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The Beat (band)
Encyclopedia
2 Tone
2 Tone is a music genre created in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s by fusing elements of ska, punk rock, rocksteady, reggae, and New Wave. It was called 2 Tone because most of the bands were signed to 2 Tone Records at some point. Other labels associated with the 2 Tone sound were Stiff...
ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
revival band founded in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1978. Their songs fuse ska, pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
, reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
and punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, and their lyrics deal with themes of love, unity and sociopolitical topics.
The Beat, consisting of Dave Wakeling
Dave Wakeling
Dave Wakeling is an English rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is most famous for singing and writing songs for the 1980s 2-Tone band The Beat and also General Public.-Career:...
(vocals, guitar), Ranking Roger
Ranking Roger
Ranking Roger is an English musician. He was a vocalist in the 1980s two-tone band, The Beat and General Public...
(vocals), Andy Cox
Andy Cox
Andy Cox is a British guitarist, who along with Dave Wakeling, founded The Beat in 1978.The Beat achieved eight Top 40 singles and three hit albums in the UK before announcing their break up in 1983...
(guitar), David Steele
David Steele (musician)
David "Shuffle" Steele is an English musician who was a member of The Beat and Fine Young Cannibals.-Career:...
(bass), Everett Morton
Everett Morton
Everett Morton is a drummer and percussionist from Birmingham, England, most notable as the drummer for the early 1980s ska band The Beat. Originally from the West Indies, Morton is known for his distinctive drumming style that includes syncopation and polyrhythm in a rock beat...
(drums), and Saxa
Saxa (musician)
Saxa is a saxophonist famous for having performed with the British ska band The Beat. He has also played with many early reggae stars such as Laurel Aitken, Prince Buster, and Desmond Dekker....
(saxophone), released three studio albums in the early 1980s: I Just Can't Stop It
I Just Can't Stop It (album)
I Just Can't Stop It is the debut album by UK 2 tone band The Beat. The album was released in 1980 via Go Feet Records in the UK. It was released the same year in the US on I.R.S...
(1980), Wha'ppen?
Wha'ppen?
Wha'ppen? is the second album by the British ska band The Beat , released in 1981 via Go Feet Records.-Original release:Side One#"Doors of Your Heart" #"All Out to Get You"...
(1981) and Special Beat Service
Special Beat Service
Special Beat Service was the third and final album by British ska band The Beat. Like the rest of their material, it was released in the US under the name "The English Beat"...
(1982), and a string of singles, including "Mirror in the Bathroom", "Too Nice To Talk To", "Can't Get Used To Losing You", "Hands off She's Mine" and "All Out To Get You".
1978 – 1983
The Beat were formed in BirminghamBirmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, in 1978, during a period
1978 in the United Kingdom
Events from the year 1978 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:* Monarch - Elizabeth II* Prime Minister - James Callaghan, Labour-Events:* 16 January - The firefighters strike ends after three months when firefighters accept an offer of a 10% pay rise and reduced working hours.* 18 January - The...
of high unemployment
Unemployment
Unemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...
and social upheaval in the United Kingdom. Ranking Roger
Ranking Roger
Ranking Roger is an English musician. He was a vocalist in the 1980s two-tone band, The Beat and General Public...
, one of the band's vocalists, added a Jamaican vocal flavour to the band's sound with his toasting style. Jamaican saxophonist
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
Saxa
Saxa (musician)
Saxa is a saxophonist famous for having performed with the British ska band The Beat. He has also played with many early reggae stars such as Laurel Aitken, Prince Buster, and Desmond Dekker....
added a Jamaican ska instrumental sound. Saxa had played saxophone with Prince Buster
Prince Buster
Cecil Bustamente Campbell, O.D. , better known as Prince Buster, and also known by his Muslim name Muhammed Yusef Ali, is a musician from Kingston, Jamaica. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of ska and rocksteady music...
, Laurel Aitken
Laurel Aitken
Lorenzo Aitken , better known as Laurel Aitken, was a singer and one of the originators of Jamaican ska music. He is often referred to as the "Godfather of ska".-Career:...
, and Desmond Dekker
Desmond Dekker
Desmond Dekker was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer-songwriter and musician. Together with his backing group, The Aces , he had one of the first international Jamaican hits with "Israelites". Other hits include "007 " and "It Miek"...
in the first wave of ska (as well as with The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
in their Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
days). He joined The Beat to record their first single, "Tears of a Clown
The Tears of a Clown
"The Tears of a Clown" is a song by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles for the Tamla label, originally released on the 1967 album Make It Happen. It was re-released in the United Kingdom as a single in September 1970, where it became a #1 hit on the UK singles chart...
