British ska band The Beat NZ Tour

British ska band

THE BEAT

Friday 29 September @ the Studio, Auckland (R18 and all ages)
Saturday 30 September @ San Francisco Bathhouse, Wellington (R18 & All Ages with Guardian only)
Monday 2 October @ the Jetset Lounge, Christchurch (R18 only)

All shows supported by the Managers – http://www.themanagers.co.nz
Tickets available from Real Groovy and Ticketek

March 28th 1979 was not only the date of the Three Mile Island nuclear incident, but also, in Birmingham, England, the very first show by a nascent band known as The Beat. Introduced as "the hottest thing since the Pennsylvania meltdown", the band had a sense that the next few years could well be explosive!

Along with their contemporaries The Specials, The Selecter, and Madness, The Beat became an overnight sensation and one of the most popular and influential bands of the British ska movement.

By Christmas of 1979, The Beat were riding high in the UK charts with their first single, a smoking remake of the classic Smokey Robinson tune "Tears of a Clown’.

Over the course of the next five years they toured, with such artists as David Bowie, The Police, REM, The Clash, The Talking Heads, The Pretenders, and The Specials, playing their hits ‘Mirror in the Bathroom’, ‘Save it for Later’, ‘I Confess’, ‘Stand Down Margaret’, ‘Can't Get Used To Losing You’ and releasing three studio albums: ‘I Just Can't Stop It’, ‘Wh'appen’, and ‘Special Beat Service’.

The Beat hailed from working class, industrial Birmingham, England. 1979 was a time of social, political and musical upheaval but The Beat, in contrast to this, were (and are to this day) all about inclusion, rather than exclusion (which showed through in their personnel and their music influences), and the simple message of love and unity set to a great dance beat.

The original six member band consisted of Dave Wakeling on vocals and guitar, Andy Cox on guitar, David Steele on bass, Everett Morton on drums, Ranking Roger on vocals and toasting, and foundational first wave ska legend Saxa on saxophone. The band crossed over fluidly between soul, reggae, pop and punk, and from these disparate pieces they created an infectious dance rhythm.

After the bands split in the 80’s Everett, Saxa and Ranking Roger worked on many other projects. Ranking Roger and Saxa along with original Beat singer Dave Wakeling formed General Public with former Dexy’s Midnight Runners keyboardist Micky Billingham. General Public disbanded in 1986 and 1988 saw the release of the solo album ‘Radical Departure’ by Ranking Roger. He then went on to form Special Beat with Neville Staple (the Specials).

After ‘The Beat’ reunion gig at London's Royal Festival Hall in 2002, the band was joined by Dave ‘Blockhead’ Wright on keyboards and Roger’s son Murphy in place of Tony O’Donnell and once again adopted the name The Beat for their new line-up. Having re-established The Beat in the UK, the band have continued that success with tours of the UK, Ireland, Europe, Australia, and now for the first time New Zealand.

Fresh from recording what is believed to be yet another hit album, The Beat, will visit New Zealand with three original core members, and the shows promise to sizzle with irie ska-full rock-steady Beat!

Website: http://www.twistandcrawl.com/

ENDS

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