{"id":500093,"date":"2026-03-28T12:59:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-28T12:59:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/500093\/"},"modified":"2026-03-28T12:59:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T12:59:11","slug":"why-the-who-replaced-john-entwistle-with-his-polar-opposite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/500093\/","title":{"rendered":"Why The Who replaced John Entwistle with his polar opposite"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/p>\n

(Credits: Far Out \/ Flickr)<\/p>\n

Sat 28 March 2026 9:30, UK <\/p>\n

Few bands survive the deaths of their core members, particularly if those members are as essential to the group\u2019s sound as Keith Moon and John Entwistle were to The Who<\/a>. Yet, well over 20 years on from Entwistle\u2019s death and nearly 50 years since Keith Moon left this mortal coil, The Who still limp on. <\/p>\n

Initially, when Moon tragically passed away in 1978, the future of The Who looked as though it was in irrefutable jeopardy. From the very beginning of their existence, the anarchic, amphetamine-fueled percussion laid down by that force of rock and roll nature formed the backbone of The Who\u2019s sound, and a drummer as unique as Keith Moon is truly irreplaceable. For a short while, it seemed as though The Who itself had died, and with subsequent albums like\u00a0Face Dances\u00a0and\u00a0It\u2019s Hard, it seemed as though the band\u00a0probably should have died<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the band continued on in the face of that loss, and reached an admittedly good middle ground between the Moon era and a new direction for the band in the form of the now-sacked Zak Starkey, who had once been mentored by \u2018Moon the Loon\u2019 himself. Then, the band was once again rocked by the death of bassist<\/a> John Entwistle in 2002, ripping the final remnant of The Who\u2019s original rhythm section out of the group. <\/p>\n

Like Moon, Entwistle was irreplaceable and, like Moon\u2019s death, Entwistle\u2019s departure looked as though it might (and potentially should) spell the ultimate end of The Who. However, Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey made the executive decision to carry on anyway. <\/p>\n

\u201cMusic has got that ability to transcend life, and they\u2019re the reasons we went on,\u201d Daltrey once told Classic Rock<\/a>. \u201cAnd, believe it or not, it feels like we\u2019ve still got all the best of what John brought to the band.\u201d<\/p>\n

That last point is certainly debatable, given just how many utterly iconic basslines Entwistle was responsible for during his extensive tenure with the band. Still, the frontman affirmed that the bassist\u2019s replacement, Pino Palladino, brings another layer to The Who\u2019s sound: \u201cPino doesn\u2019t play like John played at all, but what Pino does play, and what is structured within the songs, reflects enough of what John did.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cSo you get all the best of what John and Keith did, but it\u2019s opened up space where Pete and I can stretch out,\u201d he continued. It makes sense that both Entwistle and Moon would be replaced with entirely different performers in Starkey and Palladino, rather than the alternative of hiring a few two-bit impersonators, but that doesn\u2019t take away from the colossal loss to the band\u2019s sound that those two deaths represented.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, since Daltrey gave that interview, Palladino himself has left the band, with his bassist role taken over by Jon Button, another player of an entirely different ilk.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With their 2025 \u2018farewell\u2019 tour now done and dusted, it remains to be seen whether The Who have actually retired for good, but whatever the future holds for Daltrey and Townshend, the memory of both Moon and Entwistle will undoubtedly live on within the music, with their performances still so beloved all these decades later.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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