," a cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of the Motown
Motown Records
Motown is a record label originally founded by Berry Gordy, Jr. and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation in Detroit, Michigan, United States, on April 14, 1960. The name, a portmanteau of motor and town, is also a nickname for Detroit...
hit by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles.
Notable singles from the first album included "Can't Get Used to Losing You," "Mirror In the Bathroom," "Hands Off She's Mine" and "Best Friend." The second Beat album, Wha'ppen? was supported by extensive touring, including a US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
tour with The Pretenders
The Pretenders
The Pretenders are an English rock band formed in Hereford, England in March 1978. The original band consisted of initiator and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde , James Honeyman-Scott , Pete Farndon , and Martin Chambers...
and Talking Heads
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison...
. The album yielded more UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
hits, with "All Out to Get You" and "Too Nice To Talk To," both of which broke into the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. The Beat received support from modern rock radio stations such as KROQ-FM
KROQ-FM
KROQ-FM — branded 106.7 KROQ — is a commercial modern rock radio station licensed to Pasadena, California serving the Greater Los Angeles. The call sign is pronounced "kay rock." It is the flagship station of Loveline hosted by Dr...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and KYYX in Seattle.
Although The Beat's main fan base was in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the band was also popular in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, partly due to exposure on the radio station Triple J
Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
and the TV show Countdown. The Beat had a sizable following in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, where the band was known as The English Beat for legal reasons (to avoid confusion with the American band The Beat). The Beat toured the world with well-known artists such as David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
, The Police
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
, The Pretenders, R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
, The Specials
The Specials
The Specials are an English 2 Tone ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry, England. Their music combines a "danceable ska and rocksteady beat with punk's energy and attitude", and had a "more focused and informed political and social stance" than other ska groups...
and Talking Heads. Members of the band often collaborated on stage with The Specials.
Post-breakup
After the break-up of The Beat in 1983, Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger went on to form General PublicGeneral Public
General Public were a band formed by The Beat vocalists, Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger, and which included former members of Dexy's Midnight Runners, The Specials and The Clash...
and had a couple of hit singles in North America, while Andy Cox
Andy Cox
Andy Cox is a British guitarist, who along with Dave Wakeling, founded The Beat in 1978.The Beat achieved eight Top 40 singles and three hit albums in the UK before announcing their break up in 1983...
and David Steele
David Steele (musician)
David "Shuffle" Steele is an English musician who was a member of The Beat and Fine Young Cannibals.-Career:...
formed Fine Young Cannibals
Fine Young Cannibals
Fine Young Cannibals were a British band formed in Birmingham, England, in 1984, by bassist David Steele and guitarist Andy Cox , and singer Roland Gift...
with vocalist Roland Gift
Roland Gift
Roland Lee Gift is a British singer and actor. He was the lead singer of the band Fine Young Cannibals.-Biography:...
from the ska band, Akrylykz
Akrylykz
The Akrylykz,originally Akrylyk Vyktymz, was a ska band formed by members of Hull school of Art Kingston upon Hull, that featured Roland Gift originally as a tenor saxophonist, but his role later expanded to frontman and lead singer...
. Drummer Everett Morton
Everett Morton
Everett Morton is a drummer and percussionist from Birmingham, England, most notable as the drummer for the early 1980s ska band The Beat. Originally from the West Indies, Morton is known for his distinctive drumming style that includes syncopation and polyrhythm in a rock beat...
and Saxa
Saxa (musician)
Saxa is a saxophonist famous for having performed with the British ska band The Beat. He has also played with many early reggae stars such as Laurel Aitken, Prince Buster, and Desmond Dekker....
formed The International Beat along with the Birmingham based singer, Tony Beet, and the band released an album titled "The Hitting Line" on Blue Beat Records in 1990 (BBSLP 009). The album was produced by Ranking Roger
Ranking Roger
Ranking Roger is an English musician. He was a vocalist in the 1980s two-tone band, The Beat and General Public...
and he often guested with the band at some of their shows. The International Beat toured the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and USA before calling it a day in 1992. Ranking Roger also briefly joined Mick Jones'
Mick Jones (The Clash)
Michael Geoffrey "Mick" Jones is the former lead guitarist, secondary vocalist and co-founder for the British punk rock band The Clash until his dismissal in 1983. He went on to form the band Big Audio Dynamite with Don Letts before line-up changes led to the formation of Big Audio Dynamite II and...
post-Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
band Big Audio Dynamite
Big Audio Dynamite
Big Audio Dynamite are a British musical group formed in 1984 by the ex-guitarist and singer of the Clash, Mick Jones. The group are noted for their effective mixture of varied musical styles, incorporating elements of punk rock, dance music, hip hop, reggae, and funk...
and performed at several live shows with the band. However, the band broke up shortly after he joined when its last album was shelved by the record company. Meanwhile, "March of the Swivelheads," an instrumental version of the Beat's song "Rotating Head," was used in the climactic chase scene of 1986's Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Ferris Bueller's Day Off is a 1986 American teen coming-of-age comedy film written and directed by John Hughes.The film follows high school senior Ferris Bueller , who decides to skip school and spend the day in downtown Chicago...
