The Beat (known in the United States and Canada as the English Beat and in Australia as the British Beat) are a British band formed in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

, England, in 1978. Their music fuses Latin, ska, pop,

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

and punk rock. The Beat, consisting of Dave Wakeling (vocals, guitar),

Ranking Roger Roger Charlery (21 February 1963 – 26 March 2019), known professionally as Ranking Roger,Strong, Martin C. (2002) ''The Great Rock Discography, 6th Edition'', Canongate, , p. 72Huey, Steve " Ranking Roger Biography, Allmusic, retrieved 17 Febru ...

(vocals), Andy Cox (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 ''I Just Can't Stop It'' is the debut studio album by British ska band the Beat, released on 23 May 1980 by Go-Feet Records in the United Kingdom. It was released the same year in the United States on Sire Records under the band name "The Engl ...

'' (1980), ''

Wha'ppen? ''Wha'ppen?'' is the second studio album by British ska band the Beat (credited on the US release as the English Beat), released in 1981 via Go-Feet Records in the United Kingdom and Sire Records in the United States. After the critical and com ...

'' (1981) and ''

Special Beat Service ''Special Beat Service'' is the third studio album by British ska band the Beat, released on 1 October 1982 by Go-Feet Records. Like the rest of their material, it was released in the US under the name "the English Beat". It peaked at No. 39 on ...

'' (1982), and a string of singles, including "

Mirror in the Bathroom "Mirror in the Bathroom" is a single by British ska band the Beat released as a single in 1980 from their debut album '' I Just Can't Stop It''. It reached number 4 in the UK Singles Chart and consequently was their highest charting release i ...

", "

Save It for Later "Save It for Later" is a 1982 song written and recorded by British ska band the Beat (known in the United States and Canada as the English Beat). The song was released as a single from the band's third and final studio album, ''Special Beat Servi ...

", " I Confess", "

Too Nice to Talk To "Too Nice to Talk To" is a non-album single by British ska/ new wave band The Beat, released on 5 December 1980 by Go-Feet Records. It peaked at number 7 on the UK Singles Chart. The song has since been included on CD reissues of the band's se ...

", "

Can't Get Used to Losing You "Can't Get Used to Losing You" is a song written by Jerome "Doc" Pomus and Mort Shuman, first made popular by Andy Williams in a 1963 record release, which was a number-two hit in both the US and the UK. Twenty years later, British band the Bea ...

", " 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 Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the refere ...

and social upheaval in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, one of the band's vocalists, added a Jamaican vocal flavour to the band's sound with his toasting style. Jamaican

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pro ...

Saxa added a Jamaican ska instrumental sound. Saxa (born Lionel Augustus Martin in 1930) had played saxophone with Prince Buster, Laurel Aitken, and

Desmond Dekker Desmond Dekker (16 July 1941 – 25 May 2006) was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer-songwriter and musician. Together with his backing group The Aces (consisting of Wilson James and Easton Barrington Howard), he had one of the earlie ...

in the first wave of ska. He joined the Beat to record their first single, " Tears of a Clown", a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of the Motown 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 The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

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 Pretenders are an English–American rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete ...

and

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talki ...

. 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 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

of the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. The Beat received support from modern rock radio stations such as KROQ-FM in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, the now-defunct

KQAK KQAK is a commercial classic hits music radio station in Bend, Oregon, broadcasting on 105.7 FM. History of the KQAK call sign KQAK was the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) call sign of a now defunct classic rock—and, more memorably, ...

The Quake 99FM (98.9) in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

and KYYX in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

. Although the Beat's main fan base was in the UK, the band was also popular in Australia, partly due to exposure on the radio station

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greater emphasis on broad ...

and the TV show '' Countdown''. 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 David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

the Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the w ...

the Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Polic ...

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternati ...

the Specials The Specials, also known as The Special AKA, are an English 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall and Neville Staple on vocals, Lynval ...

and

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talki ...

. Members of the band often collaborated on stage with

. During their early career, the band were associated with Birmingham-based cartoonist

Hunt Emerson Hunting is the 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, bone/tusks, horn/antler, ...

