Artist:The English Beat
Song:Drowning
Album:Beat This! The Best Of The Beat
Along with The Specials, The English Beat were part of the British ska revival of the late 70s. They were known as The Beat in England but had to call themselves The English Beat in the US as there was another group called The Beat. They were much more successful in England. They were formed in Birmingham, England in 1978 by vocalist guitarist Dave Wakeling (born Feb. 19, 1956 in Birmingham) and vocalist rapper Ranking Roger (born Roger Charlery Feb. 21, 1961 in Birmingham). Other members were Andy Cox on guitar, David Steele on bass and Everett Moreton on drums. The addition of veteran Jamaican sax player Saxa (born Lionel Martin in 1930) gave them a different dimension. The Beat signed with 2-Tone Records and their cover of Tears Of A Clown was a smash in England. But then they started their own label Go Feet and their first album I Just Can't Stop It yielded several hits in England. They signed in the US with Sire Records but they never had as much success there. But they had a strong cult following. Drowning was from their 1981 album Wha'ppen and had a much slower reggae influenced sound. The English Beat released one more album and then split up in 1983. This comp has all their hits. Dave Wakeling & Ranking Roger went on to form General Public and Cox & Steele started Fine Young Cannibals with singer Roland Gift. Wakeling currently leads a version of The English Beat in the US and Roger leads a version of The Beat in England. Uh oh, dueling bands. Here's the video for Drowning by The English Beat.
Dave Wakeling of The English Beat is touring in the US. He's a real interesting dude. Check out his Songfacts interview:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.songfacts.com/int/2008/04/dave-wakeling-english-beat.html