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THE ENGLISH
BEAT
A story behind
every song…
Dave Wakeling is a hell of a
nice guy! Dave loves to tell you
the stories behind his songs,
either from stage or after the
show. Ask any one of the
thousands of fans who have met
him over the years and that's
what you'll hear. Never mind
that Dave is the
singer/songwriter from two of
the most popular bands of the
end of the millennium, The
English Beat and General Public,
he's a stand up man from Brum.
Whether it's the personal as
political in "How Can You Stand
There", making politics personal
in "Stand Down Margaret", taking
a stand against global warming
as he did with Greepeace's
"Alternative NRG", or helping
little kids stand up proudly
with "Smile Train", Dave has
always stood for something.
And like the mighty Redwoods of
his adopted home of California
(dude!), it's been easy for Dave
to take a stand because of his
strong roots…
Hailing from working-class
Birmingham, England, Dave and
The English Beat entered the
music scene in the 1979. When
The English Beat rushed on to
the music scene in 1979, it was
a time of social, political and
musical upheaval. Into this
storm came they came, trying to
calm the waters with their
simple message of love and unity
set to a great dance Beat.
The six member band consisted of
singer/songwriter Dave Wakeling
(vocals & guitar), Andy Cox
(guitar), David Steele (bass),
Everett Morton (drums), Saxa
(saxophone) and Ranking Roger
(toasting). The band managed to
fuse all of their respective
musical influences - soul,
reggae, pop and punk - into a
unique sound that was highly
danceable. Along with
contemporaries such as The
Specials, The Selecter and
Madness, The English Beat became
one of the most popular and
influential bands of the British
Ska movement.
Over the course of the three
albums, The English Beat
achieved great success in their
home country, charting several
singles into the top 10. In
addition to their UK chart
success, in America the band
found a solid base of young fans
eager to dance to the their
hypnotic rhythms. Their constant
touring with iconic bands such
as The Clash and The Police
helped to boost their popularity
in the States.
Despite his huge success, Dave
didn't stop singing and acting
on the problems caused by the
noise in this world. The band
donated all the profits from
their highly successful single
version of "Stand Down Margaret"
to the Committee for Nuclear
Disarmament. They donated their
music to causes including the
anti-nuclear benefit album "Life
in The European Theatre", "The
World of Music and Dance" album
focusing on indigenous people's
art, and lent their voice to The
Special AKA's anthemic song of
freedom "Free Nelson Mandela",
to name but a few.
Dave Wakeling once told me that
every great band only has three
really good albums. And true to
form, The English Beat disbanded
in 1983, after their third
album, "Special Beat Service".
It was at this point that Dave
Wakeling and Ranking Roger
recruited Stoker (drums) and
Mickey Billingham (keyboards) of
Dexy's Midnight Runners, Horace
Panter (bass) of The Specials,
and former Clash guitarist Mick
Jones to formed General Public.
Their first album, "...All The
Rage", met with fantastic
success, charting high in the
U.S., U.K. and even winning the
band a coveted Juno award in
Canada for Best New Artist in
1984.
After the fantastic success of
"...All The Rage", the band
spent two years writing and
recording their follow-up, "Hand
to Mouth". Like "Whappen" before
it, this sophomore effort was
more introspective and than
their first album, taking fans
along with him in Dave's
continual exploration of the
light and dark side of human
emotion. The album was a
critical and fan favorite, and
spawned two hit singles, "Too
Much or Nothing" and "Come
Again".
After the second General Public
Album, Dave and Roger went
different directions to follow
their own muses. For his part,
Dave went on to produce the
soundtrack and record the title
track for the John Hughes film
"She's Having a Baby". After
that he recorded his first solo
record, "No Warning". The album
maintained the pop sensibilities
for which General Public had
been known, and in addition
exposed even more of the mind
and emotions of the man behind.
After his solo album, while the
other ex-members of The English
Beat were busy with their
various projects, Dave decided
to use his notoriety for good,
and pursued a full-time position
saving the planet at a job with
Greenpeace. This didn't mean a
break from music, just a break
from being the lead singer, as
he stepped inside the mixing
booth to produce the Greenpeace
album "Alternative NRG".
