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The Who Before The Who
The Who before The Who
By Doug Sandom
DOUG Sandom’s part in the making of the most exciting rock band in the world can never be underestimated. He joined The Who – then known as The Detours – as their drummer in 1962 after an unexpected meeting with Roger Daltrey on a west London street. It was a time when fires were being lit under the music scene worldwide, everything had to change and The Detours had a long way to go to become revolutionary leaders in their field. Having finally decided to write his memoirs, Doug Sandom chronicles each stage of the band’s transition right up to his, Roger Daltrey’s, Pete Townshend’s and John Entwistle’s emergence from their chrysalis as The Who. It is a punchy tale of gritty determination and ever-burning passion for music. As Pete Townshend writes in his moving Foreword ‘Doug Sandom’s work with our band gave me the confidence to drive the band as a writer and creative thinker . . . ‘
By Doug Sandom
DOUG Sandom’s part in the making of the most exciting rock band in the world can never be underestimated. He joined The Who – then known as The Detours – as their drummer in 1962 after an unexpected meeting with Roger Daltrey on a west London street. It was a time when fires were being lit under the music scene worldwide, everything had to change and The Detours had a long way to go to become revolutionary leaders in their field. Having finally decided to write his memoirs, Doug Sandom chronicles each stage of the band’s transition right up to his, Roger Daltrey’s, Pete Townshend’s and John Entwistle’s emergence from their chrysalis as The Who. It is a punchy tale of gritty determination and ever-burning passion for music. As Pete Townshend writes in his moving Foreword ‘Doug Sandom’s work with our band gave me the confidence to drive the band as a writer and creative thinker . . . ‘
162 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 12, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 18, 2020
What a great bit of music history! This is the book for you if you like the sound of the early 60s, the mod era that followed, learning about the first British Invasion groups, and specifically the band that eventually transformed into The Who.
(John Entwistle, Doug Sandom, Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey)
Doug Sandom was the drummer for The Detours, who became The Who. Sandom lasted with the band under their famous name for only a couple months before he was essentially ousted because he was a 32-year-old married man with a kid. His bandmates seemed to love him, but if they wanted to take that next step into stardom, the mores of the day dictated they find a younger drummer to fit their image.
The Who Before The Who is not great literature. It's a memoir by a bricklaying drummer. It's workman-like prose, but it gets the job done! You learn about the foundations of one of the greatest rock'n'roll bands of all-time. Sure, it's short as hell, but that's in keeping with the amount of time Sandom spent with the band (a bit less than two years), so I don't see its literary merit or length as anything to complain about, though some have. No mate, just sit back, have a pint and a fag, and dig, man!
April 14, 2014
Right from the mouth of Doug Sandom, what more could you ask for?
I was lucky enough to talk to Doug before the book was released, and I'm forever grateful for having had that opportunity. Doug is a brilliant storyteller, a very sweet man, and indeed the sort of person who not only you can imagine sitting in a pub with while he tells he stories... but a great many of people get just that opportunity. The fame that Doug has only served to define what a wonderful person he is. He's remained as humble as ever, though he's quite open about how he regrets leaving the band to this day.
The book holds within it many stories not heard before, and actually does a far better job of showing what The Who was like at that time than any previous Who biography. Doug captures the exhilaration that was felt as they became more famous, how they dealt with that rise in different ways, and the subtleties of the personalities that soon would go on to a massive stardom. He captures the camaraderie in a way that other biographies tend to glance over in favor of emphasizing the spats - which yes, there were - but the violence was never there from the start.
For fans of The Who? This is a indispensable book. It's right up there with Dougal Butler's recent revision of Full Moon, I'd argue, in terms of capturing The Who from those who were here with the band.
Get it, cherish it. If you've a chance to see the man himself, do so. He's a truly wonderful fellow.
I was lucky enough to talk to Doug before the book was released, and I'm forever grateful for having had that opportunity. Doug is a brilliant storyteller, a very sweet man, and indeed the sort of person who not only you can imagine sitting in a pub with while he tells he stories... but a great many of people get just that opportunity. The fame that Doug has only served to define what a wonderful person he is. He's remained as humble as ever, though he's quite open about how he regrets leaving the band to this day.
The book holds within it many stories not heard before, and actually does a far better job of showing what The Who was like at that time than any previous Who biography. Doug captures the exhilaration that was felt as they became more famous, how they dealt with that rise in different ways, and the subtleties of the personalities that soon would go on to a massive stardom. He captures the camaraderie in a way that other biographies tend to glance over in favor of emphasizing the spats - which yes, there were - but the violence was never there from the start.
For fans of The Who? This is a indispensable book. It's right up there with Dougal Butler's recent revision of Full Moon, I'd argue, in terms of capturing The Who from those who were here with the band.
Get it, cherish it. If you've a chance to see the man himself, do so. He's a truly wonderful fellow.
July 5, 2016
I'm a sucker for books about The Who. I love The Who. But I would only recommend this book to die-hard, longstanding Who fans, because it's pretty bad, in some ways, but still, it was fascinating to me, and I enjoyed it. It's the reminiscences of Doug Sandom, who played drums with The Who for two years before Keith Moon them in early 1964. It makes that period sound like a lot of fun. It's not particularly insightful or detailed; it's actually kind of breezy and lightweight. But it's fun to get Doug's perspective on those years. I wish it were longer -- it's pretty light in content, and only about half the book is actual text (in a large font at that); the rest is a listing of gigs Doug played with The Who, and pictures I've seen before, and ads for other books by the same publisher. Still, I liked it. And it pointed me to http://teenagewasteland.podomatic.com, Barry Ratcliffe's (short-lived?) "cloudcast" about The Who, including, in episode #1, some very early recordings, from late 1964, that I had never heard. Plus I read it all in one sitting while sitting by a beautiful river in a sleepy Wisconsin town on a beautiful day, so it's all good.
September 20, 2014
My full review is on my website: http://rnrchemist.blogspot.com/2014/0...
Overall a nice, quick book describing Doug's brief but important time in the Who during their formative years of 1962-1964.
Overall a nice, quick book describing Doug's brief but important time in the Who during their formative years of 1962-1964.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews