Addendum: It should perhaps be noted that by mutual agreement, in North America the words “The English Beat” translate to “Dave Wakeling and Friends.” In the UK, “The Beat” (as they are known there) translates to “Ranking Roger, his son Ranking Junior, Everett Morton and additional players." Original hornmeister Saxa, who played with this version of the band, is now retired. Andy Cox and David Steele, the original guitarist and bassist for the band for those three seminal albums, went on to form Fine Young Cannibals and never looked back. So this is not “THE English Beat” I suppose, but as long as it’s legal and I can hear Dave Wakeling sing, I don’t mind.
3 comments:
Dave W. plays around L.A. a lot, I think he lives here. For my money, I'd go with whoever gets Saxa (who must be quite...er, elderly)
That would be the UK version, led by Ranking Roger. Yes, Saxa must be really getting up there. His wikipedia page lists him as retired, but The Beat's wiki page still lists him as a member.
After checking the band's official UK website, I see that Saxa is indeed retired, so I'll adjust the blog post accordingly. Saxa was born in 1930, making him 79 years old this year!
And yes, Dave Wakeling lives in the LA area.
The Beat were greater than the sum of their parts, which explains the mediocrity of General Public and Fine Young Cannibals. That said, my favorite portions of The Beat mix are as follows in descending order: Dave Wakeling vocals, Saxa - sax, Everett Morton - Drums, David Steele - bass, Ranking Roger - toasting, Andy Cox - guitar. I think you are getting a good deal with Wakeling singing. His vocals on "I Confess" are still among my favorite vocals ever. Though if Ranking Roger came to Asheville, I'd be a fool not to go.
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