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Biography
For|the American band later known as "Paul Collins' Beat"|The Beat (American band)Infobox musical artist|name = The Beat|background = group_or_band|alias = The English Beat|origin = Birmingham , England |years_active = 19781983, 2003, 2005present|label = Go Feet Records|Go Feet , 2 Tone Records|2 Tone , London Records|London , Sire Records|Sire , I.R.S. Records|I.R.S. , EMI Records|EMI , A& M Records|A& M , Chrysalis Records|Chrysalis |genre = 2 Tone , ska , New wave music|New Wave |associated_acts = Ranking Roger , Pato Banton , General Public , Fine Young Cannibals , The International Beat, Special Beat|current_members = The Beat (UK) Ranking Roger * Everett Morton * Mickey Billingham Ranking Junior Steve Harper Simeon Murray Andy Pearson The English Beat (US) Dave Wakeling * Rhythmm Epkins Wayne Lothian Antonee First Class Raynier Jacildo Matt Morrish|past_members = Andy Cox * David Steele (musician)|David Steele * Saxa (musician)|Saxa * Wesley Magoogan Dave Blockhead The Beat (known in North America as The English Beat ) are a 2 Tone ska revival band founded in England in 1978.Allmusic|class=artist|id=p4194|label=The English Beat Their songs fuse ska, Pop music|pop , Soul music|soul , reggae and punk rock , and their lyrics deal with themes of love, unity and sociopolitical topics.cite web|url= http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2011-01-06/entertainment/bs-ae-music-story-0107-20110106_1_dave-wakeling-english-beat-unemployment |title=Baltimore Sun - The Beat goes on, By Evan Haga, Special to The Baltimore Sun |publisher=Articles.baltimoresun.com |date=2011-01-06 |accessdate=2011-08-17
The Beat, consisting of Dave Wakeling (vocals, guitar), Ranking Roger (vocals), Andy Cox (guitar), David Steele (musician)|David Steele (bass), Everett Morton (drums), and Saxa (musician)|Saxa (saxophone), released three studio albums in the early 1980s: '' I Just Can't Stop It (album)|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", "Too Nice To Talk To", "Can't Get Used To Losing You", "Hands off She's Mine" and "All Out To Get You".cite book | first= Martin C.| last= Strong | year= 2000 | title= The Great Rock Discography | edition= 5th | publisher= Mojo Books | location= Edinburgh | pages= 6364 | isbn= 1-84195-017-3
Career
1978 & ndash; 1983
The Beat were formed in Birmingham , England , in 1978 in the United Kingdom|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 Deejaying|toasting style. Jamaican Saxophone|saxophonist Saxa (musician)|Saxa added a Jamaican ska instrumental sound. Saxa had played saxophone with Prince Buster , Laurel Aitken , and Desmond Dekker in the first wave of ska (as well as with The Beatles in their Liverpool days). He joined The Beat to record their first single, " The Tears of a Clown|Tears of a Clown ," http://www.musicianguide.com/biographies/1608001588/English-Beat-The.html The Biography, The English Beat musicianguide.com a cover version of the Motown Records|Motown hit by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles .
Notable singles from the first 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|US tour with The Pretenders and Talking Heads . The album yielded more United Kingdom|UK hits, with "All Out to Get You" and "Too Nice To Talk To," both 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 in Los Angeles and KYYX in Seattle .cite web|url= http://www.last.fm/event/1532181+Kroq+Presents%3A+Squeeze+with+Special+Guest+English+Beat |title=Last FM event notification |publisher=Last.fm |date= |accessdate=2011-08-17cite web|url= http://kroq.radio.com/2010/07/27/the-english-beat-tears-of-a-clown-kats-box/ |title=KROQ Radio.com Event notification |publisher=Kroq.radio.com |date=2010-07-27 |accessdate=2011-08-17
Although The Beat's main fan base was in the United Kingdom , the band was also popular in Australia , partly due to exposure on the radio station Triple J and the TV show Countdown (music show)|Countdown . The Beat had a sizable following in North America , where the band was known as The English Beat for legal reasons (to avoid confusion with the American band The Beat (American band)|The Beat ). The Beat toured the world with well-known artists such as 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.cite web|url= http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/The-English-Beat-Biography/F18794119C65748B48256C14000938F6 |title=The English Beat Biography |publisher=Sing365.com |date= |accessdate=2011-08-17
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 North America, while Andy Cox and David Steele (musician)|David Steele formed Fine Young Cannibals with vocalist Roland Gift from the ska band, Akrylykz . Drummer Everett Morton and Saxa (musician)|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 United Kingdom and USA before calling it a day in 1992. Ranking Roger also briefly joined Mick Jones (The Clash)|Mick Jones' post- The Clash|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 ; the band was listed in the end credits as "The (English) Beat" while "Save It For Later" featured in the soundtrack to the 1996 movie Kingpin (film)|Kingpin movie and the 2009 movie Hot Tub Time Machine .
