THE link between this week’s three Great Ones is that all are representative of eras. A few years ago the British pop scene was in the doldrums. The Liverpool craze was over, leaving only the Beatles as lasting and talented performers, and they dominated the record scene.

While their records were, as always, brilliant, the majority of popular British groups were either regressing or trying to copy John, Paul, George, and Ringo.

Suddenly a London group kept making sensational appearances in the newspapers. They were smashing up expensive guitars on stage — autodestructive music they called it — and retired Indian Army colonels all over the country became apoplectic when they saw one of them wearing a jacket made from a Union Jack.

The Who had arrived, and they summed up both their image and their attitude to life with an explosive hit called My Generation. Keith Moon flails away at his drums, and a thunderous bass line echoes the stuttering fury of Roger Daltrey’s voice as The Who blast out their message of independence.

“People try to put us down, just because we get around” bawls Daltrey, and he is speaking not merely for the rebellious group, but for his generation. There is so much life and power behind this violent and exciting record, that it stands as a turning point in British pop. After this came new and exciting groups who combined articulate protest with musical skill, and a new dynamism came into the record scene — but most of it stemmed from Generation.