The Who - Tommy - Gt Britain Release Track Record Gatefold 12" Vinyl LP Album

- A psychedelic 1969 rock opera bursting with raw power, twisted storytelling, and iconic artwork that reshaped vinyl history

THE WHO - Tommy Gt Britain Release Track Record Gatefold 12" Lp Vinyl Album front cover https://vinyl-records.nl

"Tommy" by The Who is a landmark album in rock music history, featuring a unique blend of genres and a captivating story. The original UK release came in a gatefold sleeve with 24 tracks spread over two LPs. The album has since been reissued multiple times and remains a beloved classic to this day.

"Tommy by The Who" Album Description:

The Who's "Tommy" is a rock opera album that was released in the UK on 23 May 1969, by Track Records. The album was produced by Kit Lambert and Pete Townshend and features a unique blend of rock, opera, and pop music.

The album tells the story of a young boy named Tommy, who becomes deaf, dumb, and blind after witnessing a traumatic event. Despite his disabilities, Tommy becomes a pinball champion and a cult-like figure for his followers. The album explores themes of isolation, abuse, and the search for identity.

The original UK release of "Tommy" came in a gatefold sleeve with artwork by Mike McInnerney. The album contained two LPs with a total of 24 tracks. Some of the most popular songs on the album include "Pinball Wizard," "I'm Free," and "See Me, Feel Me."

"Tommy" was a commercial and critical success, reaching number 2 on the UK Albums Chart and number 4 on the US Billboard 200. It was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Album Cover.

The album has been reissued multiple times, including a deluxe edition in 2013 to celebrate its 44th anniversary. The deluxe edition includes a remastered version of the original album, demos, and live recordings from the time of the album's release.

Production & Recording Information:

Music Genre:

Rock Opera

Label & Catalognr:

Polydor Records Ltd / Track Record 613 013

Album Packaging

Gatefold/FOC (Fold Open Cover) Album Cover Design with artwork / photos on the inside cover pages

Media Format:

12" LP Vinyl Stereo Gramophone Record
Total Album (Cover+Record) weight: 480 gram

Year & Country:

1969 – Made in Gt Britain

Producers:
  • Kit Lambert – Producer
Sound & Recording Engineers:
  • Damon Lyon-Shaw – Sound/Recording Engineer
Recording Location:

I.B.C.

Album Cover Design & Artwork:
  • Mike McInnerney – Album cover design
Photography:
  • Barrie Meller – Photography

Band Members / Musicians:

Band Line-up:
  • Pete Townshend – Narrator
  • Roger Daltrey – Tommy
  • John Entwistle – Cousin Kevin
  • Ringo Starr – Uncle Ernie (Beatles)
  • Steve Winwood – Father (Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, Blind Faith)
  • Maggie Bell – Mother (Stone the Crows)
  • Sandy Denny – Nurse (Fairport Convention)
  • Graham Bell – Lover
  • Richie Havens – Hawker
  • Merry Clayton – Acid Queen
  • Rod Stewart – Local Lad
  • Richard Harris – Doctor
  • London Symphony Orchestra – Orchestral Accompaniment
  • Chambre Choir – Choir Vocals

Complete Track-listing:

