ONE OF THE wildest musical performances ever witnessed in this area occurred recently at Cincinnati Music Hall.

The Who, four young men from England, cut loose with an electrifying show. Lead singer Roger Daltry, 20, likes to lip the mike around and play the cymbals with it. Lead guitarist Pete Townshend, 19, sometimes will take his guitar and smash it into the amplifier, breaking it into pieces. Drummer Keith Moon, 19, broke several pairs of sticks.

During the final number, Pete had smoke coming out of his amplifier. Keith threw a cymbal over his head and it landed in back of him—by the end of the song, all he had left to play were two tom-toms as the rest of his $5,000 set was lying all over the stage.

Stunned by this display, the audience was silent as the Who quietly walked off the stage. Then the silence was broken by the roar of applause.

The Who recently hit our shores for the first time on a nation-wide tour. The boys grew up in Shepherd’s Bush, an area of West London where most boys were rough and constantly became involved in gang fights.

The fourth member, bass guitarist John Entwistle, 19, married Alison Wise on June 23. They now live in Ealing, England.

HOW did the boys get their name? Actually it’s not supposed to mean anything but to explain the characters of the four boys in the group. No one can explain their sound, so why should anyone be able to explain their name? Therefore the Who was born.

In 1965 the Who released “I Can’t Explain” and it became a smash. “My Generation” followed and it became England’s number one best seller.

All except Keith dress in ruffled shirts and long-tailed jackets made of brightly colored material. Keith wears more conservative clothes because he must have more room to move. Surrounded by a 16-piece drum set, he needs all the arm room he can get.

During the music hall show the Who started their act with their British single titled “Substitute,” which is not available in America yet. “My Generation” was used as their final, uproarious number.