't know what people where expecting?

What year was Woodstock? The world has moved on.

So what year is the cut-off date for the music that should be played?
I assume you objected to Jerusalem being played in the opening ceremony?


I'm amazed at the amount of negativity on this thread, what was the big problem with it all? It was a big party at the end of the games with a load of top British bands/musicians from past and present, presented in a fantastic venue.

Considering this thread was started a mere 20 minutes in to the ceremony, it just seems like some people were determined to think it was crap even before it had happened.

It was supposed to be a party for the Olympians but they were penned in and unable to even go the toilet, even though many will probably have had a few drinks beforehand. Most of the athletes were similar ages to my kids and will never have heard of The Who, et al. So, presumably, it was all about the middle aged baby boomers who could afford tickets and once again anti-youth (like just about everything in the UK these days).

I also found the bit about "fashion" with mention of Burberry, Victoria Beckham, etc most unseemly and cringeworthy promotion of these brands. They were even official sponsors were they? Breach of own rules?

What a set of miserable fokkers on here. It was a very entertaining closing ceremony, and as the moaners seem to be worried to death, poor things, about the impression it made on the world, please note that the reports across the globe are almost all positive, so you needn't fret.

Anyone who's never heard of The Who hasn't much of an interest in music but putting one of our greatest ever rock bands on stage in a celebration of British music seems pretty fair to me. The millions watching around the globe for whom The Who are towering figures in their life soundtrack will have loved it. Thought putting Jessie J on with Queen was a masterstroke by whoever did it.

Brilliant Olympics, and a fine finish. I loved it all.

Did you read the rest of what I put - they were relevant because they are part of our musical heritage, they are still relevant because they are still part of our massive musical influence that we have on much of the world - did you notice how many of those atheletes, most of whom are 18-30 year olds were singing and dancing to "My Generation", a song that was written in 1965 and means as much to the current days 20 year olds (even if they only hear it first on CSI) as it did to my generation (see what I did there).

My daughter has a very large collection of CDs and she would not know The Who. To most of that generation it's just "ol;f fashioned" music - a bit like Bing Crosby was to The Who's generation of fans (but actually much more remote chronlogically speaking than Bing was to us).

What on earth are you on about? Are you seriously saying that only middle-aged people have heard of The Who? The vast majority of youngsters, even if they weren't quite sure who sung it, have heard of The Who and have heard their best songs. And that's discounting One Direction, Jessie J, Tinie Tempah and Taio Cruz who they most certainly have heard of.

I'll ask it again, what year is the cut-off point? And did you object to Jerusalem being played at the Opening Ceremony?

I can't believe you said that. Did you say that? Kettled Olympians? Can you actually be being serious?

How many athletes who wanted to go to the toilet were forcibly detained, then, and who detained them? How did they do it? Tasers? Dogs? I think we should be told.


It wasn't, it's just that you didn't realise that Tinie Tempah, Taio Cruz, Fatboy Slim, Kaiser Chiefs, Muse, Jessie J, One Direction, Ed Sheeran, Beady Eye and Emeli Sande are actually failry well-known contemporary artists of whom your offspring may indeed have heard however lacking their knowledge of rock legends may be.