English Beat – Save It For Later

I always heard of this band but didn’t know much about them in real time. When I heard this recently, I was caught unaware of how good it was. It’s a pop gem out of the 1980s, which you don’t hear me say a lot.

Dave Wakeling, the band’s lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist, wrote this song when he was still a teenager, and that teen confusion seeps through every line. It’s a song about growing up, about wanting to hold on to innocence while the world says no, you are going to grow up.

By 1982, The English Beat (also known as The Beat at home) had established a presence in the British ska and new wave scenes. But this song, from their third and final album Special Beat Service, was something else entirely,  a melodic farewell that bridged ska and pop.  This one was more reflective, a coming-of-age song packaged in jangly guitars and on-target harmonies.

Behind the scenes, the song nearly didn’t make it. Wakeling and guitarist Andy Cox had trouble convincing their bandmates that this softer, more melodic song fit the band’s style. But they pushed it through, and it became one of the band’s most remembered tracks. After Special Beat Service, The Beat split up, with Wakeling and Ranking Roger forming General Public and Cox and bassist David Steele launching Fine Young Cannibals.

Pete Townshend loved it so much that he recorded his own version, and it’s shown up in films like Clueless and Kingpin, giving it a second life with new generations. The song peaked at #47 in the UK and #6 on Billboard’s Bubbling Under 100 Singles Charts in 1982. It was written by Wakeling but credited to the entire band…Roger Charlery, Andy Cox, Everett Morton, David Steele, and Dave Wakeling.

Here is Dave Wakeling talking about Pete Townsend calling him up asking about the special tuning to the song. Love his humor in this.

Save It For Later

Two dozen other dirty loversMust be a sucker for itCry, cry, but I don’t need my motherJust hold my hand while I come to a decision on it

Sooner or laterYour legs give way, you hit the groundSave it for laterDon’t run away and let me downSooner or laterYou hit the deck, you’ll get found outSave it for laterDon’t run away and let me down, you let me down

Black air and seven seas and rotten throughBut what can you do?I don’t know how I’m meant to act with all you lotSometimes I don’t tryI just na, na, na, na, na, naNa, na, na, na, nowNa, na, na, na, na, naNa, na, na, na, now (now, now, now, now)

Sooner or laterYour legs give way, you hit the groundSave it for laterDon’t run away and let me downSooner or laterYou hit the deck, you’ll get found outSave it for laterDon’t run away and let me down, you let me downYou run away, run away, and let me down

Two dozen other stupid reasonsWhy we should suffer for this?Don’t bother trying to explain themJust hold my hand while I come to a decision on it

Sooner or laterYour legs give way, you hit the groundSave it for laterDon’t run away and let me downSooner or laterYou hit the deck, you’ll get found outSave it for laterDon’t run away and let me down, you let me downYou run away, run away, run away, run awayRun away, run away, and let me down

Da, da, da, da, daDa, da, da, da, da, da, daDa, da, da, da, da, da, daDa, da, da, da, da, da, daDa, da, da, da, da, da, daDa, da, da, run away, run

Run away, run awayRun away, run awayRun away, run awayRun away and let me down

…

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

40 thoughts on “English Beat – Save It For Later”

  1. Pingback: English Beat – Save It For Later – MobsterTiger

  2. This is a great tune. Love that interview with Dave. You keep digging up these gold nuggets! I don’t know much about The Beat but the song sounds familiar. Don’t know the PT cover but it’s great he tells that story.

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  5. great song. Grab a Best Of of the English Beat, you won’t be sorry. I didn’t know Townshend covered it – cool! Crossing the generations there. DAve Wakeling does have a good sense of humor. I heard him interviewed on First Wave recently, a lot of fun , particularly a story where he tells how his dad told him “I blame the Beatles” because they got people like young Dave thinking they could write, sing, play and produce their own records. “You don’t see Sinatra doing that, now do you?”

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  6. Love all 3 videos. I knew this song by The (English) Beat but not sure if from radioplay or not. So funny for Pete Townsend to ring him up and great story about inviting him to the concert and sharing what happened. I gotta hand it to Pete for that. He also brings the lyrics to life with the cover.

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  9. The story told about the tuning just makes me smile. ‘Eh Dave, me ‘n’ Davey Gilmour can’t work out what the plucking tuning is, can you help a couple of clueless boys out?’ Wakeling must have nearly fallen out of his chair!

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  10. I’d heard a bit of the Beat and they seemed to unite folks around here. At the time, parties were divided between disco and punk, and peace was usually brought by Motown and Stax R&B from a decade before. The Beat were the only contemporary band that seemed to be accepted on the turntable by both factions.

    Then a friend in Australia featured them on his radio show (the rest of the show was Australian artists) so I learned a lot of new (to me) music in those few hours.

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  12. Heard the Townshend version first on the Deep End concert which was shown in MTV. I had my TV hooked up to the stereo and recorded a cassette of it. Wore it out. Nice by both artists. Good interview.

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  14. That’s one that isnt well known in the UK! They are mostly remembered for the fab Mirror In The Bathroom and covers of Tears Of A Clown and Can’t Get Used To Losing You these days, despite a string of UK hits for 4 years. Sadly Roger, who kept the band going on tour for decades, passed away in 2019.

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  17. I don’t think I’ve heard this song before, or listened to the (English) beat. Or if I have, my memory has lost it. How nice that PeteTownsend covered it (and that interview was very funny!). DADGAD with one wrong tuning… haha! When I was teaching myself guitar a long time ago (I didn’t get all that far) I used dadgad for one of the Zeppelin songs, but have forgotten which.

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    1. I’m surprised you haven’t heard it…I was surprised that more UK people didn’t know it.
      Oh I’ve used that tuning quite a bit. When Townshend and Gilmour calls you asking how you played a song…you are doing it pretty well

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