The Who - Don't Let Go The Coat

What this video is

Released in May 1981 as the second single from Face Dances—The Who's first studio album following drummer Keith Moon's 1978 death—'Don't Let Go The Coat' arrived at a pivotal transitional moment for both the band and rock culture at large. The song's lyrics, widely interpreted as a devotional ode to Indian spiritual master Meher Baba (a long-running influence on Pete Townshend), carry themes of spiritual tenacity…

Why it matters

Represents the pivot of legacy British hard rock into the promotional video era; the Face Dances video trilogy—shot in a single session by John Crome—constitutes one of the earliest systematic MTV promotional campaigns by a heritage rock act, predating the full-scale visual arms race of 1982–1984.…

The director

John Crome (born 22 October 1939, Brighton, Sussex, England) is a British director and editor. He directed all three Face Dances-era Who promotional videos on the same shared set in 1981. His broader career spans British television drama including The…