
She tells Billboard that her older brother was supposed to be there that night if their parents had not grounded him.
#MISSING KIDS BILLBOARD OPEN ARENA TV#
The special made by local channel WCPO senior news anchor Tanya O’Rourke - who, like this reporter, recalls watching the news of the tragedy unfold who a mixture of confusion and horror on local TV as a child - holds many levels of importance for her. The dark cloud hung over the band for the rest of that tour according to a heart-wrenching 2019 documentary, The Who: The Night That Changed Rock, in which they lamented the show going on, and their decision to leave town shortly after it finished, rather than staying around to grieve with their fans.

But fearing an even worse outcome, he implored them to let the concert go on as scheduled, with the band not notified about the horrific scene outside until after the gig. I think there’s been such a difficulty with dealing with our feelings about it… I think it’s gonna be really good,” Townshend told Billboard last month during a chat about his new Audible Original Words + Music, Somebody Saved Me.Īt the time of the tragedy, the Who were on their first tour following the 1978 death of legendary drummer Keith Moon and the sold-out, general admission Cincinnati show was the third stop on the outing.Ī crowd had been slowly gathering all day outside the venue in frigid weather and when they heard the band’s music playing inside two hours before showtime, a sudden rush occurred near the only two doors that were open at the time the sound the crowd heard, according to the band’s manager, Bill Curbishley, was a quick test of a trailer for The Who’s Quadrophenia film, not, as erroneously reported, a late sound check.Īt the time, local officials asked Curbishley to cancel the show after the dire situation outside came into view.
