Smashed guitars, spread-eagle leaps, "Tommy," airborne microphones and thundering music are part of the style that has made The Who rock stars big enough to launch Pontiac Stadium as a rock concert hall.

Saturday at 8 p.m. The Who will make their first Detroit appearance in two years and play before some 72,000 fans, the largest rock audience in Detroit history.

The Who rank with Elton John, the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan at the peak of international rock stardom. They are one of the few supergroups from the early days of rock to retain its original personnel: Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, Keith Moon and John Entwistle.

THE WHO HAS been together since 1964, when they met as "mods" in the working class neighborhoods of London. They were one of the first groups to incorporate kinky, eccentric costumes matched by their frantic showmanship.

The band has sold nearly 10 million albums and spread its music through films and its own rock opera. The music is a mixture of sophisticated rock and roll, potent lyrics and ingenious melodies. Live, they are as exciting visually as they are on vinyl.

Despite persistent reports of intra-group friction, and a possible break-up, the group has transformed its differences into a performing tension that is both exciting and distressing. Though their songs are at times painfully self-conscious, their chronicles of rocky adolescence provide musical documentaries that portray the raw creativity that spawned rock.

Pete Townshend is the group's primary songwriter and guitarist and its tormented intellect. With time, Townshend has shown himself to be as energetic at writing music as he is at playing guitar. With the lyrics of The Who's first major hit "My Generation," Townshend distinguished himself as a self-styled spokesman for the young: "People try to put us down—Just because we get around—Things they do look awful cold—Hope I die before I get old."

Townshend is most widely known for compositions like "I Can See for Miles," "Magic Bus," "We Won't Get Fooled Again" and his rock opera "Tommy" (which alone created a self—grabbing the audio satellite just in time to deliver the style guitar strumming, and he often demolishes his instrument as a concert finale.

Roger Daltrey is the lead voice of The Who and is widely known as the star of the movie version of "Tommy" and more recently of "Lisztomania." In concert Daltrey shakes his blond locks and often launches the microphone in orbit around himself—grabbing the audio satellite just in time to deliver the lyrics. After years of work, his voice has developed a range and lyrical gutsiness that accents The Who's raucous manner.

Keith Moon comes on like a crazed chimp in concert but is one of the most tireless, talented drummers in popular music. Rock legend has it that when he auditioned to play for The Who in the early 1960s he broke two drum heads and a bass foot pedal. On that basis, he was hired immediately. He is also the jokester who drove a Lincoln Continental into a hotel swimming pool.

While the rest of the Whooligans careen around the stage, bass-playing John Entwistle looks as detached and calm as a male nurse in an asylum. Though he rarely joins in the band's antics, his fingers provide the rumbling undercurrent that propels The Who's sound.

Today every member of The Who is involved in extra-group projects. All of them have solo albums, Daltrey is eyeing a couple of movie scripts and Moon has a comedy album in the works. The group also has a new album called "Who By Numbers," which reaffirms their talent for producing consistently exciting, sophisticated rock music.

At the request of Peter Townshend, The Who is traveling with one of the top groups of reggae, Toots and the Maytals. Their lively Jamaican sound has become increasingly popular among rock enthusiasts. For many, The Who concert may provide their first glimpse of the bouncy island music played by the Maytals.

From left, Daltrey, Moon, Townshend, and Entwistle.

The Who is Still together after 11 raucous years.