The Who: On their way to NZ

The Who play the North Shore Harbour Stadium on Saturday. Photo / Supplied

One of the most enduring and influential rock groups around is heading to New Zealand this weekend.

Legendary British band The Who, who last played on these shores in 1968, kick off their highly-anticipated 2009 tour at the North Shore Harbour Stadium on Saturday.

In spite of the loss of original members Keith Moon (in 1978) and John Entwistle (in 2002), The Who remain the standard-bearer for great live rock and roll and are still one of the most in-demand live acts in the business.

They've sold over 100 million albums and been an inspiration to everyone from The Clash to The Ramones to Pearl Jam, since forming in 1964.

The band's long-overdue tour is largely in support of their 2006 album,

Endless Wire

- their first new studio album since 1982 - and will see the boys trek the southern hemisphere with shows in Australia and New Zealand.

Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, Simon Townshend (guitars), Zak Starkey (drums), Pino Palladino (bass) and John 'Rabbit' Bundrick (keys) are fresh from a US and Japanese tour, performing to rave reviews and are keen to hit the road again.

"We don't want to stop now," Roger Daltrey recently told

Billboard Magazine

.

"We don't want those long hiatuses that we used to have. We feel at this time of our lives it's too precious a thing to take liberties with time. When you're young, you've got that time. When you're old, you haven't."

Promoter Andrew McManus is thrilled to have secured the rock legends for this very special tour.

"I had the opportunity of watching The Who headline the 02 Festival in Ireland last year and was blown away by not only Roger Daltrey's vocals but also the sheer magic coming off stage collectively from Pete Townsend and the rest of the band. This is a real coup for New Zealand and the band can't wait to visit again. Forty years has been too long!"

Special guests at Saturday's concert will be Counting Crows, in their very first visit to New Zealand.

So which songs can you expect the boys to perform at this weekend's concert? Here's the rumoured set list:

I Can't Explain
The Seeker
The Kids are Alright
Fragments
Who Are You?
Behind Blue Eyes
Real Good Looking Boy
Baba O'Reilly
Getting in Tune
Sister Disco
Eminence Front
5:15
Love Reign O'er Me
My Generation
Won't Get Fooled Again

Encores:

Naked Eye
Pinball Wizard/Tommy Medley
Overature/Amazing Journey/Sparks/Underture/We're Not Going to Take It
Tea and Theatre

Video: Maximum R&B Live DVD promo

- NZ HERALD ONLINE