Former Guess Who guitarist Randy Bachman says his former band tried to force The Who to change their name.

Although the Guess Who had their greatest success from 1969 to 1974, the Canadian rockers formed several years earlier and released their first album as “the Guess Who?” in 1966. Before that, they released two albums as Chad Allan and the Expressions in 1965 – the same year the Who released their first album, my generation – although the words “Guess Who?” featured prominently on the cover of their second album, Hey Ho (What are you doing to me!).

Given this timeline, one can see why Bachman might accuse British rockers of encroaching on their turf. “When I was in Guess Who, we found out about this English band called The Who, and we were determined to force them to change their name,” Bachman said recently. classic rock. “So we were in London and the Who were playing at the Marquee club. We went and faced them. They were being filmed for German TV on that show, so we had to wait about four hours.

“Eventually we meet them and say, ‘Listen, we were here before you. So change your name, it confuses people,'” Bachman continued. “Pete Townshend looked at us and said, ‘There’s the Yardbirds and the Byrds. Nobody is troubled by that. So get the fuck out.”

Despite their inauspicious introduction, the Guess Who and The Who later became “great friends”, according to Bachman. “And that phrase ‘fuck off’ was our joke,” he added. “We would check into a hotel and find out who was there, so we’d call one of the guys at 3 a.m. and when they answered, we’d say, ‘Go ahead!’ and then hang up. They would do the same to us.

Bachman first left Guess Who in 1970 after the release of their biggest album, American woman, and found success in Bachman-Turner Overdrive. The Guess Who have continued in various lineups over the past 50+ years, with drummer Garry Peterson as the only remaining original member.