ROCK legends The Who will perform with a full orchestra in the region next year, it has been revealed.

Their appearance at Utilita Arena Newcastle on Saturday, March 21, forms part of their latest UK arena tour.

Singer Roger Daltrey and guitarist and songwriter Pete Townshend are joined by long-time Who drummer Zak Starkey, bassist Pino Palladino along with contributions from Simon Townshend, Benmont Tench, Carla Azar, Joey Waronker and Gordon Giltrap.

The songs cover a myriad of subjects including the Grenfell Tower fire, musical theft, spirituality, reincarnation, the power of memory and ‘an old rock star that has lost his marbles’.

Singer Roger Daltrey, who rates it amongst their strongest, said: “I think we’ve made our best album since Quadrophenia in 1973, Pete hasn’t lost it, he’s still a fabulous songwriter, and he’s still got that cutting edge.”

Pete Townshend added: "This album is almost all new songs written last year, with just two exceptions. There is no theme, no concept, no story, just a set of songs that I (and my brother Simon) wrote to give Roger Daltrey some inspiration, challenges and scope for his newly revived singing voice.

"Roger and I are both old men now, by any measure, so I’ve tried to stay away from romance, but also from nostalgia if I can. I didn’t want to make anyone feel uncomfortable. Memories are OK, and some of the songs refer to the explosive state of things today. I made new home studio demos of all these songs in the summer of 2018 using a wide collection of instruments old and new. We started recording as The Who in March 2019, and have finished now in late August just in time to make some vinyl………maybe even some cassettes……ready for release in November”.

Tickets will go on sale at 10am on Friday September 20 and are available online, from the booking hotline number 0844 493 6666 or from 11am in person from the Utilita Arena Box Office. To book accessible seating, contact Accessible Hotline on 0800 988 4440. Please note venue facility and booking fees will apply.