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50 free The Who trivia questions with answers — music quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
The Who gave rock the Marshall stack, the power chord, the rock opera and the smashed guitar, and they did it while barely getting along. Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle and Keith Moon came out of Acton and Shepherd's Bush as the Detours, spent a summer as the High Numbers, and then spent fifteen years as the loudest and most volatile live band in the world. These 50 questions cover the whole story. The easy tier sticks to the four members, Tommy, Woodstock and the hits. The middle asks about the Railway Hotel, Shel Talmy, the Smothers Brothers explosion, the Monterey argument with Hendrix, Live at Leeds, the Lifehouse project that became Who's Next, the Quadrophenia film and Kenney Jones. The hard end digs into Doug Sandom, the Australian ban, the Pontiac Silverdome record, the Cincinnati tragedy, the Young Vic experiments, the Tommy film's Oscar nomination, and which Rolling Stone ranking finally got the band on the cover of Time. Every answer is cited to a page we checked and comes with a short explanation, so you learn something even when you miss. Play it solo or print it for a British Invasion night.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Who was the Who's lead singer?
Roger Daltrey
Daltrey started the Detours in 1959 and ran the band until he was briefly sacked in 1965 for punching Moon.
Q 02Which instrument did Keith Moon play?
Drums
He auditioned in 1964 by breaking a bass drum pedal and tearing a drum skin, and got the job.
Q 03What was the band called before they became the Who?
The Detours
They changed the name in February 1964 after discovering a rival act called Johnny Devlin and the Detours.
Q 04Under what name did the band briefly record the mod single "Zoot Suit" in 1964?
The High Numbers
Manager Peter Meaden rebranded them for the mod scene; when the single flopped they went back to the Who.
Q 05What was the Who's first single, a UK top ten hit in 1965?
I Can't Explain
Townshend wrote it to sound like the Kinks so that producer Shel Talmy would notice; Jimmy Page played on the B-side.
Q 06Which Who single peaked at No. 2, their highest UK chart position?
My Generation
It was written as a slow blues before gaining its famous stutter and Entwistle's bass solo.
Q 07What was the Who's only US top ten single?
I Can See for Miles
Townshend called it the ultimate Who record and was disappointed it only reached No. 10 in Britain.
Q 08Townshend first smashed a guitar on stage after accidentally breaking its head on what?
A low ceiling
It happened at the Railway Hotel in Wealdstone in June 1964; the next week Moon kicked over his kit to match.
Q 09Which producer, fresh from the Kinks, signed the Who and produced their early singles?
Shel Talmy
After falling out with him, the band could not reissue their debut album until 2002 because he held the masters.
Q 10Which two filmmakers managed the Who through their 1960s peak?
Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp
They founded Track Records, signed Hendrix to it and were the subject of a 2014 documentary.
Q 11Which Who song was used as the theme to the TV show Ready Steady Go!?
Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere
Its pick-sliding and feedback were so odd that Decca's US arm initially rejected it.
Q 12At Monterey in 1967, Townshend argued with which guitarist over who should smash his guitar first?
Jimi Hendrix
The Who won the argument and went on first; biographer Tony Fletcher said Hendrix sounded embarrassingly better.
Q 13Which pop group did the Who support on their first full US tour in 1967?
Herman's Hermits
Moon learned on that tour that cherry bombs were legal in Alabama, with predictable results for hotel toilets.
Q 21Which activist did Townshend kick off the stage at Woodstock mid-set?
Abbie Hoffman
Hoffman had grabbed the mic to protest the jailing of John Sinclair.
Q 22Which line in "Baba O'Riley" was inspired by the litter after the 1969 Isle of Wight Festival?
Teenage wasteland
The roadies helped clear the rubbish-covered field after what Townshend called a great concert.
Q 23Live at Leeds was recorded on Valentine's Day 1970. Where was the back-up show the next night?
Hull
Technical problems with the Hull tapes meant Leeds was used; Live at Hull finally appeared in 2012.
Q 14What did Moon load into his drum kit on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in 1967?
Explosives
A stage hand used ten times the agreed amount; Townshend's hair was singed and his ear was left ringing.
Q 15The Who Sell Out parodied what, between its songs?
Pirate radio
Offshore pirate stations had just been outlawed by the Marine Broadcasting Offences Act 1967.
Q 16Which country's prime minister told the Who never to return after a 1968 tour incident?
Australia
John Gorton sent the telegram after an in-flight incident; the band did not go back until 2004.
Q 17The 1969 rock opera Tommy tells the story of a boy who is what?
Deaf, dumb and blind
Townshend settled on Tommy after working titles including Deaf Dumb and Blind Boy and Amazing Journey.
Q 18Why did Townshend write "Pinball Wizard"?
To win over a critic who loved the game
New York Times journalist Nik Cohn was a pinball enthusiast, and Townshend wanted a good review.
Q 19Which spiritual teacher's ideas influenced Tommy and the synthesiser intro on Who's Next?
Meher Baba
Townshend programmed the song's synthesiser intro from Baba's vital statistics.
Q 20At what time did the Who finally take the stage at Woodstock?
5 am on Sunday
They had demanded $13,000 up front and Daltrey later called it the worst gig they ever played.
Q 24The Who were the first rock act to play which New York venue during the Tommy tour?
Metropolitan Opera House
The tour also took Tommy into European opera houses.
Q 25What was the name of the abandoned multimedia project whose songs became Who's Next?
Lifehouse
Townshend had a nervous breakdown over it; the Young Vic hosted its experimental concerts.
Q 26Who produced Who's Next after Kit Lambert's drug use derailed the New York sessions?
Glyn Johns
The album reached No. 1 in the UK and has gone triple platinum in the US.
Q 27Which organ generated the real-time synthesiser sounds on Who's Next?
Lowrey
On Won't Get Fooled Again it was run through a VCS3 synthesiser as well.
Q 28Who played the violin solo on "Baba O'Riley"?
Dave Arbus
Arbus was a member of East of Eden; the track opens Who's Next.
Q 29Quadrophenia is about a mod named what?
Jimmy
Its four musical themes reflect the four personalities of the band members; Phil Daniels played him in the 1979 film.
Q 30Who directed the 1975 Tommy film?
Ken Russell
Townshend earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score; Elton John played the Pinball Wizard.