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 . Roger recorded his solo debut, a reggae-oriented album entitled Radical Departure . 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 covered the song, "Save It For Later" numerous times between 1985 and 1998. The Who performed the song twice on their The Who Tour 1989|1989 Reunion Tour . http://www.thewholive.net/concert/concert_list.php? GroupID=0& Tracklisting=save+it+for+later& Tag=& Monat=& Jahr=& Stadt=& Halle=& LandID=& StateID=
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 and Morton, recorded a new album that was mixed by Adrian Sherwood, but it remains unreleased. The band also features Mickey Billingham 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. 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 Dorset Steam Fair Show 2011 on 31 August 2011.
Both the UK and US versions of the band still continue to tour frequently.
Discography
Studio albums
Year
Album details
Peak chart positions
Certifications ( List of best selling music artists
UK cite book
NZ cite web
NOR cite web
SWE cite web
US
1980
' I Just Can't Stop It (album)
First studio album
Release date: May 1980
Label: Go Feet / Sire Records
3
30
30
142
British Phonographic Industry|UK : Gold http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx
1981
' Wha'ppen?
Second studio album
Release date: June 1981
Label: Go Feet/Sire Records
3
20
28
126
UK: Silver
1982
Special Beat Service
Third studio album
Release date: 1982
Label: Go Feet/ I.R.S. Records
21
50
39
"" denotes releases that did not chart
Compilation albums
Year
Album details
Peak positions
Certifications (sales threshold)
UK
NZ
US
1983
What Is Beat?
First compilation album
Release date: 1983
Label: I.R.S. Records
10
14
UK: Silver
1996
B.P.M. The Very Best of the Beat
Second compilation album
Release date: April 8, 1996
Label: Arista Records
13
2000
Beat This& #33; The Best of the Beat
Third compilation album
Release date: 2000
Label: Go Feet Records
2006
The Platinum Collection
Fourth compilation album
Release date: January 10, 2006
Label: Warner Platinum
2008
'You Just Can't Beat It: The Best of the Beat
Fifth compilation album
Release date: February 4, 2008
Label: Music Club
"" denotes releases that did not chart
Singles
Year
Single
Peak chart positions
Album
UK
NZ
NL cite web
US Dance
1979
" Tears of a Clown "/ "Ranking Full Stop" (Double A-side)
6
''I Just Can't Stop It
1980
"Hands Off...She's Mine"
9
41
22
" Mirror in the Bathroom (song)
4
"Best Friend"/ "Stand Down Margaret (Dub)" (Double A-side)
22
"Too Nice to Talk To"
7
Non-album song
1981
"Drowning"/ "All Out To Get You" (Double A-side)
22
''Wha'ppen?
"Doors of Your Heart"
33
"Hit It (Auto Erotic)"
70
Non-album song
1982
"Save It for Later"
47
58
Special Beat Service
"Jeanette"
45
" I Confess (The Beat song)
54
34
1983
" Can't Get Used to Losing You "
3
47
12
What is Beat?
"Ackee 1-2-3"
54
1996
"Mirror in the Bathroom" (remix)
44
The Very Best of the Beat
"" denotes releases that did not chart
Film and video
Dance Craze (1981 Independent Film VHS) A compilation that contains live 1980 Beat footage among other Ska bands.
Video Collection (198x Channel 5 VHS)
Live (198x unknown VHS) 45 min live performance.
The Beat In Concert at the Royal Festival Hall (2005 MVD Visual DVD)
Also released:
''Can't Get Used to Losing You: Greatest Hits (1985 Channel 5, VHS)
The Special Beat released a DVD entitled Enjoy Yourself in 2004.
The soundtrack album to Dance Craze , entitled Dance Craze#Soundtrak LP|Dance Craze: The Best of British Ska... Live!
Video
http://punkcast.com/908 PUNKCAST#908 The English Beat @ Canal Room NYC on January 13, 2006. ( Realplayer , mp4 )
References
Reflist|2
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
commons category|The Beat
http://www.thebeatuk.com/ The Beat official website (US)
http://www.thebeatofficial.com/ The Beat official website (UK)
MySpace|officialbeatspace|The English Beat (USA)/Dave Wakeling
MySpace|thebeatofficial|The Beat (UK)
http://www.northantset.co.uk/interviews/The-Beat--And-the.3880567.jp Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph interview with The Beat
http://www.songfacts.com/int/2008/04/dave-wakeling-english-beat.html Songfacts interview with Dave Wakeling
http://www.bullz-eye.com/music/interviews/2009/dave_wakeling.htm 2009 Dave Wakeling interview at Bullz-Eye.com
The Beat DEFAULTSORT:Beat, The Category:British reggae musical groups Category:Music in Birmingham, West Midlands Category:British New Wave musical groups Category:Second-wave ska groups Category:British ska musical groups Category:Musical groups from Birmingham, West Midlands
de:The English Beat fr:The Beat fy:The Beat it:The Beat nl:The English Beat fi:The Beat sv:The Beat tr:The Beat
