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General Public

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Biography

for|the people of a nation not affiliated with the government of that nation|general publicUse British English|date=November 2010Use dmy dates|date=November 2010Refimprove|date=February 2008Infobox musical artist | name = General Public| image = General Public.jpg| landscape = yes| caption = Ranking Roger and Dave Wakeling, 1994| background = group_or_band| origin = United Kingdom | genre = Reggae , New Wave music|New Wave | years_active = 1984–1987, 1994-1995| label = I.R.S. Records|I.R.S. , Epic Records|Epic | associated_acts = The Beat (band)|The Beat , Dexys Midnight Runners , The Specials , The Clash | website =| current_members =| past_members = Dave Wakeling
Ranking Roger
Mickey Billingham
Horace Panter
Andy "Stoker" Growcott|Stoker
Mick Jones (The Clash)|Mick Jones
Kevin White
Gianni Minardi
Mario Minardi
Michael Railton
Norman Jones
Wayne Lothian
Randy Jacobs
Thomas White
Dan Chase General Public were a band formed by The Beat (band)|The Beat vocalists, Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger , and which included former members of Dexy's Midnight Runners , The Specials and The Clash . They are best remembered for their North American Top 40 hits "Tenderness" (1984) and "I'll Take You There" (1994).

Career


After the 1983 break-up of The Beat (known as The English Beat in North America ), Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger decided to continue working together in a new venture. They joined up with keyboardist Mickey Billingham ( Dexys Midnight Runners ), guitarist Mick Jones (The Clash)|Mick Jones ( The Clash ), bassist Horace Panter ( The Specials ) and drummer Andy "Stoker" Growcott|Stoker (Dexys Midnight Runners/ The Bureau ) to form a quasi- Supergroup (music)|supergroup of the UK punk rock|punk / ska / mod scene. The band was dubbed General Public and was signed to Virgin Records in the UK and I.R.S. Records in North America.

The band recorded and released the album All the Rage in 1984. Jones left General Public part way through the recording process, but he is listed in the album's inner sleeve credits as a group member (although he did not appear in any of the band photographs). Jones' replacement, guitarist Kevin White, also played on the album and was also listed an official group member. White's picture also appeared on the album's back cover.

In the UK, General Public had a minor hit with the eponymous track "General Public", which reached #60 in the UK Singles Chart in 1984.cite book
| first= David
| last= Roberts
| year= 2006
| title= British Hit Singles & Albums
| edition= 19th
| publisher= Guinness World Records Limited
| location= London
| isbn= 1-904994-10-5
| page= 224 The single's B-side "Dishwasher" (an instrumental mix of "Burning Bright" from All The Rage ) became a surprise Top 40 hit in the Netherlands , after its use as a theme tune to the pop music|pop radio show Avondspits .citation needed|date=June 2011
Later in the year, the band fared even better in North America, where their second single " Tenderness (song)|Tenderness " was a Top 40 hit in Canada (#11) and the United States|US (#27). It is featured in the John Hughes (filmmaker)|John Hughes comedy feature films Weird Science (film)|Weird Science (1985) and Sixteen Candles (1984), and in the Amy Heckerling comedy feature film Clueless (film)|Clueless (1995). Another song "Taking The Day Off" was featured in the '' Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986).

For the follow-up album, White and Stoker were replaced by brothers Gianni and Mario Minardi on guitar and drums, respectively. Hand to Mouth was significantly less successful than their debut album, and the band dissolved soon after its release.citation needed|date=June 2011
Roger and Wakeling worked on various solo projects for the next few years, before reconstituting General Public in 1994 to perform a cover version of The Staple Singers hit " I'll Take You There " for the Threesome (film)|Threesome film soundtrack. The new General Public line-up retained only vocalists Wakeling and Roger from previous incarnations; the vocal duo was now backed by Michael Railton (keyboards), Randy Jacobs (guitars), Wayne Lothian (bass), Thomas White (drums), and Norman Jones (percussion).

"I'll Take You There" was a Top 40 hit in the US and Canada and a minor hit in the UK (#73). Jacobs and White then left the group, and new drummer Dan Chase was brought in. The sextet released the album Rub It Better for Epic Records in 1995, recorded in the USA with the aid of record producer Jerry Harrison . Guests on the album included Mick Jones, Saxa , Pato Banton , and Chris Spedding ; ex-band members Horace Panter and Stoker also participated in the album's creation, co-writing one song apiece. (Stoker also received an "additional recording" credit.) Sales were poor, however, and Roger became tired of traveling to America, and they soon broke up again.

Since 2004, Dave Wakeling has toured the US with a full backing band as The English Beat. They often perform General Public tracks.citation needed|date=June 2011

Discography


Studio albums


Year Album details Peak chart
positions		Certifications
( List of best selling music artists
US
cite web		CAN
cite web
1984 All the Rage
  • First studio album
  • Release date: 1984
  • Label: I.R.S. Records
    		• 26 19 align="left"
  • Canadian Recording Industry Association|CAN : Goldcite web|url= http://www.cria.ca/cert_db_search.php|title=Canadian Recording Industry Association search results|publisher= Canadian Recording Industry Association |accessdate=9 May 2010
    • 1986 Hand to Mouth (album)
  • Second studio album
  • Release date: 1986
  • Label: I.R.S. Records
    		•  151 84
    1995 Rub It Better
  • Third studio album
  • Release date: 4 April 1995
  • Label: Epic Records
    		• — —
    "—" denotes released that did not chart


    Compilation albums


    Year Album details
    2002 Classic Masters (General Public album)
  • First compilation album
  • Release date: 26 January 2002
  • Label: Capitol Records


    • Singles


    Year Single Peak chart positions Album
    UK AUS CAN NL NZ US US Dance US Main US Mod
    1984 "General Public" 60 — — — 41 — — — — All the Rage
    "Dishwasher" — — — 38 — — — — —
    " Tenderness (song) 95 50 11 — — 27 — 39 —
    1985 "Never You Done That" — — — — — 105 — — —
    "Hot You're Cool" — — — — — — 16 — —
    1986 "Faults and All" — — — — — — — — — Hand to Mouth
    "Too Much or Nothing" — — 83 — — — — — —
    "In Conversation" — — — — — — 23 — —
    1994 " I'll Take You There " 73 — 14 — 8 22 1 — 6 Threesome (film)
    1995 "Rainy Days" — — — — — 93 — — 40 Rub It Better
    "—" denotes releases that did not chart


    See also


  • List of number-one dance hits (United States)

  • List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart


    • References


    reflist

    External links


  • Allmusic|class=artist|id=p4350|label=General Public


    • Category:English rock music groups
    Category:I.R.S. Records artists
    Category:British New Wave musical groups
    Category:Supergroups

    de:General Public

    Copyright Citations

    This article is licensed under the GNU License
    Click here for original article: General Public

    General Public Photo by: image.allmusic.com



          

    		  
       
     
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