When the British ska movement launched in the late ‘70s, great ska/rocksteady acts such as the Skatalites, Prince Buster and Desmond Dekker were founding influences. Inspired by the rebellious nature of the nascent punk scene, a generation of youth fused the former genre’s aggression with the sounds of their ska forebearers to address and defuse racial tensions in Margaret Thatcher-era Britain.
Among the predominantly multiracial acts leading the charge at the time were the Specials, the Selecter, Madness and the Beat (known as the English Beat in the U.S.).
Fast forward to 2025 and Dave Wakeling’s English Beat has carried on his band’s legacy (albeit with a number of detours along the way). Following the release of 1982’s “Special Beat Service,” the last album by the original group, myriad offshoot groups emerged, including General Public, Fine Young Cannibals, the Beat featuring Ranking Roger and the Beat starring Dave Wakeling.
With Ranking Roger having passed in 2019, and with Beat founding members Andy Cox and David Steele creatively M.I.A., Wakeling has continued to wave the English Beat banner. Demand for the band has been unwavering despite the last album featuring the original lineup being four-decades-plus old.
Wakeling, who brings the band to City Winery on Monday and Tuesday, is gratified.
Credit: (Courtesy of Bryan Kremkau)
Credit: (Courtesy of Bryan Kremkau)
“I’m shocked that on SiriusXM, there are something like 10 or 12 of our songs spread all over the channels between (the English Beat and General Public),” he said in a recent interview. “It’s probably more like 16 or 20 songs if you include Fine Young Cannibals. That’s really quite remarkable to achieve. And that people still come and still remember the words — even though their knees aren’t as flexible as they used to be, they can still move them in time to our tunes. It is a lovely feeling, really.”
When one thinks about the impact the English Beat had on third-wave ska outfits that commercially blew up in the ‘90s (the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, No Doubt, Reel Big Fish), it’s hard to believe the former’s original run was only from 1978 to 1983.
Wakeling recalls how quickly things came together once he pivoted from competitive swimming to music and started writing songs when he was about 17. It was during this time the core of the Beat — Wakeling, bassist Steele, guitarist Cox and drummer Everett Morton — came together. Ranking Roger and legendary ska saxophonist Saxa were later recruited.
“I met Andy (Cox), who became the other guitarist in the Beat, at school,” Wakeling recalled. “We played a couple of times, got an apartment together and then moved to the Isle of Wight. Then we wrote some songs, talked about being in a group, moved back to Birmingham and started. Within about six months, we did the first gig. Not many months later, we were No. 6 in the charts. None of us could believe it.”
Between the myriad U.K. hits the Beat started landing (“Mirror in the Bathroom,” “Save It for Later” and a cover of “Tears of a Clown”) and the band’s infectious live show, they were an in-demand support act for high-profile bands, including Talking Heads, the Police, the Clash and the Pretenders.
Touring/recording burnout caught up with the English Beat and, as new parents, Wakeling and Ranking Roger chose to form General Public in 1983 (Steele and Cox reemerged with vocalist Roland Gift a year later as Fine Young Cannibals). General Public’s 1984 debut “All the Rage” featured ex-Clash guitarist Mick Jones playing on six of the songs (although Wakeling points out he was never an official band member) and yielded the international top 40 hit “Tenderness.”
A cover of the Staple Singers’ “I’ll Take You There” for the soundtrack to the 1994 dramedy “Threesome” yielded another top 40 hit a decade later. In the end, geography proved to be General Public’s downfall, with Wakeling decamping to California and Ranking Roger remaining in the U.K.
“With Roger living in England and me in America, it cost $10,000 just to do a rehearsal,” Wakeling explained. “The timing and scheduling were really difficult.”
Nowadays, the English Beat enjoy the kind of nostalgia-fueled success new-wave acts ranging from Duran Duran and Squeeze to Depeche Mode and OMD are experiencing on the road. And in having the combination of longevity and a rich catalog to pull from, Wakeling has found the perfect cross-generational presentation that keeps fans coming out to shows.
“Quite often, the audience chooses what song they want to hear next,” he said. “We have a set list, but we also keep an eye on the crowd. Do they want something a bit faster? Do they want something a bit slower? Are they starting to flag and need a break? Everyone is going through really testing times at the moment. You can see it in people’s faces. They feel relieved to have a nice dance within (their) own peer group, go home and nothing controversial or outrageous happened.”
CONCERT PREVIEW
The English Beat
8 p.m. Monday and Tuesday. $52-$70. City Winery, 650 North Ave. NE, Atlanta. citywinery.com.
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