Teenage Fanclub ‘I Saw The Light’

For as long as I can remember, at least since I first heard it and perhaps even longer, I’ve always loved Todd Rundgren’s ‘I Saw The Light’. To many people this would appear to be one of those guilty pleasures, but for me, there’s nothing guilty about it. It’s simply a great wee pop song, all soaring harmonies and 70’s guitar.

Then I read that Teenage Fanclub had recorded a version of it. Recorded in 1991 for the Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie or TV show (can’t quite remember) but never released. I. Had. To. Have. It. I had everything by Teenage Fanclub up to that point (and still do). 7″ of ‘Everything Flows’? Check! 7″ of ‘Ballad Of John & Yoko’? Check! Australian Promo video for Star Sign? Check! You name it, I’ve got it. So I had to have Teenage Fanclub, my favourite band, doing my favourite song. But could I find it? Could I hell. I thought the internet was invented for this sort of thing, but clearly not. I turned up many an interesting Teenage Fanclub oddity along the way. Live American Radio shows, old BBC Scotland sessions I had taped off the radio way back in the day, the Clydesmen doing ‘Kylie’s Got a Crush On Us’ that I had on a Select magazine tape. Even the hard-to-get joint 7″ with Alex Chilton that was sold throught the NME in around 1991/1992. Now I could listen to them all on my iPod! Great! But nowhere could I find ‘I Saw The Light’. I had given up all hope of ever hearing it until…….2005. Then the Scotland On Sunday gave away a free 6 Track Teenage Fanclub CD, and there, hiding at number 5, not even the lead track, was ‘I Saw the Light’. On first hearing it I was somewhat underwhelmed. “It sounds just like Todd’s,” I thought. And it did. And it still does. But it’s magic. See the light for yourself here.