John Bundrick

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Lore & Background

Bundrick first worked with Pete Townshend in 1977 when he performed on Rough Mix, Townshend's collaboration with Ronnie Lane. He was invited to play on the Who's album Who Are You (1978), but broke his arm falling out of a taxi at the studio door and was unable to participate in recording sessions. Bundrick toured with the Who from 1979 to 1981 along with drummer Kenney Jones and played on their album Face Dances (1981), then briefly parted with the band during the recording of It's Hard (1982) and the subsequent tour. Bundrick later rejoined the band performing with them at Live Aid in 1985 and played live with them until 2012. Bundrick played on the Who's single "Real Good Looking Boy" and "Old Red Wine" in 2004, and on their album Endless Wire (2006) and joined the band for The Who Tour 2006–2007, appearing in the summer and fall concerts. He missed the start of the second leg of the North American tour due to the illness of his wife Sue; keyboard technician Brian Kehew took keyboard duties. Townshend said at the time that Sue was "very close to the end, and [Rabbit] will be back with us when she's gone". In the spring of 2008, Bundrick married Canadian Jody Ahern. On July 12, 2008, he performed at the recording of VH1 Honors the Who in Los Angeles. Bundrick performed with the Who for their Super Bowl XLIV halftime show in 2010. He played with the group in 2011 at a charity show but was replaced in the subsequent tours. Pete Townshend has commented that there ".. was an issue between Roger Daltrey and Rabbit."

In Their Own Story

In 1977, Bundrick first worked with Pete Townshend, performing on Rough Mix, Townshend's collaboration with Ronnie Lane. The following year, he was invited to play on the Who's album Who Are You (1978), but broke his arm falling out of a taxi at the studio door and was unable to participate in recording sessions. Bundrick toured with the Who from 1979 to 1981 along with drummer Kenney Jones and played on their album Face Dances (1981), then briefly parted with the band during the recording of It's Hard (1982) and the subsequent tour. Bundrick later rejoined the band performing with them at Live Aid in 1985 and played live with them until 2012. Bundrick played on the Who's single "Real Good Looking Boy" and "Old Red Wine" in 2004, and on their album Endless Wire (2006) and joined the band for The Who Tour 2006–2007, appearing in the summer and fall concerts. He missed the start of the second leg of the North American tour due to the illness of his wife Sue; keyboard technician Brian Kehew took keyboard duties. Townshend said at the time that Sue was "very close to the end, and [Rabbit] will be back with us when she's gone". In the spring of 2008, Bundrick married Canadian Jody Ahern. On July 12, 2008, he performed at the recording of VH1 Honors the Who in Los Angeles. Bundrick performed with the Who for their Super Bowl XLIV halftime show in 2010. He played with the group in 2011 at a charity show but was replaced in the subsequent tours. Pete Townshend has commented that there ".. was an issue between Roger Daltrey and Rabbit."

Reader's Guide

Bundrick's work with the Who spanned from 1977 to 2012. He first worked with Pete Townshend in 1977 on Rough Mix. He was invited to play on Who Are You (1978) but broke his arm falling out of a taxi at the studio door and was unable to participate. He toured with the Who from 1979 to 1981 along with drummer Kenney Jones and played on Face Dances (1981). He briefly parted with the band during the recording of It's Hard (1982) and the subsequent tour. He rejoined the band at Live Aid in 1985 and played live with them until 2012. He played on the singles "Real Good Looking Boy" and "Old Red Wine" in 2004, and on the album Endless Wire (2006). He joined the band for The Who Tour 2006–2007, appearing in summer and fall concerts. He missed the start of the second leg of the North American tour due to the illness of his wife Sue; keyboard technician Brian Kehew took keyboard duties. Townshend said Sue was "very close to the end, and [Rabbit] will be back with us when she's gone". In spring 2008, Bundrick married Canadian Jody Ahern. On July 12, 2008, he performed at VH1 Honors the Who in Los Angeles. He performed with the Who for their Super Bowl XLIV halftime show in 2010. He played with the group in 2011 at a charity show but was replaced in subsequent tours. Pete Townshend commented that there ".. was an issue between Roger Daltrey and Rabbit."

Did You Know?

• Bundrick was nicknamed 'Rabbit' since his schooldays because of his prominent front teeth.
• He broke his arm falling out of a taxi at the studio door and was unable to participate in recording sessions for the Who's album Who Are You (1978).
• He performed with the Who for their Super Bowl XLIV halftime show in 2010.
• Pete Townshend commented that there '.. was an issue between Roger Daltrey and Rabbit.'
• Bundrick married Canadian Jody Ahern in the spring of 2008.