Deep End (5)

Backing band assembled by Pete Townshend for his live shows in 1985. Deep End played live three times only : twice at Brixton Academy in a drug rehab benefit on November 1 and 2, 1985, and once at the Midem festival at Cannes in January 1986. All involved in the Brixton shows reportedly had a great time. Pete told Hugh Foley in 1989 : "...The Deep End, as I called them, played a show or two in Brixton Academy in London, and straight afterwards they all said, 'God, this is the best band that we've ever been in, we must go out on the road!', and I said, 'it can go out on the road - but not with me'." He described Deep End on stage as "...me running through solo stuff and jazz stuff, and blues stuff and dancing around like a lunatic." The setlist of the band included songs from Townshend's just released solo album White City, in addition to some covers along with some Who/Townshend classics. In addition, David Gilmour sang his own 'Blue Light' and 'Love On The Air', both penned with Townshend. A live album 'Deep End Live' soon surfaced from these shows. Gilmour was thrilled that Pete asked him to be a part of Deep End. "He asked me if I would do the show with him because he wanted to move away from being the guitar hero", Gilmour told Nicholas Schaffner in 1991. "He refused point blank to play electric guitar, and people said 'Oh come on, at least "Won't Get Fooled Again", strap in a guitar and do it !' but he refused, he wanted the whole project to be not 'Pete Townshend guitar hero', but 'Pete Townshend singer, writer, band leader'. It was great. It's probably every schoolboy guitar player's dream to play things like "Won't Get Fooled Again" instead of Pete, with Pete singing it", said Gilmour.