The English Beat

[GoogaMooga]

Now here's a group whose existence I only learned of after joining BCB, The English Beat. It was Beebsy's avatar that did it. I was intrigued by the avatar, and now I got the Beat This! comp on London, and I am loving it. As I guessed it was neo-ska, perhaps a bit after the Two Tone movement? At any rate, they are the most New Wavy of the lot, very sharp and smart. I think they have got a cooler sound than Madness, more danceable and sensual, and they are not as tongue-in-cheek. My comp is the London one, with the "Stand Down Margaret Dub".

[Brickyard Jack]

Just called the Beat in the UK, of course, they were an excellent band with a bunch of cracking tunes. They were central to the ska revival. My favourite is Twist and crawl, but there are plenty to choose from. That bpm comp is fantastic - I have the two disc version. I saw them play live a couple of times more recently than their heyday, and I also saw General Public play live (they supported Queen on the Works tour in 1984). Ranking Roger was a great front man - he was only 56 when he died a couple years ago.
Really a great band.

[Rorschach]

A big favourite of mine. I wish they'd done more, but short and sweet has its appeal.

I understand why they were called the English Beat in America but you really should refer to them just as The Beat here. No-one is going to confuse them with the American Beat, whoever they were.

[Fonz]

‘Best Friend’ was one of the earliest singles I bought, followed by ‘Wha’ppen’. Terrific album.

[Jimbly]

Googs, their first single was on Two-Tone. Great live band as well.

[GoogaMooga]

Googs, their first single was on Two-Tone. Great live band as well.

Ah, good to know. Here's how I rate the Two Tone bands:

1. Specials
2. The Beat
3. Selecter
4. Madness

Were there any more, I wonder?

[Jimbly]

Googs, their first single was on Two-Tone. Great live band as well.

Ah, good to know. Here's how I rate the Two Tone bands:

1. Specials
2. The Beat
3. Selecter
4. Madness

Were there any more, I wonder?

The Bodysnatchers

The Apollonaires

[Darkness_Fish]

There used to be someone else that was always on my radio, but I can't think of the band. Too much pressure at short notice.

[Hightea]

Yes was a fan of The Beat, General Public and Fine Young Cannibals (where Andy Cox went after the Beat)
had lunch with the FYC in NYC - they were on tour and were having a late lunch when my office at the time had our party at the same place.
It was a huge place and no one was there except us and FYC. My office(it was a temp job) was 20 women(lots of models it was in the fashion district), a mail room guy and me. They ended up joining us for about an hour.

[The Fish]

Yes was a fan of The Beat, General Public and Fine Young Cannibals (where Andy Cox went after the Beat)
had lunch with the FYC in NYC - they were on tour and were having a late lunch when my office at the time had our party at the same place.
It was a huge place and no one was there except us and FYC. My office(it was a temp job) was 20 women(lots of models it was in the fashion district), a mail room guy and me. They ended up joining us for about an hour.

That sounds a lot more fortuitous than when we met up in LA at the same time as what appeared to be an Oingo Boingo fan club convention.

[Matt Wilson]

Yes was a fan of The Beat, General Public and Fine Young Cannibals (where Andy Cox went after the Beat)
had lunch with the FYC in NYC - they were on tour and were having a late lunch when my office at the time had our party at the same place.
It was a huge place and no one was there except us and FYC. My office(it was a temp job) was 20 women(lots of models it was in the fashion district), a mail room guy and me. They ended up joining us for about an hour.

That sounds a lot more fortuitous than when we met up in LA at the same time as what appeared to be an Oingo Boingo fan club convention.

That's just how I dress, Paul.

[mudshark]

I like them, but not nearly as much as The Specials. Weird how the were named the English (or British, even) elsewhere. The American Beat was first, I guess, but they made 1-1/3 album and that was it. I once owned their first one. Quite nice and poppy. You won't be happy remains a perennial favourite of mine.

[Matt Wilson]

There really was a band called The American Beat? Hmm, learn somethin' new every day.

[LMG]

There really was a band called The American Beat? Hmm, learn somethin' new every day.

No.

I don't mean you do not learn something new every day. I mean that if you learned that there was ever a band that called themselves The American Beat to distinguish themselves from the Ska (English) Beat, what you learned was not new, it was wrong.:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beat_(American_band)

"The British ska group of the same name were first to establish themselves as "The Beat" in Europe, prompting a voluntary decision for the U.S. group to be billed as "Paul Collins' Beat" in Europe. In the U.S., Collins' "The Beat" was first to release an album in turn forcing the British group to use the name "The English Beat" in the U.S., albeit only after the British group was threatened with a lawsuit by Columbia, Collins' record label...

With an overhauled New York City line-up (Conway and Whitman were replaced by Patti Smith drummer Jay Dee Daugherty and Television/Tom Verlaine guitarist Jimmy Ripp), the group reclaimed the name "The Beat" and released the five song 12" mini-album To Beat or Not To Beat in 1983,[2] on the independent Jem/Passport label in the U.S....

In Fall 2012, The Paul Collins Beat joined a package tour "The Two Beats Hearting As One Tour," co-headlining with Two-tone Ska group The Beat. The English Beat and The Paul Collins Beat were both part of the "new wave" of bands to emerge from the late 1970s and early 1980s. The styles of music they play are very different. The tour package included dates at large music halls, casinos, auditoriums and clubs. According to a September 2012 interview with Collins, "Contrary to what the internet fabricates, there never was and is no animosity toward The English Beat. I am still a big fan of The English Beat. Ska is really cool music. Dave is a good friend. He's always so nice and always upbeat. He's just as supportive of my music as I am of his. Both of our fanbases are enjoying hearing each other's music." According to an October 2012 press release, Dave Wakeling stated, “Paul and I originally met back in '83 and have been in touch occasionally over the years, but recently we've been in closer Facebook contact, which led to this idea becoming a reality....Two beats, hearting as one!” "