Which The Who mini-opera was performed on 'The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus'?

The Who mini-opera performed on “The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus” was “A Quick One, While He’s Away.”

Written by Pete Townshend, the piece appeared on The Who’s second studio album, A Quick One, released in 1966. Its nine-minute structure is divided into six contrasting sections, making it an early example of the rock-opera form that The Who would develop more fully in Tommy.

The performance was filmed in London on December 11–12, 1968, for a Rolling Stones television special. The Who’s energetic rendition became one of the event’s most celebrated moments, while the Stones reportedly felt their own late-night performance was unsatisfactory. The film was shelved and not released commercially until 1996.

A common mix-up is with “Rael,” another Townshend-written mini-opera from The Who Sell Out, or “Underture,” an instrumental from Tommy. “Glow Girl” is also associated with Townshend’s rock-opera ideas, but it was not the song performed at the Circus.