Toyah Willcox and Robert Fripp have shared their cover of The Who’s Won’t Get Fooled Again, the latest installment in their ongoing Sunday Lunch series.
The Who’s initial version was released as a single in June 1971 and had originally been intended for inclusion in an unfinished rock opera penned by guitarist Pete Townshend.
The ‘lost’ opera was to be called Lifehouse and was meant to be a spiritual inheritor to the iconic Tommy. Won't Get Fooled Again was intended to close the collection, but it was instead released as an edited three-minute single, before the full eight-minute version was included on the band’s August 1971 album Who’s Next?
Willcox and Fripp’s version of Won’t Get Fooled Again channels their characteristic blend of lunacy and semi-nudity in a back-to-basics take on the track that it is fair to say varies somewhat from the original.
This week they’ve also seen fit to include a reel of bloopers, which shows the masterful Fripp fluffing the main riff multiple times. Suffice to say, it is quite a reassuring watch from the point of view of the common-or-garden player…
Notably, the post appeared a day after comments from Who frontman Roger Daltrey regarding the UK’s exit from the EU. Daltrey was a vocal supporter of Brexit but told The Independent (via Yahoo) that he was “disappointed we haven’t made the most of it.”
However, despite the well-documented difficulties the UK’s separation from Europe has presented to touring acts, the rock icon maintained he didn’t regret supporting the campaign.
“They’re making life hard for us, I don’t disagree,” he said. “It doesn’t need to be. One truck goes into Europe full of equipment with a carnet, it’s not hard to get visas, is it? It shouldn’t be. We used to do it regularly in the ’60s and ’70s.”
It’s unclear whether Willcox and Fripp’s post was intended as a direct response to Daltrey’s comments, but the timing and track selection certainly begs the question… It wouldn't be the first time they've made political statements, or covered The Who on Sunday Lunch, for that matter...
