The Beat were formed in Birmingham, England, in 1978, by Dave Wakeling on vocals and guitar, Ranking Roger on vocals, Andy Cox on guitar, David Steele on bass, Everett Morton on drums. and Saxa a.k.a. Lionel Augustus Martin on saxophone. Ranking Roger added a Jamaican vocal flavour to the band's sound with his toasting style, and veteran Jamaican saxophonist Saxa had played with Prince Buster, Laurel Aitken, and Desmond Dekker in the first wave of ska. He joined The Beat to record their first single, a cover of Smokey Robinson and the Miracles' 'Tears Of A Clown', which was released on The Specials' Two Tone label in 1979. The single went Top Ten in the U.K., leading to a deal with Arista to distribute their own Go Feet label, and their debut album. 1980's 'I Just Can't Stop It' went gold in the UK on the strength of the single 'Mirror In The Bathroom', alongside the band's ferocious performances and clever blend of personal and political lyrics. After a disappointing sophomore effort with 1981's 'Wha'ppen?', the band came roaring back with 1982's 'Special Beat Service', a more pop-oriented set that gave them a wider U.S. audience thanks to MTV's embrace of the singles 'I Confess' and 'Save It For Later'. Although the band's main fan base was in the UK, they were also popular in Australia, partly due to exposure on the radio station Triple J and the TV show 'Countdown'. They also had a sizable following in the US and Canada, where the band were known as The English Beat for legal reasons, to avoid confusion with the American power-pop band The Beat.
They toured the world with well-known artists including David Bowie, the Clash, the Police, the Pretenders, R.E.M., the Specials and Talking Heads, and during their early career, the band were associated with Birmingham-based cartoonist Hunt Emerson, who designed their 'Beat Girl' icon and painted the mural that was used on the cover of 'Wha'ppen?'. The band split at the end of 1983, and after the break-up Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger went on to form General Public, who had a couple of hit singles in the US and Canada, including 'Tenderness', while Andy Cox and David Steele formed Fine Young Cannibals with vocalist Roland Gift from the ska band Akrylykz. Ranking Roger also briefly joined Mick Jones' post-Clash band Big Audio Dynamite, as they already had a connection after Roger was asked to toast on 'Rock The Casbah' from The Clash's aborted album 'Rat Patrol From Fort Bragg' in 1981. The Beat didn't leave behind a huge amount of rare cuts, as they tended to record previously released material on their radio sessions, although one exception was when they recorded two new tracks for a Kid Jensen session in 1982. They also performed a cover of Laurel Aitken's 'Pussy Price' in their live sets, and one of their gigs was captured on the German TV show 'Rockpalast'. As I bought the original albums when they were released here in the UK, I was missing a number of their non-album singles, so this compilation includes everything that was not on the original UK releases of their three long-players.
Track listing
01 Tears Of A Clown (single 1979)
02 Ranking Full Stop (b-side of 'Tears Of A Clown)
03 Stand Down Margaret (Dub) (b-side of 'Best Friend' 1980)
04 Too Nice To Talk To (single 1980)
05 Psychedelic Rockers (b-side of 'Too Nice To Talk To')
06 Pussy Price (live on the German TV show 'Rockpalast' 1980)
07 Hit It (single 1981)
08 Which Side Of The Bed...? (b-side of 'Hit It')
09 Rock The Casbah feat. Ranking Roger (from 'Rat Patrol From Fort Bragg' by The Clash 1981)
10 What's Your Best Thing? (b-side of 'Save It For Later' 1982)
11 March Of The Swivelheads (b-side of 'Jeanette' 1982)
12 Night Abd Day (Kid Jensen session 1982)
13 It Makes Me Rock (Kid Jensen session 1982)
14 Cool Entertainer (b-side of 'Pato & Roger (Ago Talk)' 1982)
