English Beat Kick Off US Tour with The Paul Collins Beat / Show at B.B. King's on October 16th

While I have reservations about any lineup of the English Beat that doesn't include Andy Cox or David Steele, the David Wakeling-led reformation of The Beat seems to get consistently good write-ups in the press. I'm more intrigued by Paul Collins going back to his power-pop roots with "Paul Collins Beat".

This Fall, English Beat will hit the road alongside The Paul Collins Beat. “It’s the essence of power pop, which is wider than continents,” says Dave Wakeling, mastermind behind English Beat about the recently announced tour. “Short, sharp, catchy, exciting and memorable!” It’s the first time ever, and all thanks to a Facebook friendship,” says Wakeling. “Paul and I originally met back in '83 and have been in touch occasionally over the years, but recently we've been in closer FB contact, which led to this idea becoming a reality....Two beats, hearting as one!” The tour kicks off on October 11th in Asheville, NC and wraps up on October 27th in Minneapolis, MN (tour dates below).

Hot on the heels of the recently released career-encompassing box set The Complete Beat, a single disc greatest hits Keep The Beat: The Very Best of The English Beat, and a live double CD/DVD package, Live At The US Festival, ’82 & ’83, English Beat's irresistible blend of ska, reggae, and punk has made them undeniable stars throughout the last three decades. As a testament of their ongoing longevity and impact on modern music, their songs have been heard recently in Hot Tub Time Machine ("Save It for Later"), Shrek Forever After ("Click Click"), television shows (TBS's Glory Daze), and even in Target commercials ("Tenderness" as their post-English Beat break up band, General Public). Among the other uber-memorable hits include “Mirror In The Bathroom”, “I Confess”, "Doors of Your Heart", and "Tears of a Clown" among many others.

Paul Collins formed his version of "The Beat" in 1979, a high energy, skinny-tied rock group in the style of The Ramones, Blondie and The Dictators. With a handful of heavily-revered albums (The Beat, The Kids Are All The Same), The Paul Collins Beat continued making melodic, powerpop hits till the tail end of the 90s. Collins launched a critically-lauded solo career, and after a ten year hiatus, The Paul Collins Beat resurfaced in 2004, releasing a string of new records, that combine their classic sound with the raw energy of his solo works.

The tour stops at B.B. King's in Times Square on October 16th. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 DOS.

English Beat - October 2012 Tour Dates
Sep 28 - Coach House San Juan Capistrano, CA
Sep 29 - Saint Rocke Hermosa Beach, CA
Oct 05 - Romano’s Concert Lounge Riverside, CA
Oct 06 - The Canyon Club Agoura Hills, CA
Oct 11 - The Orange Peel Asheville, NC *
Oct 12 - The State Theatre Falls Church, VA *
Oct 13 - The Center for Arts Natick, MA *
Oct 14 - World Café Live Philadelphia, PA *
Oct 16 - BB King’s New York, NY *
Oct 18 - Rapids Theatre Niagara Falls, NY *
Oct 19 - Phoenix Concert Theatre Toronto, ON *
Oct 20 - Hard Rock Café Detroit, MI *
Oct 23 - SPACE Evanston, IL *
Oct 24 - Hard Rock Café Pittsburgh, PA *
Oct 25 - Hard Rock Café Pittsburgh, PA
Oct 26 - Turner Hall Milwaukee, WI *
Oct 27 - Mill City Nights Minneapolis, MN *
Oct 30 - Knucklehead Tavern Kansas City, MO
Oct 31 - The Blue Note Columbia, MO
* with The Paul Collins Beat

Links:
English Beat

The English Beat Play The Bell House on Dec. 9th & Maxwell's on Dec. 14th

Dave Wakeling launched an American version of The English Beat sometime last decade. The new band sounds great and Dave's voice remains in top form. The tour stops at The Bell House on Dec. 9th and Maxwell's in Hoboken on Dec. 14th.

While out in Los Angeles many years back, I had the extreme pleasure of seeing Dave play with his group Bang at The Roxy, In an interview with songfacts.com, here is how Dave described how Bang morphed into The English Beat: "I started my own 4-piece band and called it Bang. And sort of went back to roots. The Beatles, there was only four of them and they sounded okay, so I did that instead. Bang went on for a couple of years, but so many times I would show up, and they would say, "Tonight: The English Beat, General Public, Bang, and Dave Wakeling," like it was four groups. In the end, I just gave up. I was like all right, fine. English Beat it is. You can't fight against the tide."



