The Beat (known in the United States and Canada as the English Beat and in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

as the British Beat) are a British band formed in Birmingham, England, in 1978. Their music fuses Latin, ska,

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

, soul, reggae and punk rock. The Beat, consisting of

Dave Wakeling David Wakeling (born 19 February 1956) is an English singer, songwriter and musician, best known for his work with the band the Beat (known in North America as the English Beat) and General Public. Career Wakeling began his professional career ...

(vocals, guitar), Ranking Roger (vocals),

Andy Cox Andrew Cox (born 25 January 1956) is a British guitarist, who along with Dave Wakeling, formed ska band the Beat in 1978. The Beat achieved eight Top 40 singles and three hit albums in the UK before announcing their break up in 1983. Some of t ...

(guitar), David Steele (bass), Everett Morton (drums), and Saxa a.k.a. Lionel Augustus Martin (saxophone), released three studio albums in the early 1980s: '' I Just Can't Stop It'' (1980), '' Wha'ppen?'' (1981) and '' Special Beat Service'' (1982), and a string of singles, including " Mirror in the Bathroom", " Save It for Later", " I Confess", " Too Nice to Talk To", " Can't Get Used to Losing You", " Hands Off...She's Mine", and "All Out to Get You".

Career

1978–1983

The Beat formed in Birmingham, England, in 1978, during a period of high unemployment and social upheaval in the United Kingdom. Ranking Roger, one of the band's vocalists, added a Jamaican vocal flavour to the band's sound with his toasting style. Jamaican saxophonist Saxa added a Jamaican ska instrumental sound. Saxa (born Lionel Augustus Martin in 1930) had played saxophone with

Prince Buster Cecil Bustamente Campbell (24 May 1938 – 8 September 2016), known professionally as Prince Buster, was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and producer. The records he released in the 1960s influenced and shaped the course of Jamaican contemporary ...

Laurel Aitken Lorenzo "Laurel" Aitken (22 April 1927 – 17 July 2005) was an influential Caribbean singer and one of the pioneers of Jamaican ska music. He is often referred to as the "Godfather of Ska". Career Born in Cuba of mixed Cuban and Jamaican desc ...

, and Desmond Dekker in the first wave of ska. He joined the Beat to record their first single, " Tears of a Clown", a cover version of the

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

hit by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles. The band's debut studio album, ''I Just Can't Stop It'', was released in May 1980, entering the UK albums chart at No. 3. Notable singles from the album included "Can't Get Used to Losing You", "Mirror in the Bathroom", "Hands Off...She's Mine" and "Best Friend". The second Beat album, ''Wha'ppen?'' was supported by extensive touring, including a United States tour with the Pretenders and Talking Heads. The album yielded more UK hits, with "All Out to Get You", "Drowning" and "Doors of Your Heart", all of which broke into the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart. The Beat received support from modern rock radio stations such as

KROQ-FM KROQ-FM (106.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Pasadena, California, serving Greater Los Angeles. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts an alternative rock format known as "The World Famous KROQ" (pronounced "kay-rock"). The stat ...

in Los Angeles, the now-defunct KQAK The Quake 99FM (98.9) in San Francisco and KYYX in Seattle. Although the Beat's main fan base was in the UK, the band was also popular in

, partly due to exposure on the radio station Triple J and the TV show ''

Countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...

''. The Beat had a sizable following in the US and Canada, where the band were known as ''the English Beat'' for legal reasons (to avoid confusion with the American band the Beat). The Beat toured the world with well-known artists including David Bowie, the Clash, the Police, the Pretenders, R.E.M., the Specials and Talking Heads. Members of the band often collaborated on stage with the Specials. During their early career, the band were associated with Birmingham-based cartoonist

Hunt Emerson Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

, who designed their 'Beat Girl' icon and painted the mural that was used on the cover of ''Wha'ppen?''

