Live at Leeds

This article is about the live album by The Who. For other uses, see Live at Leeds (disambiguation).

Live at Leeds
Live album by
the Who
Released11 May 1970 (1970-05-11)
Recorded14 February 1970
VenueUniversity of Leeds Refectory, Leeds, UK
GenreHard rock[1]
Length37:43
Label
Producer
The Who chronology
Tommy
(1969) 		Live at Leeds
(1970) 		Who's Next
(1971)
Singles from Live at Leeds
  1. "Summertime Blues" / "Heaven and Hell"
    Released: June 1970

Live at Leeds is the first live album by English rock band the Who, recorded at the University of Leeds Refectory on 14 February 1970 and released on 11 May 1970, by Decca and MCA in the United States[2] and by Track and Polydor in the United Kingdom. It is the band's only live album that was recorded with the classic line-up of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon.

The Who were looking for a way to follow up their 1969 album Tommy, and had recorded several shows on tours supporting that album, but disliked the sound. Consequently, they booked the show at Leeds University, along with one at Hull City Hall the following day, specifically to record a live album. Six songs were taken from the Leeds show, and the cover was pressed to look like a bootleg recording. The sound was significantly different from Tommy and featured hard rock arrangements that were typical of the band's live shows. Live at Leeds has been reissued on several occasions and in several different formats. Since its release, it has been ranked by several music critics as one the greatest live albums and rock recordings of all time.[1][3][4]

  1. ^ a b Cohn, Nik (8 March 1970). "Finally, the Full Force of the Who". The New York Times. Rock Recordings section, p. M2. Archived from the original on 25 December 2017. Retrieved 2 July 2013.(subscription required)
  2. ^ "RIAA". Archived from the original on 2 August 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  3. ^ Carr, Roy (January 2011). "The Who". Classic Rock: 75. Archived from the original on 25 August 2013. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  4. ^ Hyden, Steven (29 January 2003). "The Who: Live at Leeds". PopMatters. Archived from the original on 23 January 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2013.