EMI, Lambert and Stamp signed them up with Shel Talmy, who had produced The Kinks hits, and whose company had an output deal through Decca Records in the UK. Lambert eventually replaced Talmy as the group's producer in 1966, starting with "I'm a Boy," which reached number two on the UK singles chart. Track Record In 1967, Lambert and Stamp established their own independent record label, Track Record, one of the first of its kind, signing up various new artists, including Jimi Hendrix, Arthur Brown (producing his No. 1 single, "Fire", and parent album The Crazy World of Arthur Brown in 1968), Thunderclap Newman, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and Golden Earring. In 1968, they set up offices in New York and signed Labelle, whose first album Lambert produced, and The Parliaments. The label initially proved very lucrative for the duo but due to fiscal mismanagement and ongoing conflicts with The Who it soon fell into debt and was dissolved in 1978. Tommy Ever since the beginning of their working relationship Lambert had been trying to convince Pete Townshend to move away from simple songwriting and compose more mature fare using his troubled childhood as a starting point. Townshend has acknowledged that it was Lambert who influenced him to combine rock music and opera, which led to the creation of the rock opera Tommy. Although The Who were international hitmakers by the late '60s, it was not until the release of Tommy in 1969 that the band became firmly established both creatively and commercially. Firing While The Who was struggling to articulate Townshend's next concept, Lifehouse (which would eventually be abandoned, and turned into the popular rock album Who's Next), Lambert began shopping a film version of Tommy without the band's authorization. This led to significant differences between Lambert and the group. Despite this, in 1973, Townshend contacted Lambert, asking him to help with the recording of Quadrophenia, but Lambert's drug abuse and the allegations of missing funds stalled efforts at a reconciliation. After litigation was initiated for unpaid royalties, both Lambert and Stamp were sacked in 1974 and replaced by Bill Curbishley, who still manages the band. They officially ended their partnership with the band two years later. On 22 January 1977, The Who settled their lawsuit against Lambert and Stamp. Townshend received a $1 million settlement for his US copyrights to date and The Who gained rights to