Post-breakup

After the break-up of the Beat in 1983, Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger went on to form

General Public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

and had a couple of hit singles in the US and Canada including " Tenderness", while

and David Steele formed Fine Young Cannibals with vocalist

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from the ska band Akrylykz. Drummer Everett Morton and Saxa formed the International Beat along with the Birmingham-based singer, Tony Beet, and the band released an album titled ''The Hitting Line'' on Blue Beat Records in 1990 (BBSLP 009). The album was produced by Ranking Roger and he often guested with the band at some of their shows. The International Beat toured the UK and United States before calling it a day in 1992. Ranking Roger also briefly joined Mick Jones' post- Clash band

Big Audio Dynamite Big Audio Dynamite (later known as Big Audio Dynamite II and Big Audio, and often abbreviated BAD) were an English band, formed in London in 1984 by Mick Jones, former lead guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the Clash. The band mixed various mu ...

and performed at several live shows with the band. However, the band broke up shortly after he joined when its last album was shelved by the record company. Meanwhile, "March of the Swivelheads", an

instrumental version A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

of the Beat's song "Rotating Head", was used in the climactic chase scene of 1986's '' Ferris Bueller's Day Off''; the band was listed in the end credits as "The (English) Beat". "Save It for Later" was featured on the soundtrack album to 1996's ''

Kingpin Kingpin or king pin may refer to: Vehicular part * Kingpin (automotive part), the pivot in the steering mechanism ** The central bolt of a skateboard, axle assembly ("truck"), around which the rest of the mechanism can flex, allowing the rider ...

'', 2010's ''

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'' and 2017's '' Spider-Man: Homecoming''. Everett Morton formed Beat Goes Bang and recruited vocalist Ross Lydon from 360, bass player Faisal Rashid, and Lukasz Machometa on sax, former member of Citybeats and Urban Groove Syndicate. Roger released his solo debut, a reggae-oriented album entitled ''Radical Departure'', in 1988. In the early 1990s, Roger joined members of the Specials to form Special Beat, which toured and released two live albums. They supported the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). In 2001, Roger released another solo album, ''Inside My Head'', which included traditional reggae and ska with influences of electronica, jungle and dub. Ranking Roger's son, Ranking Junior, has followed in his father's footsteps. In 2005, he appeared on the Ordinary Boys' single " Boys Will Be Boys" and is a current member of the Beat in the UK. Pete Townshend performed the song "Save It for Later" numerous times between 1985 and 1998. The Who performed the song twice on their 1989 Reunion Tour. The Wonder Stuff also played "Save It for Later" featuring Ranking Roger on their "From the Midlands with Love" series in June 2012

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, guita ...

also began playing "Save It for Later" in 1996 blending it into the end of " Better Man", and it remained in the set list of their 2014 tour.

21st century

In 2003, the Beat's original line-up, minus Cox and Steele, played a sold-out one-off gig at the

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I l ...

. In 2004, the

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...

show ''

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'' tried unsuccessfully to reunite the original line-up. In 2006, the UK version of the Beat, featuring Ranking Roger, recorded a new album that was mixed by Adrian Sherwood, but it remains unreleased. The band also featured Everett Morton and

Mickey Billingham Mickey Billingham (also credited Micky Billingham) is an English Keyboard instrument, keyboardist. He was the former keyboardist of the pop rock band Dexys Midnight Runners. After the band broke up, he and another member, Andy "Stoker" Growcott, ...

on keyboards, formerly a member of Dexys Midnight Runners and General Public. Dave Wakeling fronts the US version of the group as the English Beat, which usually adds a couple of General Public songs to the setlist. The singer and his band flew over to the UK in April 2011, to perform at the London International Ska Festival at the

Clapham Grand The Grand (previously The Grand Theatre) is a Grade II listed building on St John's Hill, near Clapham Junction in Battersea, South London. It was designed by Earnest Woodrow and was first opened in 1900 as The New Grand Theatre of Varieties. ...

music venue. They played the Great Dorset Steam Fair show 2011 on 31 August 2011. At this point, both the UK and US versions of the band continued to tour frequently on either sides of the Atlantic. In mid-2012, the Beat released a box set, titled '' The Complete Beat'', comprising their three albums along with non-album singles, remixes and live material. Additional bonus tracks were included on re-released, double-CD versions of each studio album. The English Beat recorded two new songs that feature prominently in the

Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated ''Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated'' (also known as ''Mystery Incorporated'' or ''Scooby-Doo! Mystery, Inc.'') is an American animated television series that serves as the eleventh incarnation of the ''Scooby-Doo'' media franchise created by Han ...

episode " Dance of the Undead" which aired 26 March 2013. It features a zombie ska group called Rude Boy and the Ska-Tastics who come back to life in order to turn people into zombies and make them dance to ska music forever. According to an interview

conducted with the

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, he said: "This was my first opportunity to do anything for television as a gun for hire, and I actually managed to record and mix two songs in 12 hours. It was like running at double speed with no brakes, but it was exciting, and Warner Bros. really loved them. So the zombies have a song called ‘You’re Dead Right, Mate,’ and the Hex Girls have one called ‘We’re the Good Bad Girls,’ which has a definite

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vibe to it, but frankly, I'm really happy I did it, because I’ve always loved ‘ Scooby-Doo." In late 2013, the Beat with Ranking Roger released the live album, ''Live in London'' which featured a new song titled "How Do You Do (Side to Side)" and also a song previously released solo by Ranking Roger, entitled "Dangerous", among many other songs. The Beat feat. Ranking Roger released ''Bounce'', a studio album, on 30 September 2016, on CD, Vinyl and Digital on DMF Records. The first single from the album, 'Walking on the Wrong Side' was released in July 2016, whilst the album reached No. 49 on the UK Albums Chart. Saxa (born Lionel Augustus Martin) died 3 May 2017 at the age of 87. In 2018 the Beat feat. Ranking Roger released ''The Beat – Live at the Roundhouse'' a live album with accompanying DVD, while the (English) Beat starring Dave Wakeling released an album called ''Here We Go Love''. This album was announced by Wakeling in 2014, with the project funded through the PledgeMusic website (which was a direct-to-fan music platform where fans could donate money to a group to complete an album project). On 26 January 2019 the Beat feat. Ranking Roger released a new studio album, ''Public Confidential''. The first single from the album 'Maniac' was playlisted on BBC Radio 6 Music. Weeks after undergoing surgery for two brain tumours, and while undergoing treatment for lung cancer, Ranking Roger died at home on 26 March 2019, aged 56. In October 2021, drummer Everett Morton died at the age of 71. In March 2021, Mini Murphy (Ranking Junior from the Special Beat and the version of the Beat signed to DMF Music in 2016) teamed up with indie rock band the Ordinary Boys to record a tribute to his late father, Ranking Roger. The resulting double-A side single, with "Legacy" on one side and "Jump and Skank" on the other, was released as a download, vinyl and CD single by United Sound Records/ Proper.

Personnel

The Beat / The English Beat

— guitar (1978—1983) * Everett Morton — drums (1978—1983, died 2021) * Ranking Roger — lead vocals, toaster (1978—1983, died 2019) * Saxa — saxophone (1978—1983, died 2017) * David Steele — bass (1978—1983) *

— lead vocals, guitar (1978—1983) * Dave 'Blockhead' Wright — keyboards (1980—1983) * Wesley Magoogan — saxophone (1981—1983)

The English Beat starring Dave Wakeling

— lead vocals, guitar * Brian Nucci Cantrell — drums, vocals * Matt Morrish — sax, vocals * Kevin Lum — keys, vocals * Minh Quan — keys, vocals * Brad Engstrom — bass, vocals * Antonee First Class — toasting (current)

Discography

* '' I Just Can't Stop It'' (1980) * '' Wha'ppen?'' (1981) * '' Special Beat Service'' (1982) * ''Here We Go Love'' (2018)

References

Bibliography

* ''The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock and Roll'', Third Edition (Fireside, 2001) * ''The Beat: Twist and Crawl'' by Malu Halasa (Eel Pie, 1981)

External links

The English Beat official website (US)

The Beat official website (UK)

Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph interview with The Beat

at Bullz-Eye.com * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beat, The British reggae musical groups Musical groups established in 1978 Musical groups disestablished in 1983 Musical groups reestablished in 2006 English new wave musical groups Second-wave ska groups English ska musical groups English post-punk music groups 1978 establishments in England Musical groups from Birmingham, West Midlands Second British Invasion artists 2 Tone Records artists