Tracklisting Side One:
  1. Overture (3:50)
  2. It's a Boy (2:07)
  3. 1921 (3:14)
  4. Amazing Journey (3:25)
  5. Sparks (3:45)
  6. Eyesight to the Blind (The Hawker) (Sonny Boy Williamson II) (2:15)
Tracklisting Side Two:
  1. Christmas (5:30)
  2. Cousin Kevin (John Entwistle) (4:03)
  3. The Acid Queen (3:31)
  4. Underture (9:55)
Tracklisting Side Three:
  1. Do You Think It's Alright? (0:24)
  2. Fiddle About (John Entwistle) (1:26)
  3. Pinball Wizard (3:50)
  4. There's a Doctor (0:25)
  5. Go to the Mirror! (3:50)
  6. Tommy Can You Hear Me? (1:35)
  7. Smash the Mirror (1:20)
  8. Sensation (2:32)
Tracklisting Side Four:
  1. Miracle Cure (0:10)
  2. Sally Simpson (4:10)
  3. I'm Free (2:40)
  4. Welcome (4:30)
  5. Tommy's Holiday Camp (Keith Moon) (0:57)
  6. We're Not Gonna Take It (6:45)
Album Front Cover Photo
Front cover artwork of The Who’s 1969 UK release of the double LP rock opera Tommy, issued on Track Record. The design by Mike McInnerney features a surreal blue sky with fluffy clouds, crisscrossed by a grid of tilted black diamond-shaped openings. White birds fly freely across the sky, while in some of the openings appear shadowed black-and-white portraits of band members peering outward, their hands raised as if pressing against an unseen surface. The album title TOMMY and band name the who are printed at the top in small yellow and white typeface.

The front cover of the original UK Track Record release of “Tommy” shows a striking surrealist design created by artist Mike McInnerney. The entire image is filled with a sky of bright blue hues, streaked with soft, fluffy clouds that give a sense of both depth and dreamlike atmosphere.

Across this sky runs a lattice of tilted black diamond shapes, forming an almost endless grid of windows. Some of these openings are empty voids, while others reveal shadowy, black-and-white photographs of the band members’ faces and hands. They appear to peer through, pressing outward with open palms, as though trapped within another dimension.

White birds, caught mid-flight with wings spread wide, glide across the sky in multiple directions, reinforcing the themes of freedom and transcendence that run throughout the album. At the very top, the album title TOMMY is printed in uppercase yellow letters, while directly beneath, in smaller lowercase white text, sits the band’s name, the who. The overall effect is haunting, psychedelic, and deeply emblematic of the late 1960s rock aesthetic.

This original sleeve remains one of the most recognizable and iconic pieces of cover art in rock history, setting the visual stage for the ambitious rock opera within.

Album Back Cover Photo
Back cover of The Who’s 1969 UK Track Record double LP release Tommy. The design features a nearly all-black background with a surreal arrangement of luminous blue birds in flight across the darkness. To the right, part of the lattice-like grid of diamond windows from the front cover reappears, fading into shadow. On the left side, the full track listing of all 24 songs is printed in white text with running times, composer credits, and production details including producer Kit Lambert, engineer Damon Lyon-Shaw, and artist credits. Below, the Track Record and Polydor information and catalog number 613 013 are displayed. At the center, a clenched metallic fist breaks through a spiked orb, adding a dramatic, almost violent element to the otherwise fluid imagery.

The back cover of the original UK Track Record gatefold edition of “Tommy” presents a dark, brooding design dominated by a black background. Against this void, bright blue birds fly in sweeping patterns, their wings outstretched, glowing as if lit from within.

On the right edge, the geometric lattice of diamond-shaped windows from the front cover reappears but fades into shadow, creating continuity with the overall visual theme. At the left side, all 24 tracks are listed in white type, complete with running times, composer notations, and detailed credits. These include production by Kit Lambert, engineering by Damon Lyon-Shaw, and cover design by Mike McInnerney.

Near the center-left, a spiked metallic orb bursts open with a clenched fist breaking through, a powerful and almost violent contrast to the otherwise fluid flight of the birds. At the bottom, the Track Record and Polydor logos with the catalog number 613 013 anchor the release firmly in its original 1969 context.

The combination of stark imagery, credits, and track information makes this back sleeve both a practical reference and an extension of the album’s dramatic, surreal aesthetic.

Photo One of Inside Page Gatefold Cover
Inside gatefold artwork of The Who’s 1969 UK Track Record release Tommy. The design by Mike McInnerney shows a continuation of the surreal blue lattice structure of diamond-shaped windows on the left side, fading into the dark black background. Dozens of luminous blue birds soar diagonally across the space, creating movement and contrast against the void. On the right, printed in white text, are song lyrics beginning with 'Deaf, Dumb and blind boy,' setting the narrative tone of the rock opera. The composition combines psychedelic art with textual storytelling, merging visuals and words into one immersive design.

