"Had Enough" is a song written by

the Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

bassist

John Entwistle John Alec Entwistle (9 October 194427 June 2002) was an English musician who was the bassist for the rock band The Who. Entwistle's music career spanned over four decades. Nicknamed "The Ox" and "Thunderfingers", he was the band's only member ...

, and featured on their eighth studio album, ''

Who Are You ''Who Are You'' is the eighth studio album by English rock band the Who, released on 18 August 1978 by Polydor Records in the United Kingdom and MCA Records in the United States. Although the album received mixed reviews from critics, it was a ...

''. It was also released as a double A-sided single with "

", making it Entwistle's second single A-side, after "Postcard" from ''

Odds & Sods ''Odds & Sods'' is an album of studio outtakes by British rock band the Who. It was released by Track Records in the UK and Track/MCA in the US in October 1974. Ten of the recordings on original eleven song album were previously unreleased. ...

'' in 1974.

Background

Like " 905", "Had Enough" was planned to feature on a rock opera in the process of being written by Entwistle, but was never finished. It was written a long time before work was started on ''Who Are You''. The lyrics describe the main character of the failed rock opera, 905, finally snapping under the pressure and stress of his life. "Had Enough" saw single release as a double-A side single with "Who Are You" in 1978 prior to the ''Who Are You'' album's release. Despite this, "Had Enough" received far less radio airplay than "Who Are You" but American FM rock radio played the song frequently after its release. Entwistle later joked that most people probably thought the song was a B-side because it said "Entwistle" on it. It was never performed live by the Who, although it featured in many of Entwistle's solo concerts.amazon.com
/ref>

Composition

"Had Enough" was the third John Entwistle composition that had

Roger Daltrey Roger Harry Daltrey (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, musician and actor. He is a co-founder and the lead singer of the Rock music, rock band The Who. Daltrey's hit songs with The Who include "My Generation", "Pinball Wizard", "Won't Ge ...

on lead vocals, after "Someone's Coming" from 1967, and "Success Story" from 1975. Entwistle said of the song's composition: Unusually for a Who song, it features a full string orchestra, which was arranged by

Ted Astley Edwin Thomas "Ted" Astley (12 April 1922 – 19 May 1998) was a British composer. His best known works are British television themes and scores, most notably the main themes for '' The Saint'', ''Danger Man'' and '' The Baron''. He also success ...

. Pete Townshend said of these strings: Roger Daltrey, however, did not approve of these strings, reportedly head-butting producer

Glyn Johns Glyn Thomas Johns (born 15 February 1942) is an English musician, recording engineer and record producer. Biography Early history Johns was born in Epsom, Surrey, England. He had three siblings, two older sisters and a younger brother, Andy ...

over the disagreement. He later said:

Reception

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said it has "a strong guitar and keyboard presence, stout drumming and aggressive stance by Roger Daltrey" as well as "silky backing singing."

References

{{authority control Songs written by John Entwistle 1978 songs The Who songs