‘I’ve Had Enough’: The moment youth rock rebels The Who finally grew up
Youth was in vogue for the first time back in the 1960s. Widening the generational gap tenfold, Britain’s youth were keen to dismiss old attitudes towards art, fashion, music, and politics, forging their own cultural revolution in the post-war landscape. At the forefront of the era’s musical rebellion were Pete Townshend and The Who, who created generation-defining anthems like ‘I Can’t Explain’ or ‘My Generation’, which encapsulated the youthful energy permeating throughout the fashionable streets of London during that time. Ultimately, though, nobody stays young forever.
Of all the budding young rock outfits to emerge from Carnaby Street during the swinging sixties, very few had the same staying power as The Who. While the explosive unpredictability of Keith Moon, bass mastery of John Entwistle, and archetypal rock vocals of Roger Daltrey undoubtedly played a role in that enduring legacy, it was the songwriting of Pete Townshend which was the predominant driving force behind The Who in the 1960s and beyond.
As an angry young mod finding his way in the world, the guitarist quickly found a knack for penning youthful anthems to reflect that subculture. The impact of the band’s early Shel Talmy-produced singles was colossal, but Townshend quickly moved into a style of songwriting more befitting of his art-school leanings.
Records like A Quick One, which featured songwriting contributions from every member of The Who, or The Who Sell Out, which blended elements of pop art with the band’s sound to create a postmodern masterpiece, were totally unlike anything else being recorded in the late 1960s. For the most part, however, The Who were still tied to the image of anarchic young mods, and their ear-piercing live performances did little to alleviate those expectations.
Eventually, though, Townshend and the band officially turned their back on that anarchic image. After finding success with his ambitious rock opera Tommy, Townshend turned his attention to the much more expansive and autobiographical Quadrophenia, detailing the life and times of a young mod named Jimmy. The protagonist’s exploits, getting into fights, taking drugs, and struggling to find his place in the world, evoked Townshend’s own experiences as a mod back in the 1960s, but the record’s predominant focus was, arguably, a journey towards maturity.
A key moment in this path towards adulthood comes partway through the track listing, when Jimmy declares ‘I’ve Had Enough’, renouncing his life of drugs, fights, and “acting like [he’s] tough”. Not only does the song provide a pivotal moment in the narrative of Townshend’s rock opera, but it also marks an important moment in the timeline and history of The Who themselves.
Arguably, the song marked the moment when the abrasive, youthful tones of ‘My Generation’ were worlds away, and a new, more mature, era for The Who was here to stay. Ironically, ‘I’ve Had Enough’ is probably a better anthem for Britain’s disenfranchised youth than any of the band’s previous efforts, perfectly capturing the alienation and uncertainty that rattles arounds in the heads of most ordinary young people.
Despite the song’s pivotal importance in the history of The Who, it was never one of the band’s favourite efforts. After only one show on the Quadrophenia tour, The Who dropped the song from their setlist, along with the largely inferior compositions ‘The Dirty Jobs’, ‘Is It in My Head’. Even still, ‘I’ve Had Enough’ remains the definitive moment when the youthful rock rebels of the 1960s finally grew up.
