In the Who's Odorono, who is "Mr. Davidson"?

[johnspartan]

She sang the best she'd ever sang
She couldn't ever sing any better
But Mister Davidson never rang
She knew he would forget her

[tr0psn4j]

Good question! I love The Who Sell Out but I have no idea who he is.

[Biffy the Elephant Shrew]

I don't think it refers to a real person. I've always imagined that he was an impresario for whom the odoriferous lady was auditioning. Or he could just be a would-be admirer who frequents the venue where she performs. The timeline of the song is a bit tricky to puzzle out: it must refer to more than one performance, otherwise how could Mr. Davidson have been expected to ring the singer up before the scene in the dressing room?

[Bijou Drains]

I always assumed it was just a name made up to fit the music. Biggus Dickus or Sillyus Sodus would not fit there. :)

[blondebear]

From Mark Wilkerson's excellent bio, Who Are You: The Life of Pete Townshend (http://www.amazon.com/Who-Are-You-Life-Townshend/dp/1847722431/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_1):

"I came up with Odorono, which came out fully rounded and rather plaintive song about a singer who, because she has B.O., fails an audition with the impresario Harold Davidson..."

Davidson was a director in the Grade Organization, Lew and Leslie Grade's talent agency. He handled William and Morirs' artists in the UK, including Frank Sinatra. He also discovered Dave Clark, and transformed him from a stunt man into a pop idol.

[Lamia]

I was all excited thinking I would get to answer a question about one of my favorite bands, but blondebear nailed it. :)

ETA: It isn't necessary for the listener to know about Harold Davidson though, just that Mr. Davidson is some sort of music industry big shot.

[johnspartan]

Dang but does I loves me some SD :)

For some reason listening to it I'd pictured him being a BBC tv show host (or I guess they're called "presenters" over there), sort of like an Ed Sullivan type.

PS the Harold Davidson in Wikipedia is (presumably) someone else entirely.

[Biffy the Elephant Shrew]

I don't think it refers to a real person.

Of course, when I wrote this, I actually meant "It clearly refers to a specific person."