The English Beat’s Most Famous US Song Came from a Band Member’s Teenage Years

Most of the songs that top artists wrote when they were teenagers, well before they became established, don’t meet the standards they’ve set in the interim. Every now and again, however, one of these early scribblings proves worthy of revisiting down the road.

For one shining example, consider the song “Save It For Later” by The English Beat. Written by band member Dave Wakeling in his teen years, the song now stands as the band’s most well-known American song and a New Romantic classic.

Ska Sensations

We should note right off the bat that The English Beat were known simply as The Beat in their native Great Britain. With Ranking Roger doing his toasting out in front, bouncy brass, and a nimble rhythm section, the group hit the scene in 1978 as one of several new British acts, along with Madness and The Specials, with ska and reggae leanings.

The band’s first two albums both hit the Top 5 in the UK. Meanwhile, they also delivered the goods on the singles charts, hitting the Top 10 four times in 1979 and 1980. They remained well under the radar in America, however.

When The English Beat was struggling to come up with songs for their third album, Special Beat Service, in 1982, they turned to a song that guitarist Dave Wakeling had presented to them a few times in the past. Without many other options, they recorded “Save It For Later” and made it the album’s first single.

“Later” On

When Wakeling wrote “Save It For Later”, he was looking ahead to a time when youthful expectations would be met with the stark realities of growing up. He was also enjoying a bit of a laugh with some double entendres that he sneaked into the lyrics.

The song, which diverged from the ska sound for which the band was known, failed to do much damage in the UK. But it garnered The English Beat their first taste of American airplay. It also earned them some famous fans. Pete Townshend of The Who, while hanging out with David Gilmour of Pink Floyd, once called Wakeling out of the blue to ask how he had turned his guitar when he wrote “Save It For Later”.

The English Beat called it quits after the release of Special Beat Service. But their members continued to make an impact. Wakeling and Ranking Roger formed General Public of “Tenderness” fame. Meanwhile, David Steele and Andy Cox joined singer Roland Gift in Fine Young Cannibals.

Behind the Lyrics of “Save It For Later”

“Save It For Later” could be read as one long piece of innuendo. Note how Wakeling breaks up the line “Just hold my hand while I come to a decision on it.” He lingers on the word “come” before finishing. The title itself also uses some mischievous wordplay.

But there’s also real angst that peeks out in the lyrics. “Don’t run away and let me down,” he pleads to his companion. “Black air and rotten seas all rotten through” beset the narrator. He wonders why things aren’t running smoothly: “Two dozen other stupid reasons/Why we should suffer for this.”

“Save It For Later” is one of those 80s tracks whose lasting impact well outweighs its initial chart success. And it demonstrated that sometimes those teenage ramblings can be quite resonant.

Photo by Bob Riha, Jr./Getty Images