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Eminence Front

1982 single by the Who

Summary

1982 single by the Who

Field	Value
name	Eminence Front
cover	The-who-eminence-front-cover.jpg
caption	Cover of the cancelled UK single
type	single
artist	the Who
album	It's Hard
B-side	"One at a Time"
released	December 1982
recorded	1982
studio	Turn Up-Down Studio at Glyn Johns' home in Surrey, England
genre	* Arena rock
* funk<ref name	"Christgau"
length	5:39
label	Polydor (UK)
Warner Bros. (US)
writer	Pete Townshend
producer	Glyn Johns
prev_title	Athena
prev_year	1982
next_title	It's Hard
next_year	1983
misc

| B-side = "One at a Time"

funk Warner Bros. (US) "Eminence Front" is a song by the English rock band the Who, written and sung by lead guitarist Pete Townshend. It appears on the band's tenth studio album It's Hard (1982). The single entered US Billboard Hot 100 on 25 December 1982, reaching number 68.

Background and recording

In the song, Townshend sings about the delusions and drug use of the wealthy and hedonistic. The lyrics describe a party in which people hide from their problems behind a façade. Townshend has introduced the song in live performances with: "This song is about what happens when you take too much white powder; it's called 'Eminence Front'." In an interview, Townshend explained:

Release

"Eminence Front" was scheduled to be released as a single in the UK by Polydor Records in 1982; the catalog number was WHO 7 but the single was never released. The picture sleeve, by Richard Evans, depicted a 1930s Art Deco house in Miami, Florida. The single in its picture sleeve was finally released in 2017 as part of the Who's box set The Polydor Singles 1975–2015. It was released as a promotional 12-inch single in both the US and UK, and as a 7-inch single in the US and Canada.

Critical reception

In a wholly negative review of It's Hard, Robert Christgau gave faint praise to "Eminence Front" as the album's high point, sarcastically noting how the aging Townshend "discovers funk. Just in time. Bye." Cashbox said that it "rides along on Pete Townshend's cleanly slicing guitar and the band's patented synth sound" as well as a "strong bottom" from the drums and bass guitar. Rolling Stone ranked the song as the Who's tenth best song, stating, Eminence Front' showed they could connect Townshend's new wave-influenced solo work with the classic sound of Who's Next."

Personnel

The Who

Pete Townshend – lead vocals, lead guitar, Yamaha E70 organ, backing vocals
Roger Daltrey – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
John Entwistle – bass guitar, backing vocals
Kenney Jones – drums

Additional personnel

Tim Gorman – Rhodes piano

In popular culture

In 2025, "Eminence Front" appeared in the critically acclaimed psychological thriller series Severance; first during the reveal trailer for the second season, and in the ending credits of the third episode "Who is Alive?".

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1982–1983)	Peak
position

References

Sheffield, Rob. (2022-09-27). "100 Best Songs of 1982".
Christgau, Robert. (25 January 1983). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". [[The Village Voice]].
"Discography". thewho.com.
"Billboard".
The Archivist. (2011-10-11). "Video Classics: Eminence Front". Wnew.com.
(3 March 2016). "The Who's 50 Greatest Songs: 10. 'Eminence Front' ('It's Hard', 1982)".
{{ref
(25 January 2016). "THE POLYDOR SINGLES BOX 1975–2015". [[The Who]].
(December 4, 1982). "Reviews".
Weiss, Josh. "Why The Who’s ‘Eminence Front’ Was A Brilliant Choice For ‘Severance’". Forbes.

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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