; the band was listed in the end credits as "The (English) Beat" while "Save It For Later" featured in the soundtrack to the 1996 movie Kingpin
Kingpin (film)
Kingpin is a 1996 slapstick comedy film directed by the Farrelly brothers and starring Woody Harrelson, Randy Quaid, Vanessa Angel, and Bill Murray...
movie and the 2009 movie Hot Tub Time Machine
Hot Tub Time Machine
Hot Tub Time Machine is a 2010 American science fiction adult comedy film directed by Steve Pink. Four men, all of them bored with their adult lives, travel back to their 1980s teen-hood, courtesy of a time-shifting hot tub. It stars John Cusack, Craig Robinson, Clark Duke, Kellee Stewart, Rob...
.
In the early 1990s, Roger joined members of The Specials to form Special Beat
Special Beat
Special Beat is a 2 Tone band founded by members of The Specials and The Beat in the early 1990s. The band toured England, Japan and North America, and released some live albums.-Discography:*Live *Gangsters...
, which toured and released two live albums. They supported the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament is an anti-nuclear organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty...
. Roger recorded his solo debut, a reggae-oriented album entitled Radical Departure. In 2001, Roger released another solo album, Inside My Head, which included traditional reggae and ska with influences of electronica, jungle and dub. Ranking Roger's son, Ranking Junior, has followed in his father's footsteps. In 2005, he appeared on The Ordinary Boys
The Ordinary Boys
The Ordinary Boys are an English indie rock band from Worthing, in West Sussex, England. Originally named Next in Line, they were influenced by mod revival and Britpop music, as well as the bands Madness, The Specials, The Kinks and The Smiths...
' single "Boys Will Be Boys" and is a current member of The Beat in the UK.
Pete Townshend
Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford "Pete" Townshend is an English rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and author, known principally as the guitarist and songwriter for the rock group The Who, as well as for his own solo career...
covered the song, "Save It For Later" numerous times between 1985 and 1998. The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
performed the song twice on their 1989 Reunion Tour
The Who Tour 1989
The Who Tour 1989 was The Who's reunion tour in celebration of their 25th anniversary and their first without drummer Kenney Jones, who had replaced Keith Moon in 1979...
.
21st century
In 2003, The Beat's original line-up, minus Cox and Steele, played a sold-out one-off gig at the Royal Festival HallRoyal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,900-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge. It is a Grade I listed building - the first post-war building to become so protected...
. In 2004, the VH1 show Bands Reunited
Bands Reunited
Bands Reunited is a television program produced by VH1 in 2004. Hosted by Aamer Haleem, the show documented the attempted reuniting of a formerly popular musical ensemble for a special concert in either London or Los Angeles....
tried unsuccessfully to reunite the original line-up.
In 2006, the UK version of The Beat, featuring Ranking Roger and Morton, recorded a new album that was mixed by Adrian Sherwood, but it remains unreleased. After Dave Blockhead left the band, he was replaced on keyboards by Mickey Billingham
Mickey Billingham
Mickey Billingham is an English keyboardist. He was the former keyboardist of the band Dexys Midnight Runners...
, formerly a member of Dexys Midnight Runners
Dexys Midnight Runners
Dexys Midnight Runners are a British pop group with soul influences, who achieved their major success in the early to mid 1980s. They are best known for their songs "Come On Eileen" and "Geno", both of which went No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart....
and General Public.
Dave Wakeling fronts the US version of the group as The English Beat. The singer and his band flew over to the UK in April 2011, to perform at the London International Ska Festival at the Clapham Grand music venue. They played the Dorset Steam Fair Show 2011 on 31 August 2011.
Both the UK and US versions of the band still continue to tour frequently.
