‘The Who By Numbers’ Gets Big Reissue

Super Deluxe Edition of 1975 Who classic out Oct. 30

September 6, 2026September 6, 2026 Ron Hart 0 Comments John Entwistle, Keith Moon, Pete Townshend, Polydor Records, Roger Daltrey, The Who, The Who By Numbers, UMe, Zak Starkey

*The Who By Numbers* magazine ad. (Image: Reddit)

The Who are releasing a belated 50th anniversary edition of one of their most acclaimed albums this coming Halloween weekend.

Originally released in October 1975, The Who By Numbers was the seventh album by the legendary British rockers was produced by Glyn Johns and served as a creative swerve for Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle and Keith Moon in the delivery of their most introspective and personal at the time.

“The Who By Numbers is a tricky album to talk about,” explains Townshend. “It’s the only one where I allowed songs that were so personal to be used by The Who.”

“In some ways, The Who By Numbers is my favourite [Who] album,” adds Daltrey. “For me, songs like ‘Imagine A Man’, ‘How Many Friends’ and ‘However Much I Booze’ expose our vulnerabilities, and the album is wonderful for that.”

Peaking at No. 8 on the Billboard charts here in the U.S. and No. 7 in the U.K., Numbers wasn’t only a commercial success, but was well-received by critics as well, including such hardnosed scribes as Dave Marsh and Robert Christgau.

“This record is more depressing than my dispassionate grade would indicate, not just because from the Who we expect better — do we, really? — but because its runaway fatalism invites dispassion,” Christgau wrote in his 1981 Consumer Guide, giving the album a B+. “Peter Townshend has more to say about star-doubt than David Crosby or even John Lennon — he’s not only honest but exceptionally inquisitive, and he’s got a knack for condensing complex ideas.”

The Super Deluxe Edition of *The Who By Numbers* will be released on Oct. 30. (Image: UMe)

Fifty-one years later, the band — freshly reunited with on-again-off-again-on-again drummer Zak Starkey — is bringing fans this super deluxe edition of The Who By Numbers featuring five CDs and a bluRay loaded with 92 previously unreleased tracks and mixes. Among the treasures are brand new Atmos, 5.1 & Stereo mixes by Pete Townshend, 11 of Pete’s original demos for the album, tracking sessions from Ramport & Shepperton Studios, early mixes, guide vocals, the fullest version of Live At Vetch Field, Swansea, Wales, June 12, 1976 released to date and on the Blu-Ray audio and video from a previously unreleased Who concert shot on 2” videotape from Metropolitan Stadium, Pontiac, Michigan.

The Who’s show at Pontiac, Michigan, on Dec. 6, 1975 set the record at the time for the largest-ever indoor rock concert attendance, with 76,896 people. The entire show has been exhumed from The Who’s archives and professionally cleaned up, with remastered audio. It now stands as one of the few existing visual records of this memorable Who tour, their last with the irrepressible Keith Moon.

Six months later, The Who played three British football grounds under the banner Who Put The Boot In. The first of these, at The Valley, the home of Charlton Athletic, was recognised by the Guinness Book Of World Records as the world’s loudest rock concert. The third show at Swansea FC’s Vetch Field was recorded for a proposed live album, and over the years, songs from the Swansea concert have appeared on official Who releases. Now, the available original mix tapes have been remastered and returned to their original order. The show was Keith Moon’s last proper show before a British audience, capturing the level of performance power The Who attained over the year-long tour.

As Townshend puts it in the 100-page making-of-the-album book that accompanies the box set, “I could feel a new wave or reaction and rebellion coming in the music business, the big bands were becoming careless and self-indulgent. I wanted my songs to continue to have a cathartic function for our audience. When punk hit a few years later, I was not surprised.”

