On the seventeenth of September, Nineteen Sixty-Seven, The Who made their first major appearance on American television when they performed on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. The band had already earned a fearsome reputation in Britain for ending concerts by smashing guitars and destroying drum kits, but drummer Keith Moon wanted to ensure their American debut would be remembered for something even more spectacular.

Before the performance, Moon arranged for a stagehand to increase the explosive charge hidden inside his bass drum. The band routinely used a small pyrotechnic effect during the climax of My Generation, but on this occasion considerably more explosive powder was packed into the drum than anyone else in the group expected.

As Pete Townshend launched into his trademark guitar-smashing finale, Moon triggered the explosion.

The detonation was far larger than anticipated. A huge fireball erupted across the stage, sending fragments of Moon's drum kit flying into the air while thick smoke engulfed the performers. The blast startled both the studio audience and television crew, momentarily overwhelming the cameras and leaving presenter Tommy Smothers visibly shocked as the programme cut away.

Pete Townshend's hair was singed by the explosion and he has long maintained that the blast contributed significantly to the hearing problems that affected him throughout the rest of his career. Moon, meanwhile, emerged from the smoke grinning, delighted that his outrageous stunt had achieved exactly the reaction he had hoped for.

The performance instantly became one of the defining moments in rock television history. Rather than damaging The Who's reputation, it cemented their image as one of the most unpredictable and dangerous live acts of the era, introducing American audiences to a band that seemed determined to destroy anything placed in front of them.

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