The Who's Pete Townshend had bleeding fingers at end of Morecambe gig

One band to regularly appear here was The Who.

On June 18 1965 they appeared at the Floral Hall.

Among the 50 to 60 people who showed up was Christine Bowles who remembers that most had gone to see The Searchers on the Central Pier.

The Searchers were much better known but Christine and her friend Anne had seen The Who on TV's Ready, Steady Go and thought they were amazing.

The band members (Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle and Keith Moon) had been in the bar beforehand chatting to fans.

When the show began, Christine and Anne were right in front of the stage – no barriers and stewards in those days.

There was no guitar smashing that night either but Christine does remember Pete Townshend's fingers bleeding at the end of the gig.

Christine next saw The Who at the Central Pier on August 13 1965 which became a regular venue for them.

Keith Moon was in the habit of throwing his drumsticks into the audience and, on one occasion Christine was lucky enough to catch one.

Other Central Pier dates were March 3 and July 22 1966.

Christine was in the Marine Ballroom on the Central Pier for a famous Who concert on January 6 1967.

On the way Pete Townshend had been injured in a car accident and, rather than disappoint the fans, the band made a few changes to the line up.

Roger Daltrey played guitar while Mike Dickinson of the local support act The Doodle Bugs was asked to take Townshend's place with only about 10 minutes' notice.

The Doodle Bugs had been going since 1963 with Mike Dickinson as the youngest band members on lead guitar.

The line up also included Ian Ward (vocals), Graham Grimshaw (bass) and Ray Walsh (drums).

Previously the band had been known as MI5 and The Falcons.

The Who also appeared at the Winter Gardens on May 29 1966.

These memories were collected by music writer Richard Houghton.

If you have any Who stories of your own contact Richard at [email protected].