HIGHLIGHTS

The Who live in Leeds with Keith Moon behind the sticks

Inside Out investigates the trade in deadly snakes across Yorkshire, the commuters who've conquered traffic jams, and Rick Wakeman looks back at The Who's historic gig in Leeds.

The Who Live in Leeds

Rick Wakeman looks back at the night that The Who played Leeds and made rock history.

Won't get fooled again - Leeds rocks to the sound of The Who

Thirty five years ago Pete Townshend hit the first chord of 'My Generation' at The Who gig at the Leeds University Refectory.

And that night lives forever in the memories of all who were there - and millions more.

A bank of tape recorders parked in a van outside the hall recorded the gig - and it became the million selling album simply titled 'The Who - Live at Leeds'.

Rock legend Rick Wakeman is a massive Who fan and he recalls their music in the early 1970s.

"The Who were at the time the loudest band in the world. They had just conquered America, played at Woodstock and 'Tommy' was being hailed as a work of genius.

"And what did they do? They came to Leeds Uni. and recorded what I reckon to be the best live album ever."

Rick also secured an exclusive interview for Inside Out by getting Who frontman Roger Daltrey in front of the cameras.

Rock gods live in Leeds at the height of Who-mania

Despite having played thousands of gigs before and since that night Roger remembers the evening clearly.

"The students there were a great audience for us - it was packed to the rafters, and then some more. I heard there was a thousand of them on the roof!"

He also admitted that 'Live at Leeds' was very nearly 'Live at Hull'.

"We recorded the next night's gig too - at Hull. To be honest, that was a great gig too - but when we listened back to the tape, we hadn't recorded the bass!"

Inside Out tracked down students who were there 35 years ago!

Paul Goulden, now an anaesthetist at Dewsbury Hospital says, "The band were spectacular - four guys at the very top of their game".

Translator Rob Everest from York says, "They were so loud - every gig I've been to since has had to live up to that night"

The programme also tracked down the official photographer for the gig Chris McCourt.

Who's next? Peter Townshend kicks out

He shot photographs for the album cover. They were never used and have remained mostly unseen until now.

To coincide with the show the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television have put on a special display of the unseen photographs.

The Who have found a new audience recently through their music being used on the CSI shows and their success at the recent Live Eight gig.

Rick added, "And this album, recorded on pretty old fangled stuff in a Leeds Uni dining room, is where it all happened for me. It was a great album when I bought it 35 years ago and it is still sensational."

All photographs are courtesy and copyright of Chris McCourt.
More photographs at bbc.co.uk/leeds.

Deadly snakes for sale

An undercover team from the BBC's Inside Out programme has exposed a trade in potentially deadly venomous snakes in Yorkshire.

York based vet Emma Milne, working with former RSPCA special investigations officer Terry Spamer, secretly filmed a man selling a deadly African Puff Adder at the Hartshead Moor Services on the M62.

Emma and the team also exposed a loophole in the current law which allows people to go across to the continent and buy a venomous snake like a cobra and legally bring it into the UK.

Emma says, "There seems to be a growing number of people who want to keep venomous snakes. Many are very responsible, they keep and license these animals in accordance with the law.

"However, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that there are lots of people who are not bothering with the license - and this is what is fuelling the black market in illegal held snakes."

Every year 5 million people are bitten by snakes worldwide, and 40,000 people die.

Former RSPCA officer Terry Spamer went undercover for the programme and was put in touch with a group of people who kept venomous snakes illegally.

"These people do not have licenses for these snakes and they don't care who they sell them to. They are absolutely deadly, if you were bitten you could die.

It is legal to keep a venomous snake in the UK provided you have a Dangerous Wild Animal License.

The programme uncovered evidence that many people simply did not bother to apply.

Terry Spamer also went across to Holland to expose a loophole in the law where he bought an Egyptian Cobra at a snake fair and brought it back into the UK legally through customs at Hull.

Terry says, "These snakes that people are buying are like loaded guns - it is crazy that you can buy the snake without having to first prove that you have license."

DEFRA said it is aware of the problem and is looking at tightening up the legislation.

Plus...

Kicking out the jams

We look at the commuters in who have found a sneaky way around traffic jams using a paramotor which is a kind of motorised parachute.