Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Save It for Later
"Save It for Later" is a 1982 song written and recorded by the English ska and new wave band the Beat (known in the United States and Canada as the English Beat). The song was released as a single from the band's third and final studio album, Special Beat Service (1982), finding moderate chart success in Britain.
Written by Beat guitarist Dave Wakeling before the band was founded, the song nearly went unreleased due to opposition from bassist David Steele. After pressure from Wakeling and the record company, it was ultimately recorded for the band's third studio album and has since become one of the band's most famous tracks. It has been featured in various soundtracks and compilation albums.
"Save It for Later" is also notable for its unique tuning, which was achieved accidentally. The track's lyrics highlight the suggestive double entendre of the song's title.
"Save It for Later" was written by Beat guitarist Dave Wakeling as a teenager before the founding of the band. The song was then attempted at band rehearsals. Although Wakeling said he "always liked the song before [he] was in the group," it was initially rejected by bassist David Steele for "being too 'rock,' too 'old wave'".
By the time of the band's third studio album, however, Steele had been unable to provide enough material and the record company began pressuring the band to record "Save It for Later". Wakeling recalled, "It was only really when the record company insisted [on releasing the track], and I got a bit of courage and said, 'Well, look, if it’s not on our record I’d just rather go and record it myself and bring it out.'" Steele continued to refuse to play on the backing track, leaving Wakeling and drummer Everett Morton to record a basic track until the rest of the band relented.
"Save It for Later" features a unique DADAAD tuning that Wakeling stumbled upon; he explained, "I had tried to tune my guitar to DADGAD to play along with Jon Martyn [sic] tunes in late 70's before the English Beat started. I accidentally came up with DADAAD, so I made up my own chord shapes and enjoyed the hypnotic drone of the tuning on my national steel for hour after hour." Due to the song's atypical tuning, Who guitarist Pete Townshend called Wakeling to ask how to play the song:
"I got a phone call at 11 in the morning, and somebody gave me the phone and said, “It’s Pete Townshend for you.” And I said, “Of course it is, he phones about this time every Saturday doesn’t he?” [Laughs.] I thought it was somebody making a joke. I picked up very sarcastically, 'Oh, hello Pete.' And he said, 'Oh, hello Dave, this is Peter Townshend here and I’m sitting with David Gilmour [of Pink Floyd], and we're trying to work out your song 'Save It for Later,' but we can’t work out the tuning.' They presumed it was DADGAD as well, and couldn’t make it work, and so I had to explain that I’d made a mistake and it was not DADGAD, it was DADAAD. And he laughed and said, 'Oh, thank heavens for that! We've been breaking our fingers trying to get our hands around these chords.'"
— Dave Wakeling
Hub AI
Save It for Later AI simulator
(@Save It for Later_simulator)
Save It for Later
"Save It for Later" is a 1982 song written and recorded by the English ska and new wave band the Beat (known in the United States and Canada as the English Beat). The song was released as a single from the band's third and final studio album, Special Beat Service (1982), finding moderate chart success in Britain.
Written by Beat guitarist Dave Wakeling before the band was founded, the song nearly went unreleased due to opposition from bassist David Steele. After pressure from Wakeling and the record company, it was ultimately recorded for the band's third studio album and has since become one of the band's most famous tracks. It has been featured in various soundtracks and compilation albums.
"Save It for Later" is also notable for its unique tuning, which was achieved accidentally. The track's lyrics highlight the suggestive double entendre of the song's title.
"Save It for Later" was written by Beat guitarist Dave Wakeling as a teenager before the founding of the band. The song was then attempted at band rehearsals. Although Wakeling said he "always liked the song before [he] was in the group," it was initially rejected by bassist David Steele for "being too 'rock,' too 'old wave'".
By the time of the band's third studio album, however, Steele had been unable to provide enough material and the record company began pressuring the band to record "Save It for Later". Wakeling recalled, "It was only really when the record company insisted [on releasing the track], and I got a bit of courage and said, 'Well, look, if it’s not on our record I’d just rather go and record it myself and bring it out.'" Steele continued to refuse to play on the backing track, leaving Wakeling and drummer Everett Morton to record a basic track until the rest of the band relented.
"Save It for Later" features a unique DADAAD tuning that Wakeling stumbled upon; he explained, "I had tried to tune my guitar to DADGAD to play along with Jon Martyn [sic] tunes in late 70's before the English Beat started. I accidentally came up with DADAAD, so I made up my own chord shapes and enjoyed the hypnotic drone of the tuning on my national steel for hour after hour." Due to the song's atypical tuning, Who guitarist Pete Townshend called Wakeling to ask how to play the song:
"I got a phone call at 11 in the morning, and somebody gave me the phone and said, “It’s Pete Townshend for you.” And I said, “Of course it is, he phones about this time every Saturday doesn’t he?” [Laughs.] I thought it was somebody making a joke. I picked up very sarcastically, 'Oh, hello Pete.' And he said, 'Oh, hello Dave, this is Peter Townshend here and I’m sitting with David Gilmour [of Pink Floyd], and we're trying to work out your song 'Save It for Later,' but we can’t work out the tuning.' They presumed it was DADGAD as well, and couldn’t make it work, and so I had to explain that I’d made a mistake and it was not DADGAD, it was DADAAD. And he laughed and said, 'Oh, thank heavens for that! We've been breaking our fingers trying to get our hands around these chords.'"
— Dave Wakeling