Pete Townshend Shares First Solo Single In 29 Years Can't Outrun The Truth
Friday, 24 March 2023
Written by Stereoboard
Pete Townshend has shared his first solo single in nearly three decades.
Can't Outrun The Truth is a reflective, acoustic-led track featuring lap steel guitar and violin. It was composed and produced by Townshend's partner Rachel Fuller under the pseudonym Charlie Pepper. Discussing the genesis of the song, Fuller said:
"We'd just moved house and Pete was as happy as Larry up in his studio, working every day, and I put my back out, I was just climbing the walls, I couldn’t do any creative work and obviously, we couldn’t go anywhere. And I really started to think about how unbelievably difficult this period of time was going to be for so many people. I wrote lyrics and then I sat at the piano and wrote the music, and then I thought, Oh, I really would like to record it, because it’s really not a bad song at all – and my singing days are long over. So, I asked Pete to record the demo."
"I’ve helped Rachel make the demos for several of her theatrical projects," added Townshend. "She's a really fast worker, it’s not that you say to me, let’s go into the studio for two weeks and work on this project. We do it two hours later, or an hour later, it’s done – so it’s easy to work with her."
"The pandemic years were terrible for charities; the Teenage Cancer Trust was created in order to take the money from a series of concerts at the Albert Hall every year and various other things and that had all dropped out," he continued.
"So, the idea of doing this, which is it’s something that has sprung out of lockdown about mental illness, but also for this particular charity. If you’ve got a scenario in which somebody in your family or a teenager has got cancer, they’re being treated, lockdown hits, and you’re not allowed to go and visit them. There’s a poignancy to the whole thing about the song."
All proceeds of the vinyl sales—plus a portion of every download—will go to the Teenage Cancer Trust. Head below to view the accompanying video, The Who guitarist's first solo clip in 40 years, which was shot by Michael Nunn and William Trevitt in a series of one-take performances.
Teenage Cancer Trust continues its concert series at London's Royal Albert tonight (March 24) with a headline show from The Courteeners.
The Who, meanwhile, are set to release 'The Who With Orchestra Live At Wembley' on March 31. In the summer, they'll take their Hits Back! Tour across the UK, accompanied by a full orchestra.
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