Reports out of London say that the Who will be officially announcing the dates to their upcoming tour of Quadrophenia -- possibly as early as next week. The tour -- which has already been announced by the band as spreading over the end of 2012 and into 2013 -- will be the Who's first run of extended dates since their 2008 mini-North American trek. The band -- which is now led by co-founders Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey -- has signed on to headline the Olympic Games closing ceremony on August 12th in London.

Townshend spoke candidly to us about wanting to the Who to take Quadrophenia on the road as soon as possible: "The last time we played it was at a teenage cancer concert at the Royal Albert Hall and I just thought it fabulous. I feel it's time to revisit it -- and I'm talking about the concert that we did in '96 for the Prince's Trust, which we then took on the road in late-'96 and all the way through '97. Y'know, we did 90 shows with it. I've kinda been waiting patiently; this is, this is (laughs) a real reversal, 'cause usually Roger is the one that wants to go on tour and I'm the one going, 'Hey, hold up, I've got this to write and this to do' -- I'm usually the one that's being nagged."

DID YOU KNOW???

• The Who last performed on Quadrophenia on March 30th, 2010 at London's Royal Albert Hall. It marked the first time that the band performed the piece without the late John Entwistle.

FAST FACTS

• For Quadrophenia, Pete Townshend created a song cycle chronicling the life of "Jimmy" -- a pill-popping fashion conscious R&B loving "Mod" from London in the mid-'60s. The album focused on Jimmy's battles with his parents, the mod nightlife, his demeaning office job, and the mods' legendary beach rumbles against their cultural nemesis, the "Rockers."
• The character of Jimmy was supposed to represent the four facets of the Who: Keith Moon (insane), John Entwistle (romantic), Roger Daltrey (bad), and Pete Townshend (good).

SIDE NOTES

• The new documentary, The Who: Quadrophenia - Can You See The Real Me? - The Story Behind The Album, premiered on June 15th at England's Sheffield Doc/Fest and will hit select U.S. theaters for one-night-only on July 24th.
• The film gives an in-depth look at the making of -- and tour behind -- the 1973 album, featuring the Who's Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey, their manager Bill Curbishley, Quadrophenia engineer Ron Nevison, early Mod "Irish Jack" Lyons, Townshend confidante and biographer Richard Barnes, and rock journalist Howie Edelson, among others.
• The super-deluxe limited edition Quadrophenia box set was released in November and comes housed in a hard-back deluxe slip-case and featured a new remaster of the original double album; 25 demo tracks from Townshend's studio archive; Who masters that were not included on the original album; a "Quadrophenia 5.1 EP" -- an exclusive eight track DVD re-mixed for surround sound, and a deluxe 100-page, hard-back book featuring a brand new 13,000 word essay by Pete Townshend, among other newly added elements.

CHECK IT OUT: The Who on November 20th, 1973 at Northern California's Cow Palace during the opening U.S. show on the Quadrophenia tour, performing "I'm One":

Pete Townshend On The Future Of 'Quadrophenia'