2000s
[]Charity shows and Entwistle's death[]
The success of 1999 led to a US tour in 2000 and a UK tour in November. The tour started on 6 June at the Jacob Javits Center in New York to benefit the Robin Hood Foundation and ended with a charity show on 27 November at the Royal Albert Hall for the Teenage Cancer trust. With good reviews all three members of The Who discussed a new album. [24] VH1 placed The Who eighth in the 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock.
The band performed at on 20 October, 2001, during which they played "Baba O'Riley" and "Won't Get Fooled Again" for the fire and police departments of New York City. The Who were honoured with a that year. [25]
In winter 2002, The Who played five shows in England, in Portsmouth on 27 and 28 January and Watford on 31 January, in preparation for two shows for the Teenage Cancer Trust Benefit at the Albert Hall on 7 and 8 February. Just before a tour in summer 2002, Entwistle was found dead at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. The cause was a heart attack in which was a contributing factor. [26] After a brief delay, the tour commenced in Los Angeles with bassist . Most shows from the tour were released officially on CD as Encore Series 2002. Before the tour "Real Good Looking Boy" and "Certified Rose" were rehearsed alongside classics such as "I Can See for Miles", but due to the death of Entwistle, they were not performed. In September, named The Who as one of the "50 Bands to See Before You Die".
[]Endless Wire[]
In 2004 The Who released "Old Red Wine" and "Real Good Looking Boy" (with and , respectively, on bass guitar), as part of a singles anthology (The Who: Then and Now), and went on an 18-date tour playing Japan, Australia, the UK and the US. All shows were on CD as part of Encore Series 2004. The band also headlined the Isle of Wight Festival. [27] Also that year, ranked The Who #29 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. [28]
The Who announced that spring 2005 would see their first studio album in 23 years (tentatively titled WHO2). In March 2005, Townshend's website said release was delayed indefinitely, and explained that tours in summer 2005 were also shelved. Part of this was due to slow recording of new material, and part Starkey's tour with . Townshend continued working on the album, posting a novella called The Boy Who Heard Music on his blog . This developed into a mini-opera which formed the kernel for the new Who album, and later a full opera which Townshend presented at .
The Who performed "" and "" on the in July 2005. (drummer for and older brother of ex-Oasis drummer ) took the place of Starkey, and ('s bassist) filled in for Palladino who was touring for . The Who were inducted into the .
In 2006, The Who were first recipients of the Freddie Mercury Lifetime Achievement Award in Live Music at the Vodaphone music awards. and of presented the award. [29] On 3 October 2006, iTunes released two singles in advance of the new album, Endless Wire entitled "Tea & Theatre" (played at the end of concerts during the North American tour) and "It's Not Enough".
Endless Wire was on 30 October 2006 (31 October in the USA). It was the first full studio album of new material since 1982's It's Hard. The album featured songs inspired by subjects such as during the (""), 's 2004 film, The Passion of the Christ ("" and "") and it contained the band's first mini-opera since "Rael" on 1967's The Who Sell Out. Excerpts from the mini-opera, called "", were released as a on 17 July on iTunes, and on CD and limited edition 12" vinyl in the UK on 24 July. "Mirror Door" was released in a radio edit and first played on BBC Radio 2, on The Ken Bruce Show at 10 on 8 June 2006. Endless Wire debuted at #7 on and #9 in the .
[]The Who Tour 2006-2007[]
In advance of the album, and to support it, The Who embarked upon their . First they did a 24-date tour followed by the rest of the world. These are their first shows since their 2004 world tour and brief performance at in 2005. Members of the latest lineup remain, including keyboardist , bassist , drummer and guitarist , who is also supporting act for The Who with his band . Other opening acts on the tour include and . Shows are on CD and DVD as part of Encore Series 2006. Starkey was invited to join Oasis in April 2006, and, The Whoin November 2006 but he declined, preferring to split his time between the two. On 24 June 2007, The Who topped the .
[]Amazing Journey[]
In November 2007, the documentary Amazing Journey: The Story of The Who was released. The two-DVD set included new interviews from Daltrey, Jones, and Townshend as well as , , and . The documentary includes footage not in earlier documentaries, including film from the 1970 Leeds University appearance and a 1964 performance at the Railway Hotel when they were The High Numbers. Amazing Journey was nominated for a 2009 Grammy Award.
[]The Who Tour 2008-2009[]
On 30 October 2007, Daltrey planned 2008/2009 shows in and . "We don't want to stop..." he said. "We don't want those long hiatuses that we used to have... You should at least keep the ball rolling." [30]
Daltrey implied that Townshend was working on new material and on 11 February 2008 Townshend confirmed this on the band's website. He said Daltrey was setting up album work. A proposed -produced album of covers of R&B songs was ruled out, however. [31]
The Who were honoured at the 2008 in Los Angeles. Taping of the show took place 12 July [32] , followed by a network broadcast on 17 July. , , , , and played Who songs and the night ended with the band on stage to perform. [33] That same week, a 12-song best-of collection was released for the Rock Band. The Who performed at the Rock Band party at the Orpheum Theater during the 2008 Media and Business Summit. Townshend made a joke regarding the color choices on the game's guitar controller. [34]
In October 2008, The Who embarked on a tour of four Japanese cities and nine cities.
A tour is scheduled for March/April 2009 in (23 March), (24), (26), (29), (31) and (4 April).
The Who were recognized in 2008 at the . Among the performances were 's "My Generation", 's "Wont Get Fooled Again", 's "Who Are You?", 's "Love Reign O'er Me", and ' "Baba O'Riley," joined by the New York City Fire and Police Departments, a nod to the 2001 charity concert in New York, when The Who sang "Baba O'Riley" to the police and fire departments