While in school, he worked in a record shop in Brookline, Massachusetts named Good Vibrations, where his singing was heard by musician Peter Greenberg of The Lyres.
Their music was heard by English radio DJ Andy Kershaw, who taped a Boston performance for airplay in Britain, and brought them to the UK for a tour.
[2][3][4] Whitfield released a third album, Call of the Wild, in the UK in 1987, featuring a new band line-up; an expanded version, retitled Ow!
[2] In December 2010, Whitfield, Peter Greenberg (DMZ, Lyres, Customs), and Phil Lenker (Lyres) were joined by Andy Jody (Gazelles!, Pearlene, Oxford Cotton, Long Gones) and saxophonist Tom Quartulli to perform two live shows and record a new Barrence Whitfield and The Savages record.
A followup, Under the Savage Sky, was recorded in January 2015 at UltraSuede studios and released in August of that year; Whitfield described the album as "giving the kids a musical karate chop to the head.
[7] Co-produced by Irwin Chusid and Brother Cleve and recorded over a span of 25 years, the album features collaborations with the Concussion Ensemble, Waitiki, Milton Reder (of Barrence Whitfield and the Savages and Four-Piece Suit), and others.