THE WHO BY NUMBERS

SUPER DELUXE EDITION

100-PAGE BOOK IN A 12” x 12” HARD BACK SLIPCASE

THE WHO – THE WHO BY NUMBERS

SUPER DELUXE EDITION

DISC ONE: THE ORIGINAL 1975 ALBUM REMASTERED

Slip Kid
However Much I Booze
Squeeze Box
Dreaming From The Waist
Imagine A Man
Success Story
They Are All In Love
Blue Red And Grey
How Many Friends
In A Hand Or A Face

DISC TWO: PETE TOWNSHEND DEMOS

Keep Me Turning (Version 1) (Previously Unreleased)
Slip Kid (Version 1)
Squeeze Box
Blue Red And Grey (Previously Unreleased)
Dreaming From The Waist (Previously Unreleased)
How Many Friends (Previously Unreleased)
Keep Me Turning (Version 2) (Previously Unreleased)
Imagine A Man (Previously Unreleased)
Slip Kid (Version 2) (Previously Unreleased)
Round And Round (working title for In A Hand Or A Face) (Previously Unreleased)
There Ain’t No Way Out (working title for However Much I Booze)

DISC THREE: TRACKING SESSIONS: RAMPORT & SHEPPERTON STUDIOS

Ramport Jam (Excerpt) (Previously Unreleased)
She Loves Everyone (Tracking Session) (Previously Unreleased)
Control Myself (Dreaming From The Waist Tracking Session) (Previously Unreleased)
There Ain’t No Way Out (However Much I Booze Tracking Session) (Previously Unreleased)
Goin’ To Frisco/Round And Round (In A Hand Or A Face Tracking Session) (Previously Unreleased)
Hi-Heel Sneakers Jam with Nicky Hopkins (Studio Outtake) (Previously Unreleased)
Pete And Keith “The Artiste” (Studio Dialogue) (Previously Unreleased)
Success Story (Tracking Session) (Previously Unreleased)
How Many Friends (Tracking Session) (Previously Unreleased)
Imagine A Man (Tracking Session) (Previously Unreleased)
They Are All In Love (Tracking Session) (Previously Unreleased)
She Loves Everyone (Retake With Nicky Hopkins) (Previously Unreleased)
Squeeze Box (Tracking Session) (Previously Unreleased)
Instrumental 1 (Tracking Session) (Previously Unreleased)
I’m Dreaming (Dreaming From The Waist Retake) (Previously Unreleased)
Every Minute (Blue Red And Grey Tracking Session) (Previously Unreleased)
Instrumental 2 (Rough Mix) (Tracking Session) (Previously Unreleased)
The Who By Numbers US Radio Spot #1 (Radio Commercial) (Previously Unreleased)

DISC FOUR: EARLY MIXES & GUIDE VOCALS

Slip Kid – Alternate Roger Vocal (Early Mix Without Overdubs) (Previously Unreleased)
However Much I Booze – Alternate Pete Vocal (Early Mix) (Previously Unreleased)
Squeeze Box – Alternate Roger Vocal (Previously Unreleased)
Dreaming From The Waist – Pete Vocal (Early Mix) (Previously Unreleased)
Imagine A Man – Pete Vocal (Early Mix) (Previously Unreleased)
Success Story – John Vocal (Early Mix) (Previously Unreleased)
They Are All In Love – Alternate Pete Vocal (Early Mix) (Previously Unreleased)
Blue Red And Grey (Unedited Version) (Previously Unreleased)
How Many Friends – Pete Vocal (Early Mix) (Previously Unreleased)
In A Hand Or A Face (Early Mix) (Previously Unreleased)
They Are All In Love Alternate Roger Vocal (Early Mix) (Previously Unreleased)
Squeeze Box (Acoustic Stripped Mix, 2026) (Previously Unreleased)
Imagine A Man (Acoustic Stripped Mix, 2026) (Previously Unreleased)
They Are All In Love (Acoustic Stripped Mix, 2026) (Previously Unreleased)
How Many Friends (Acoustic Stripped Mix, 2026) (Previously Unreleased)
The Who By Numbers US Radio Spot #2 (Radio Commercial) (Previously Unreleased)
Keith Moon And John Entwistle Preview (The Who by Numbers With John Peel, BBC 1975) (Previously Unreleased)
However Much I Booze (Live At The Summit, Houston, U.S.A., November 20, 1975) (Previously Unreleased on disc)
Slip Kid (Live At Madison Square Garden, New York City, U.S.A., March 11, 1976) (Previously Unreleased)