Watch Pete Townshend Play ‘Rough Boys’ From ‘Face the Face’: Exclusive Premiere
On Sept. 16, Pete Townshend will release Face the Face, a DVD/CD set the includes a 30-year-old concert with his Deep End band. Ultimate Classic Rock is pleased to present an advance taste of the discs with a performance of Townshend's 1980 solo hit “Rough Boys.”
You can watch the exclusive premiere above.
Recorded in Cannes, France, on Jan. 29, 1986, for the German TV series Rockpalast, Face the Face finds the Who guitarist and songwriter backed by Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour on lead guitar and several musicians who would participate in the Who’s 1989 reunion tour: keyboardist John “Rabbit” Bundrick, backing vocalist Billy Nicholls — both of whom have frequently worked with Townshend over the years— drummer Simon Philips, percussionist Jodi Linscott and three members of the five-piece horn section.
In addition to Who classics like “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” “Behind Blue Eyes” and “Pinball Wizard,” other songs from Townshend's catalog are performed, including several from his then-new album White City: A Novel, as well as older favorites like “A Little Is Enough,” “The Sea Refuses No River” and “Slit Skirts.” He also covers Screaming Jay Hawkins’ “I Put a Spell on You,” James Brown’s “Night Train” and “After the Fire,” the Townshend-penned song that Roger Daltrey covered a year earlier. Gilmour also gets a turn in the spotlight with “Blue Light” from his 1984 solo record About Face. You can pre-order Face the Face at Amazon.
The opening track on 1980’s Empty Glass, “Rough Boys” was controversial due to its homoerotic lyrics. As a single, it reached only No. 89 on Billboard’s Hot 100 but has remained a staple of classic rock radio.
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