The Who to Play Live 8

The Who will perform at the London edition of Live 8, to be held July 2nd in Hyde Park. They join a star-studded lineup that already includes U2, Paul McCartney, Madonna, Elton John, Sting, Coldplay and a one-off reunion of Pink Floyd.

The Who, who haven't performed in nearly a year, now consist of founding members Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey, with drummer Zack Starkey, bassist Pino Paladino and keyboardist John "Rabbit" Bundrick.

Townshend is currently juggling a number of projects, including an autobiography entitled Who He?, as well as a long-planned solo project, The Boy Who Heard Music. This activity, unfortunately, has once again delayed a new Who album, provisionally entitled Who2.

"Roger has done what he calls sketch vocals on several tracks I produced and the results are very exciting," Townshend writes on his online diary about the band's first album in twenty-three years. "But I feel I can't tour any more with the Who without a new record."

Also in the works is My Generation: Who's Still Who, a feature-length documentary about the band. Directed by Murray Lerner, who documented the band's famed performance at the 1970 Isle of Wight festival, the film is due in 2006.