The first inside gatefold of the original UK Track Record pressing of “Tommy” expands upon Mike McInnerney’s surreal visual concept. On the left edge, the blue lattice of diamond-shaped windows appears again, gradually fading into the surrounding black space.

From this structure, luminous blue birds take flight, sweeping diagonally across the design. Their glowing forms create a sense of movement and energy, contrasting sharply with the still, dark void that dominates the rest of the gatefold.

On the right side, printed in crisp white text, are lyrics beginning with “Deaf, Dumb and blind boy”, introducing the central figure of the rock opera and setting the thematic tone. The juxtaposition of psychedelic imagery and narrative lyrics transforms this inner sleeve into both a visual and literary gateway into the album’s conceptual world.

The combination of art and words ensures that opening the gatefold is as much an immersive experience as listening to the record itself.

Photo Two of Inside Page Gatefold Cover
Second inside gatefold artwork of The Who’s 1969 UK Track Record release Tommy. The composition by Mike McInnerney features a black background punctuated by a geometric lattice of diamond shapes, this time filled with lush, vivid green foliage and pink blossoms, symbolizing nature and renewal. White doves are scattered across the scene, wings spread in mid-flight. At the bottom, a realistic hand reaches upward toward the patterned openings, suggesting a sense of human connection, striving, or transcendence. The interplay of natural imagery with stark black voids enhances the psychedelic and surreal tone of the album’s visual identity.

The second inside gatefold of the UK Track Record edition of “Tommy” shifts the imagery into a brighter, more organic vision. Against a black background, a lattice of diamond-shaped openings reveals vivid green leaves and bursts of pink blossoms.

White doves glide across the space, their wings frozen mid-flight, enhancing the sense of peace and transcendence. At the bottom of the composition, a realistic human hand reaches upward toward the lattice, visually linking humanity to the natural world portrayed within the openings.

This design by Mike McInnerney serves as a visual counterbalance to the darker imagery elsewhere in the album, offering a symbol of hope, renewal, and connection within the broader psychedelic and surreal aesthetic of the rock opera.

Close up of Side One record’s label
Close-up of Side One label from The Who’s 1969 UK Track Record double LP release Tommy. The circular black label features the Track Record logo at the top in bold white type with stylized 'T' and record graphic. Below, Polydor Records Ltd. is printed in white, followed by catalog number 613 013, notation DOUBLE ALBUM (Record 1), and stereo designation ST 33. The track list for Side One is presented in uppercase letters, crediting Pete Townshend as composer of five tracks, and Sonny Boy Williamson for 'Eyesight for the Blind'. Song durations are included. At the bottom, production is credited to Kit Lambert, with publishing credits to Fabulous Music and Jewel Music. The outer rim carries legal rights text in a circular band, and 'MADE IN GT. BRITAIN' is clearly printed.

This Side One record label of the UK Track Record edition of “Tommy” is printed in white on black, featuring the bold Track Record logo at the top with its distinctive stylized “T” and record disc graphic. Beneath, the text reads Polydor Records Ltd., linking the imprint to its parent company.

To the left, catalog number 613 013 is listed alongside the indication DOUBLE ALBUM (Record 1), with the stereo code ST 33 printed in a rounded box on the right. The year of release, © 1969, is also displayed prominently.

The track listing for Side One includes: Overture, It’s a Boy, 1921, Amazing Journey, Sparks, and Eyesight for the Blind. Compositions are credited primarily to Pete Townshend, with Sonny Boy Williamson acknowledged for the last track. Durations for each song are clearly noted.

At the bottom, production is credited to Kit Lambert, with publishing split between Fabulous Music and Jewel Music. Around the label’s edge runs a circular text asserting rights of the manufacturer and prohibiting unauthorized reproduction. The inscription MADE IN GT. BRITAIN anchors the label as a product of its time and place.

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