After years of talk about the potential of new material from The Who [ tickets ], group members Pete Townshend [ tickets ] and Roger Daltrey [ tickets ] are laying out plans for the first Who studio album since 1982's "It's Hard."

According to an announcement posted this week on Townshend's official website, Townshend and Daltrey plan to start recording new demos before the end of the year, and to head into the studio in March.

The new songs will be based on Townshend's story "The Boy Who Heard Music." An early summer release date is targeted, and "the idea is to follow it up with a U.S. and U.K. tour, taking in other regions in 2005," the announcement said.

"Both Pete and Roger wanted to share this information with you at an early stage. It is hoped that the recording sessions will be filmed for webcasting and that some live, interactive sessions, via the website, will also take place."

Townshend, Daltrey and fellow founding member John Entwistle [ tickets ] seemed to be toying seriously with the idea of recording new material in the summer of 2002, but Entwistle died while the group was rehearsing for its 2002 tour.

In other Who news, Townshend is setting up a team to do a 5.1 remix of the band's acclaimed 1973 double album "Quadrophenia." An extended version of the album is also in the works, "opening the story up for future theatrical and DVD versions," according to the announcement.