Song:Tenderness
Album:All The Rage
Like Fine Young Cannibals, General Public was a spinoff of the very popular group The English Beat. Tenderness was their most memorable song. They had one other single that charted higher but isn't as memorable. After The English Beat split up in 1983, bassist David Steele and drummer Andy Cox formed Fine Young Cannibals and singers Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger formed General Public. The Clash guitarist Mick Jones was an original member of General Public. But he left while the band was recording All The Rage and was replaced by Kevin White. Other members were keyboardist Mickey Billingham and drummer Stoker from Dexys Midnight Runners and bassist Horace Panter of The Specials. They signed with Virgin Records in England and I.R.S. Records in the US. Tenderness reached #27 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984. The song was featured in the films Weird Science and Sixteen Candles. The single and album did particularly well in Canada. All The Rage is available as a budget CD. White and Stoker were replaced by Gianni and Mario Minardi. The 1986 album Hand To Mouth didn't do well and General Public dissolved. Wakeling and Roger both recorded solo projects. But they reformed General Public in 1994 to record a cover of The Staple Singers hit I'll Take You There for the film Threesome. The record topped the dance charts and reached #22 on the Billboard Hot 100. So they revived General Public and recorded the 1995 CD Rub It Better for Epic Records. The album didn't sell and General Public split up for good. Dave Wakeling lives in the US and leads a version of The English Beat. Ranking Roger has reformed a version of The English Beat in England. Here's the video for Tenderness by General Public. The original video is not on Youtube and it's geo blocked on Vevo.
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