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What made this
album outstanding and ground
breaking was not just the roster
of rock luminaries who Dave
convinced to performed on it,
including REM, U2, Midnight Oil,
UB40, Annie Lennox, Sonic Youth,
and more, but the fact that it
was recorded in 14 separate
venues across America using a
recording truck powered
exclusively by solar power - a
160 square foot, 1,920-watt
solar panel array contained in a
trailer known as Cyrus. The
power produced by the solar
array, once converted to AC (the
sun is DC), generated enough
electricity to meet the needs of
an average-size house for
several days, and was proof
positive of the viability of
solar and other forms of
alternative energy.
After a metaphorical bump on the
head from Elvis Costello for
abandoning his post as crooner
(a true story, ask Dave about it
some time), Dave felt the need
to "take us there" one more
time. Dave teamed up with old
friends to reform General Public
in released their third album,
"Rub It Better", in 1995. The
album and Dave's return to the
stage were met by a huge
outpouring of critical raves and
fan support. The album provided
yet another hot single for the
duo of Dave and Roger, with
their infectious reggae remake
of an old Staples Singers song,
"I'll Take You There", climbing
the singles charts and anchoring
the soundtrack of the very hip,
box office smash hit
"Threesome".
Having infected a whole new
group of fans with Beat-madness,
General Public then decided to
disband in 1996. However, true
to his philanthropic bent and
always looking to help out,
General Public reformed in 1998
to play at "Sweet Relief", a
concert to benefit ailing
musicians.
Having accepted and embraced his
true calling again (thanks
Declan) , Dave continued to
perform, touring back and forth
across the States. Dave did it
old school, touring clubs and
playing countless gig from sea
to shining sea, re-connecting
with his Beat and General Public
fans and building a strong and
loyal fan base that continues to
love his songs and embrace the
evolution of his music.
Then, in February 2003, we saw a
dream come true for Dave and
many Beat fans as The English
Beat reunited for a mini-tour in
the UK, culminated in their
acclaimed, sold out command
performance at the Royal
Festival Hall! Dave, Everett,
Roger, Blockhead and the star of
the show, Saxa, took the crowd
by storm! It was a magical
homecoming for Dave and a really
wonderful experience for the
fans, with band members and fans
gathering from around the globe
for a night or irie, ska-ful
rock-steady Beat! Being the hard
driving ska legend that he is,
however, Dave Wakeling was not
content to rest on his laurels
after the RFH reunion…
Tongue firmly in cheek, feet on
the ground and eyes on the
future, Dave takes the stage
time and again, touring across
the States, Canada, the UK and
beyond. He does it for two
reasons: First, he loves to play
music, period. Second, his job
here on Earth is to bring a
message of love, unity and a
steady, rhythmic groove of
danceable songs with a message
to the masses. Fans see him as
an icon and to the young bands
coming up he's the elder
statesman of ska. His swooning
croon has been covered by such
rock luminaries as Peter
Townshend, Eddie Vedder and
Elvis Costello.
He's repeatedly referred to in
the press now as a "legacy
artist" and an "icon": he's
wasn't quite sure what it all
meant and thought he might be
entitled to some extra initials
after his name (he wasn't).
However, he learned what those
terms actually mean early in
2006 when, much to his surprise,
bemusement, and eternal joy, the
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
contacted him and asked him for
his trademark Vox teardrop
guitar, to bed displayed in a
place of honour alongside the
axes of Jimi Hendrix and Kurt
Cobain of Nirvana. Truly a
wonderful and humbling
experience for a working class
boy from Brum!
Dave is currently entering a
musical renaissance, and fresh
off this legacy moment, Dave is
planning on going into the
studio to lay down two new
albums. Dave also continues to
tour as The English Beat, as he
had done for the last three
decades, with an amazing
all-star ska backing band
playing the hits of The English
Beat, General Public, and his
new songs. Expect the unexpected
and prepare to be blown away by
the ever-changing King of Ska!
One thing that hasn't and won't
change though, Dave Wakeling
remains a hell of a nice guy.
The
English Beat Links:
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