Pete Townshend Shares 1st Solo Single In 29 Years Benefitting Teenage Cancer Trust

The Who guitarist Pete Townshend unveiled “Can’t Outrun The Truth,” his first solo single in 29 years. Proceeds from vinyl sales and a portion of digital download sales will go towards the Teenage Cancer Trust.

“Can’t Outrun The Truth” was written and produced by Townshend’s wife, Rachel Fuller, under her Charlie Pepper penname. The lyrics were inspired by the feelings of loneliness and disconnection she felt during the peak of the pandemic. Fuller realized youngsters undergoing treatment for cancer may deal with the same emotions.

Rachel Fuller shared the following in regards to “Can’t Outrun The Truth”:

“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. She’s a really a fast worker, it’s not that you say to me, let’s go into the studio for two weeks and work on this project,” added Townshend. “We do it two hours later, or an hour later, it’s done – so it’s easy to work with her.”

Pete Townshend recorded the track in his home studio in September of 2021. He played lap steel guitar and violin on “Can’t Outrun The Truth” and sang. Townshend’s last solo release was the 2015 compilation Truancy: The Very Best Of Pete Townshend, which featured new tracks “Guantanamo” and “How Can I Help You.”

The single was accompanied by Townshend’s first solo video in 40 years. Pete tapped Michael Nunn and William Trevitt to direct the visual.

Watch Pete Townshend’s “Can’t Outrun The Truth” video below: