Baba O' Reilly

Why is Baba O'Riley spelled incorrectly as "Baba O' Reilly" on the Complex Rock Tour Live DVD? Actually it is spelled correctly. It is the version on "Who's Next" that is wrong. Here's what happened: When the artwork for Who's Next was first printed back in 1971, someone in the record company misread Pete Townsend's messy handwriting and spelled the song "Baba O' Riley" instead of "Baba O' Reilly." Townsend was despondent about the spelling mistake because the song was meant to reference a cousin who he was particularly fond of. The label agreed to correct the mistake during the second printing of the album but within weeks of the release of Who's Next, Baba O'Riley got heavy airplay on "progressive" FM radio stations throughout the world. As a result, Townsend was forced to live with the mistake. When Blue Man Group contacted Townsend to ask permission for their cover version of the song, his one stipulation was that Blue Man group restore the song to its original spelling. "I owe it to my cousin, even if it means thousands of blokes thinking that the people at Blue Man Group have a poor grasp on rock history.

This should clear up the rumor that has been circulating around the Internet that Blue Man Group simply made a mistake. It is inconceivable that a mistake of that magnitude could have eluded all of the elaborate fact-checking systems at Blue man Group. When you add to this all the legal approvals necessary and the simple fact that the company includes numerous musicians with extensive rock trivia knowledge, it is almost impossible to imagine a mistake like this happening. (Anyone who has ever read CMP's posts on the MB knows that there are never any spelling or gramatical mistakes.) Even though we know some people will think that this explanation is a thinly veiled cover-up for a stupid mistake, we are consoled with the knowledge that somewhere in Great Britain, The real Baba O' Reilly will finally get to see her name in print. We just hope she appreciates it."