The Who and I

Why this book? It is my account of a time and a place, of making films and a group called The Who. Together, like it or not, we made a special documentary feature-length movie called The Kids Are Alright, named after one of their songs, which have the happy habit of turning into anthems for their place and time. Almost all the main players in this drama about the film’s production were in their twenties or thirties when this story was taking place in the early 1970s. I was a young but relatively experienced filmmaker of about 26 when it started, and about 28 when it ended, although I felt like an old geezer.

It is also an attempt to put the record straight. It’s natural for people to remember stories and incidents to suit themselves but I have tried to be accurate and my record-keeping was good. It helps that my memories were written at the same time as or soon after the events concerned, and I was always straight when I worked – I never used heavy drugs, which cloud and distort memory. But I was always too busy to deal with the past when the future was beckoning. I have always wanted to get on with the present and take the future as it comes. I had simply walked away. Now I’m older I have returned. It’s time that someone recounted these events with some accuracy.