The English Beat

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Birmingham, United Kingdom (1978 – 1983, 2005 – present)

The Beat, known in the United States as The English Beat in order to avoid confusion with Paul Collins’ band of the same name, was a popular Two Tone ska and pop music group. Formed in the English city of Birmingham in 1978, The Beat disbanded in 1983, but has reformed in the early 2000s with some of the original line-up.
One of the more popular and enduring groups of a short-lived trend, The Beat released three albums: “I Just Can’t Stop It” (1980)… , “Wha’ppen” (1981) and “Special Beat Service” (1982), and a string of excellent singles including “Mirror in the Bathroom”, the politically-charged “Stand Down Margaret” (which refers to controversial British PM Margaret Thatcher), “Save It For Later” and “I Confess”.

Although the group’s main fan-base was in the UK, they were also popular in Australia thanks to regular exposure on the government-owned rock radio station Triple J and the nationally-broadcast TV pop show Countdown. They had a sizeable following in the U.S., and a strong presence on that country’s college radio.

After the break-up of The Beat, Dave Wakeling (guitar, lead vocals) and Ranking Roger (vocals) went on to form General Public, while Andy Cox (guitar) and David Steele (bass guitar) formed Fine Young Cannibals with vocalist Roland Gift.
Members of the band often collaborated on stage with The Specials and performed together on tracks such as “Free Nelson Mandela”. In the early 1990s, Roger joined members of The Specials to form the new band The Special Beat, which released two live albums.

Tagged as:

ska, two-tone, 80s, new wave, 2tone
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I Just Can't Stop It
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Special Beat Service
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What Is Beat?
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Wha'ppen?
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Top Tracks

1	Mirror in the Bathroom	555
2	Save It For Later	176
3	Can't Get Used to Losing You	88
4	Tears of a Clown	85
5	Best Friend	84
6	Ranking Full Stop full track	74
7	Twist and Crawl	72
8	I Confess	66
9	Click Click	59
10	Too Nice to Talk To	52
11	Doors Of Your Heart	50
12	Two Swords	46
13	Hands Off She's Mine	45
14	Sole Salvation	41
15	Big Shot	40

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VivaLa_Ska wrote:
last month

the english beat is fucking SKAwesome!!!!ranking full stop,skank till u drrop!!!

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IanCat87 wrote:
October 2009

So few plays! What the fuck!

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funkyfresh27 wrote:
September 2009

They're playing Lobsterfest in LA (San Pedro) next month. Can't wait! www.lobsterfest.com

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kharkiv_citizen wrote:
August 2009

oh, they were brilliant at Summerfest

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Jedi_Master wrote:
July 2009

They were amazing at Nokia Theater in Nyc last night

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xKornflakesx wrote:
July 2009

Awesome set at Summerfest last night.

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lovecat86 wrote:
June 2009

I want them tagged as The Beat :( They are 100% British Ska, why should they alter their name? Silly!

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racho2i0 wrote:
June 2009

Reel Big Fish and The English Beat are gonna be at the Nokia Theatre in Times Square New York on July 9!! Tix are on sale now! Already got mine. Tickets are available at nokiatheatrenyc.com, ticketmaster.com, charge by phone 800.745.3000 and at the box office.

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johnnytwotone wrote:
April 2009

Amazing live tonight in Milwaukee. Blew away all of my expectations.

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ajcoly wrote:
March 2009

Seen these guys last night, they were backing Stiff Little Fingers in Belfast. Def not my norm type of music but loved them, fantastic live. If you ever get to see them live check out the bod on Dave - washboard stomach, understatement!!

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Sungonemad wrote:
February 2009

the 'English' beat.. ha ha! you learn something new every day!!

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joandrum wrote:
January 2009

Love the English Beat!!! Just got tix to see them in Baltimore on 1/30.

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CrazyDude10528 wrote:
January 2009

THE ENGLIS BEAT ROCKS!!!

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koichihanafusa wrote:
December 2008

The Beat is the Beat. I have never heard of the American Beat. If the American Beat is using the name, The Beat, they should call themselve the American Beat, I guess. Well, I have never heard of that American Beat though.

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pessimystica wrote:
November 2008

argh, i hate this double name thing too... dang it, lastfm, merge some of these bands!!!! i didn't even know these guys were The Beat until now, so it'll always be English Beat to me too cuz i'm from the US.

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Sixroadends wrote:
November 2008

LOVING THE BEAT!

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chicagorockcity wrote:
October 2008

LOVE THE BEAT!!!!!!!!!!!

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I_AM_NOT wrote:
October 2008

Ranking Roger at his best! *skank*

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Tyrano wrote:
September 2008

til' then I'll use The Beat since it's the correct name

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Tyrano wrote:
September 2008

The names really need to be merged :/

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