The Who – You Better You Bet @ Top Of The Pops 05-03-1981
“You Better You Bet” – Single by The Who from the album Face Dances
B-side: “The Quiet One”
Released: 27 February 1981
Recorded: 4 November 1980 at Odyssey Recording Studios, London
Label: Polydor (UK) and Warner Bros. (US)
Songwriter: Pete Townshend
Producer: Bill Szymczyk
Charted No.18 in US and No.9 in UK
“You Better You Bet” was written by Pete Townshend as a love song for his girlfriend at the time.
This was the first Who single recorded with drummer Kenney Jones, who had replaced Keith Moon after his death three years earlier.
“You Better You Bet” was released as the first single from Face Dances in February 1981, backed with the John Entwistle-penned “The Quiet One”. The single peaked at number 9 in the UK; in the US, it reached number 18. The single’s relative underperformance is thought to have been because Warner Bros. Records had decided to boycott independent promoters in America, which resulted in less airplay for the track. Pete Townshend reflected on the single’s success: “A surprise hit single for us… We even went back on Top of the Pops.”
