Roger Daltrey has revealed how the photoshoot for the Who’s 1967 LP The Who Sell Out left him bedridden for a week.
The classic cover art featured Daltrey sitting in a bathtub full of Heinz baked beans while clutching an oversized version of the brand’s distinctive can. After taking the iconic picture, the Who frontman soon became ill.
“I ended up with a week in bed with either the flu or probably the worst cold that I’ve had in my lifetime and I put it down to the baked beans because they’d just come out of the fridge,” the rocker explained. “They were freezing cold! I sat in them for twenty minutes until they had the great idea of putting electric fire round the back of the bathtub I was sitting in, which worked for a while.”
This solution turned out to be temporary, as the electric fire presented a new set of issues. “It started to heat them up but then [the beans] started to cook. So my arse was roasting while my front was freezing and within 24 hours I was in bed with the sniffles,” Daltrey explained. “I don’t blame the beans, I blame the electric fire!”
More than 50 years later, the Who and Heinz are getting back together – albeit this time without the bathtub. The band will release their expanded edition of The Who Sell Out on April 23, and to celebrate the occasion, Heinz has created limited edition “Beanz Meanz the Who” cans.
Available via the band’s website, the collectible will raise money for Teen Cancer America in the U.S.A., and the child hunger charities Magic Breakfast and Teenage Cancer Trust in the U.K.
A giant, autographed version of the can is also being auctioned off for charity. Fans will be able to bid here starting April 15.
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