This song is tight and very likable right off the bat. The band was punk but with a pop sensibility…a great combination.
The song didn’t appear on a studio album….it was the B side to Everybody’s Happy Nowadays. The single peaked at #29 in the UK in 1979. This is too good to be a B side…the song has been included on movie soundtracks and The Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series video game. It also was featured on Entourage in 2009.
The Buzzcocks formed in Bolton, England in 1976 by singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Shelley and singer-songwriter Howard Devoto. They chose the name Buzzcocks after reading the headline, “It’s the Buzz, Cock!”, in a review of the TV series Rock Follies in Time Out magazine. The “buzz” is the excitement of playing on stage; “cock” is northern English slang meaning friend.
Why Can’t I Touch It was written by Steve Diggle, Steve Garvey, John Maher, and Pete Shelley.
Why Can’t I Touch It
Well, it seems so real I can see it
And it seems so real I can feel it
And it seems so real I can taste it
And it seems so real I can hear it
So why can’t I touch it?
So why can’t I touch it?
But then it looks so real I can see it
And it feels so real I can feel it
And it tastes so real I can taste it
And it sounds so real I can hear it
So why can’t I touch it?
So why can’t I touch it?
Then it looks so real I can feel it
And it feels so real I can taste it
And it tastes so real I can hear it
And it sounds so real I can see it
So why can’t I touch it?
So why can’t I touch it?
Now, it is so real I can see it
And it is so real I can feel it
And it is so real I can hear it
And it is so real I can be it
So why can’t I touch it?
So why can’t I touch it?
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What do you think he wants to touch?
I probably don’t want to know
not half bad. I noticed ‘John Maher’ in the writing credits and wondered if that was ‘Johnny Marr’ as that’s Marr’s birthname, but found it’s another case of two with same name… Maher was their drummer. usually you only hear of Shelley and Devoto of their members.
And….don’t forget…Steve Garvey! I did a double take on his name lol. I don’t think he was in the band and did his other job as the first baseman of the Dodgers.
oh I didn’t even notice that!
This song is an enjoyable listen. A little repetitive, but upbeat and catchy. I agree about Punk and Pop being a good combination.
Pretty good, tune, Max, I like it. The name Buzzcocks sounds vaguely familiar, but I can’t name any song – well, except “Why Can’t I Touch It?” 🙂
Perhaps you previously covered another tune by this band?
You may have heard of Everybody’s Happy Nowadays.
Yes I have covered a couple of them
Pretty tough contest between this and Oh Shit as their best bside.
I know songs by this band but I didn’t realize this was a b side. I kept looking for it as a single by itself…
Funky.
I love it…I’m begining to be a big fan of them
I really like how this bunch of bands got back to playing cool rock n roll songs. Love the groove inn this one.
This was the soundtrack to a Wildboyz segment back in the 2000s… Steve and Partyboy swimming with Manatees. Was brilliant back then. It may not have come directly fro Harry Nilsson… but it’s certainly related to Jump Into the Fire, no?
Yes I could see that with that Nilsson song!