, 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 and had a couple of hit singles in the US and Canada including " Tenderness", while Andy Cox and David Steele formed

Fine Young Cannibals Fine Young Cannibals (FYC) was a British pop rock band formed in Birmingham, England, in 1984, by bassist David Steele, guitarist Andy Cox (both formerly of The Beat), and singer Roland Gift (formerly of the Akrylykz). Their self-titled 1985 ...

with vocalist Roland Gift from the ska band

Akrylykz Akrylykz (originally Akrylyk(z) Vyktymz) were a British ska band, formed by members of Hull School of Art in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that featured Roland Gift (later Fine Young Cannibals) originally as a tenor sax ...

. 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 Blue Beat Records is an English record label that released Jamaican rhythm and blues (R&B) and ska music in the 1960s and later decades. Its reputation led to the use of the word ''bluebeat'' as a generic term to describe all styles of early Jama ...

in 1990 (BBSLP 009). The album was produced by

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 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 of the Beat's song "Rotating Head", was used in the climactic chase scene of 1986's ''

Ferris Bueller's Day Off ''Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' is a 1986 American teen comedy film written, co-produced, and directed by John Hughes and co-produced by Tom Jacobson. The film stars Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara, and Alan Ruck with supporting roles by Jennifer ...

''; 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'', 2010's '' Hot Tub Time Machine'' 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

to form Special Beat, which toured and released two live albums. They supported the

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is an organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nuc ...

(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 The Ordinary Boys are an English indie rock band from Worthing, West Sussex. Originally a hardcore outfit named Next in Line, they are influenced by punk rock and Britpop music, as well as the bands the Clash, the Specials, the Jam, the Kink ...

' single " Boys Will Be Boys" and is a current member of the Beat in the UK.

Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is co-founder, leader, guitarist, second lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s. Townsh ...

performed the song "Save It for Later" numerous times between 1985 and 1998.

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

performed the song twice on their 1989 Reunion Tour. The Wonder Stuff also played "Save It for Later" featuring

on their "From the Midlands with Love" series in June 2012 Pearl Jam 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. In 2004, the VH1 show '' Bands Reunited'' 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 on keyboards, formerly a member of

Dexys Midnight Runners Dexys Midnight Runners (currently officially Dexys, their former nickname, styled without an apostrophe) are an English pop rock band from Birmingham, with soul influences, who achieved major commercial success in the early to mid-1980s. They a ...

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 music venue. They played the

Great Dorset Steam Fair The Great Dorset Steam Fair (abbreviated GDSF, and since 2010 also known as The National Heritage Show) is an annual show featuring steam-powered vehicles and machinery. It now covers and runs for five days. This used to be from the Wednesday ...

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 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 Dave Wakeling conducted with the San Francisco Examiner, 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. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

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 Ramones- Runaways vibe to it, but frankly, I'm really happy I did it, because I’ve always loved ‘

Scooby-Doo ''Scooby-Doo'' is an American animated media franchise based on an animated television series launched in 1969 and continued through several derivative media. Writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears created the original series, ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are ...

." 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 PledgeMusic was an online direct-to-fan music platform, launched in August 2009. It was started to facilitate musicians looking to pre-sell, market, and distribute projects; such as recordings and concerts. It bore similarities to other artist p ...

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 BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC, specialising primarily in alternative music. BBC 6 Music was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years. It is available onl ...

. Weeks after undergoing surgery for two

brain tumours A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and secondar ...

, and while undergoing treatment for

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...

, 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

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 Proper may refer to: Mathematics * Proper map, in topology, a property of continuous function between topological spaces, if inverse images of compact subsets are compact * Proper morphism, in algebraic geometry, an analogue of a proper map for ...

Personnel

The Beat / The English Beat

* Andy Cox — guitar (1978—1983) * Everett Morton — drums (1978—1983, died 2021) *

— lead vocals, toaster (1978—1983, died 2019) * Saxa — saxophone (1978—1983, died 2017) * David Steele — bass (1978—1983) * Dave Wakeling — lead vocals, guitar (1978—1983) * Dave 'Blockhead' Wright — keyboards (1980—1983) * Wesley Magoogan — saxophone (1981—1983)

The English Beat starring Dave Wakeling

* 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

* ''

'' (1980) * ''

'' (1981) * ''

'' (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