As a major part of the two-tone ska music revolution of the late 70s and early 80s, alongside their stablemates The Specials, Madness, and The Selector, the musical juggernaut that is lead vocalist Dave Wakeling hasn't lost any momentum in songwriting. He and his bandmates managed to find time between endless touring to lay down demos for their forthcoming release (planned for 2011). Their new songs such as "The Love You Give Lasts Forever", "How Can You Stand There" and "Said We Would Never Die" are quickly becoming fan favorites and live staples.

Tickets for the Dec. 9th show at The Bell House are $25 and doors are at 8PM. Tickets for the Dec. 14th show at Maxwell's are $24.99 and doors are at 8PM.

English Beat Tour Dates
Nov 12 -- Belly Up Tavern, Solana Beach, CA
Nov 13 -- Belly Up Tavern, Solana Beach, CA
Nov 19 -- SLO Brewing Company, San Luis Obispo, CA
Nov 20 -- SoHo, Santa Barbara, CA
Dec 08 -- Ramshead On Stage, Annapolis, MD
Dec 09 -- Bell House, Brooklyn, NY
Dec 10 -- Fairfield Theatre – Stage One, Fairfield, CT
Dec 11 -- Fairfield Theatre – Stage One, Fairfield, CT
Dec 12 -- Infinity Hall, Norfolk, CT
Dec 14 -- Maxwell’s, Hoboken, NJ
Dec 15 -- Tupelo Music Hall, Londonderry, NH
Dec 16 -- Tupelo Music Hall, White River Junction, VT
Feb 4 -- Belly Up Tavern, Solana Beach, CA
Feb 5 -- Belly Up Tavern, Solana Beach, CA

Links:
The English Beat

English Beat - Legal Music Download

It has now been 24 years since the English Beat broke up and it seems that their legacy has grown over the years. Dave Wakeling, who re-entered the music industry a few years back, is currently touring the US under the English Beat moniker. (Where it gets confusing is that Ranking Roger, Blockhead and Everett Moreton are currently touring the UK as The Beat).

The revised English Beat played a 50 minute set in the KEXP studios back in March of this year. I loved The Beat but have mixed feeling about the revised band. Like many of the bands with a strong back catalogue, the set focuses on the band's "greatest hits" and they only play one new song. I have been reading about the problem bands in this space have (Kiss and R.E.M. are the ones that come immediately to mind) as the fans don't want to hear anything new. Does anyone really think that the Violent Femmes two-night stand at Warsaw is anything more than a showcase for "Blister in the Sun", "Kiss Off", "American Music" and a couple of other crowd favorites?

The good news is Dave Wakeling sounds great and the new band lineup is solid. The bad news is that there is a "missing element" to the band's sound. I don't know if it is the mix on this recording but I really miss Ranking Roger's vocal interplay with Dave and Andy Cox's guitar work. There is a pretty solid interview with Dave as part of this podcast and Dave mentions that he hopes to work with Roger later this year. It would be great to see the two reunited but I'd love to see the pair onstage with Andy Cox and David Steele. I hate reality shows but I did make a point of watching The Beat on VH1's "Bands Reunited" and it was very clear that Cox and Steele want nothing to do with The Beat.

Check out the podcast and make up your own mind (link).

Links:
Dave Wakeling's Main Website (link)
The New English Beat's MySpace Page (link) [Note: this is Roger's band]

The Alarm and English Beat to Play Free Fest in New Jersey

I don't know if this is a new festival or if I just never noticed it before. Either way, this looks like an interesting lineup of bands.

I haven't seen the reformed Alarm but they have been getting excellent reviews and continually sell out when they play in the area. The English Beat includes just Dave Wakeling (vocals/guitar) from the original band but he is fabulous live. Last I read, Wakeling is playing with Wayne Lothian, Rick Torres, Rhythmm Epkins, Fernando Jativa, and Michael Ambrose.

Peters, Wakeling and others were in town in last September to kick-off Peters' leukemia foundation. There is a video of Peters, Wakeling and friends performing Strength on the observation deck of the Empire State building posted to YouTube.