Who’s Next arrived on Aug. 14, 1971, featuring a selection of songs that would become some of the Who’s most cherished, along with a cover image that Pete Townshend once described as “pissing on the obelisk.”
The story behind this moment is nearly as captivating as the music’s evolution from Townshend’s discarded epic Lifehouse into a single-disc rock classic. While traveling back to London, the Who stumbled upon a massive slab of concrete towering over a mining site near Sheffield. So why not pee on it, right?
However, things did not go as smoothly as planned.
Other Cover Ideas Had Already Been Rejected
Ethan Russell, who gained fame for photographing the Beatles’ final shoot together, had been accompanying the Who in search of a fitting cover image. Unfortunately, nothing had resonated.
In fact, they ultimately rejected a photo featuring nude women and another of Keith Moon dressed in lingerie and a wig while holding a whip – although these images later appeared in advertisements and in reissues of Who’s Next.
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“The Who had already rejected several covers for this album,” Russell shared with Carmel Magazine. “To gather ideas, I joined them at a gig in Central England. Pete Townshend’s driving scared me so much that I laid down in the back seat. I was freaked out.”
Earlier, someone had suggested urinating on a Marshall stack, but suddenly – as they sped past a slag-heap at the Easington Colliery – Russell came up with something much more grand.
“On the way home, Pete was driving fast again. I saw those concrete structures and didn’t know what they were,” Russell recalled. “He slowed down at a roundabout and asked if I had any ideas; I mentioned those shapes. Pete turned around and we stepped out into this moonscape.”
Perhaps, as has been suggested, the massive structure reminded the Who of the monolith from Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. Or maybe they believed the album cover would serve as a gritty commentary on modern life. Or perhaps Pete Townshend simply needed to relieve himself.
What Happened When Some Bandmates Didn’t Have to Go?
“I was taking test Polaroids and [when I] looked up,” Russell said, “Pete had peed on it. I thought ‘Okay!’ [and] took about eight shots.” The only issue was that Townshend’s bandmates didn’t need to urinate.
A moment of inspiration from Russell saved the shoot; he ended up trickling rainwater from an empty film canister to create the desired effect for the others.
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“Except for Pete’s, the ‘urine’ was actually water we poured on the concrete. They couldn’t perform!” Russell admitted, expressing his amazement over this “totally spontaneous” moment. “We tried,” he added, “but you can’t brainstorm that kind of thing.”
Afterward, Russell included a dramatic photo of the sky behind the Who that he had salvaged from an earlier photo session. The now-iconic Who’s Next cover was complete.
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Gallery Credit: Michael Gallucci