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
NZ |
NOR VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
SWE Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
|||||
| 1980 | I Just Can't Stop It I Just Can't Stop It (album) I Just Can't Stop It is the debut album by UK 2 tone band The Beat. The album was released in 1980 via Go Feet Records in the UK. It was released the same year in the US on I.R.S...
|
3 | 30 | 30 | — | 142 |
British Phonographic Industry The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies... : Gold |
||
| 1981 | Wha'ppen? Wha'ppen? Wha'ppen? is the second album by the British ska band The Beat , released in 1981 via Go Feet Records.-Original release:Side One#"Doors of Your Heart" #"All Out to Get You"...
|
3 | 20 | — | 28 | 126 |
|
||
| 1982 | Special Beat Service Special Beat Service Special Beat Service was the third and final album by British ska band The Beat. Like the rest of their material, it was released in the US under the name "The English Beat"...
|
21 | 50 | — | — | 39 | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
Compilation albums
| Year | Album details | Peak positions | Certifications (sales threshold) |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
NZ |
US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
|||||||
| 1983 | What Is Beat? What Is Beat? What Is Beat? – The Best of The Beat is a greatest hits album by the ska band The Beat released in 1983. The original vinyl release included an additional "free album" of extended remixes entitled Frebe. Several songs had previously only been released as singles and B-sides. These include "Too Nice...
|
10 | 14 | — |
|
||||
| 1996 | B.P.M. The Very Best of the Beat
|
13 | — | — | |||||
| 2000 | Beat This! The Best of the Beat
|
— | — | — | |||||
| 2006 | The Platinum Collection
|
— | — | — | |||||
| 2008 | You Just Can't Beat It: The Best of the Beat
|
— | — | — | |||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
NZ |
NL MegaCharts MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top... |
US Dance |
||||||
| 1979 | "Tears of a Clown" | 6 | — | — | — | I Just Can't Stop It | |||
| 1980 | "Hands Off...She's Mine" | 9 | — | 41 | 22 | ||||
| "Mirror in the Bathroom Mirror in the Bathroom (song) "Mirror in the Bathroom" is a single by British ska band The Beat, released as a single in 1980 from their debut album, I Just Can't Stop It . It reached #4 in the UK charts and consequently was their biggest selling single/highest charting single in the UK until 1983. It is still played live by... " |
4 | — | — | — | |||||
| "Best Friend" | 22 | — | — | — | |||||
| "Too Nice to Talk To" | 7 | — | — | — | Non-album song | ||||
| 1981 | "Drowning"/"All Out To Get You" (Double A-side) | 22 | — | — | — | Wha'ppen? | |||
| "Doors of Your Heart" | 33 | — | — | — | |||||
| "Hit It (Auto Erotic)" | 70 | — | — | — | Non-album song | ||||
| 1982 | "Save It for Later" | 47 | — | — | 58 | Special Beat Service | |||
| "Jeanette" | 45 | — | — | — | |||||
| "I Confess" | 54 | — | — | 34 | |||||
| 1983 | "Can't Get Used to Losing You Can't Get Used to Losing You "Can't Get Used to Losing You" is a song written by Jerome "Doc" Pomus and Mort Shuman, first made popular by Andy Williams in a 1963 record release.-Andy Williams Recording:... " |
3 | 47 | 12 | — | What is Beat? | |||
| "Ackee 1-2-3" | 54 | — | — | — | |||||
| 1996 | "Mirror in the Bathroom" (remix) | 44 | — | — | — | The Very Best of the Beat | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
Film and video
- Dance CrazeDance CrazeDance Craze is a 1981 British documentary film about the English 2 Tone music genre.The film was directed by Joe Massot, who originally wanted to do a film only about the band Madness, who he met during their first US tour. Massot later changed his plans to include the whole 2 Tone movement...
(1981 Independent Film – VHS) A compilation that contains live 1980 Beat footage among other Ska bands. - Video Collection (198x Channel 5 – VHS)
- Live (198x unknown – VHS) 45 min live performance.
- The Beat In Concert at the Royal Festival Hall (2005 MVD Visual – DVD)
Also released:
- Can't Get Used to Losing You: Greatest Hits (1985 Channel 5, VHS)
- The Special BeatSpecial BeatSpecial Beat is a 2 Tone band founded by members of The Specials and The Beat in the early 1990s. The band toured England, Japan and North America, and released some live albums.-Discography:*Live *Gangsters...
released a DVD entitled Enjoy Yourself in 2004. - The soundtrack album to Dance CrazeDance CrazeDance Craze is a 1981 British documentary film about the English 2 Tone music genre.The film was directed by Joe Massot, who originally wanted to do a film only about the band Madness, who he met during their first US tour. Massot later changed his plans to include the whole 2 Tone movement...
, entitled Dance Craze: The Best of British Ska... Live!
Video
- PUNKCAST#908 The English Beat @ Canal RoomCanal RoomCanal Room is a music venue located at 285 West Broadway between Canal Street and Lispenard Street in the TriBeCa neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. The space was formerly known as "Shine". It underwent a $1 million renovation in 2003 by owner Marcus Linial, a former J Records star...
NYC on January 13, 2006. (RealplayerRealPlayerRealPlayer is a cross-platform media player by RealNetworks that plays a number of multimedia formats including MP3, MPEG-4, QuickTime, Windows Media, and multiple versions of proprietary RealAudio and RealVideo formats.-History:...
, mp4)