I heard on TV this weekend an acoustic version of my (and probably every EB fan’s) favorite English Beat song, “Save It for Later.” I couldn’t put my finger on the familiar artist; an Internet search revealed that it was Pete Townshend (I hear Richard Thompson’s influence). Recorded 30 years ago, the studio version I heard was released in 2006.
Townshend recorded “Save It for Later” in 1985 for the album White City: A Novel. That (studio) version of the song didn’t surface (as a bonus track) until the album’s re-release 21 years later. In 1985, the song became part of his live repertoire, and a live version was released in 1986 on Deep End Live! , a selection of songs from a concert at London’s Brixton Academy by Townshend’s Deep End band, which included David Gilmour on guitar. The entire Brixton concert was released on CD in 2004 as Live: Brixton Academy ’85 (check out the setlist). A videocassette of the show was released in 1986. Now out-of-print, it can be viewed here:
The live version of “Save It for Later” from Brixton is available as a single download from Amazon and iTunes. The studio version is available only on the re-released White City album.
I may be late to the party on Pete’s version of this, but it’s fantastic. I hear the Richard Thompson influence, too; those Brits. I like that brass section in the Deep End stuff, and looked them up. the ‘Kick Horns’ have put their mark on a surprising variety of bands’ stuff that I like, from Spiritualized to the Rolling Stones to Erasure. I can see that sound thread between them now. Thanks for the links. Great website.