3 Oct 2024

New Royal Mail stamps celebrate 60 years of The Who

We’re delighted to announce that a  special set of stamps is being issued to mark the 60th anniversary of The Who.

Royal Mail revealed details of 12 stamps which feature images of some of The Who’s most popular album covers and group shots from some of their live performances.

The album covers are My Generation from 1965 designed by David Wedgbury; Tommy from 1969 designed by Michael McInnerney; Who’s Next from 1971 designed by Ethan Russell and Kosh; Quadrophenia from 1973 designed by Graham Hughes; Who Are You from 1978 designed by Terry O’Neill and Bill Smith; Face Dances from 1981 designed by Sir Peter Blake; Endless Wire from 2006 designed by Richard Evans; and WHO from 2019 designed by Sir Peter Blake.

A miniatures sheet features two group publicity shots and two images of the band’s live performances at the Marquee Club in London in 1967 and the Kings Hall in Belle Vue, Manchester, in 1973.

Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle and Keith Moon formed The Who in 1964. (Before that they were The Detours and, for a short while The High Numbers).

Within five years, they went from performing club shows to headlining the Woodstock festival in the US and becoming the biggest box-office draw in the world.

Roger Daltrey said: “The artwork on the album sleeves was almost as important to the success of the record as the music. It’s great to be reminded of them.”

And Pete Townshend added: “Stamp! Stamp! Stamp! It’s what I’ve done on stage all my life, sometimes in the air. At last my stamping, and that of my buddy Roger, has been honoured properly, and will help letters, parcels and birthday cards travel through time and space, just as we have.”

David Gold, Royal Mail’s director of external affairs and policy, said: “With their truly original sound and effortless ability to mix musical styles, The Who are rock royalty. These stamps celebrate one of the UK’s much-loved and revered musical bands who have achieved global popularity for six decades.”

The new Royal Mail special edition stamps celebrating 60 Years of The Who will be available to purchase on 17 October from the Royal Mail website.

But you can pre-order your set from today, 3 October 2024! Just follow the link.