The English Beat Biography

The band known as The English Beat (or The Beat, or The British Beat) was established in Birmingham, England in the late 1970’s. Founded by members Lionel Augustus Martin, Everett Morton, David Steele, Andy Cox, Ranking Roger, and Dave Wakeling, The English Beat arrived on the music scene in 1980 with the release of the debut album, I Just Can’t Stop It.

The album rose to the top of the charts in the UK and also charted well in New Zealand and Norway. It featured the singles “Tears of a Clown,” “Mirror in the Bathroom,” and “Too Nice to talk To,” and set the stage for The Beat’s follow-up album, Wha’ppen? The album fared even better for The English Beat, rising to silver status in the UK, but it still failed to give the band the big breakthrough in America they were hoping for. An extensive tour accompanied the release of the album, bringing The English Beat to the United States, first performing in support of Talking Heads and in support of The Pretenders.

When The English Beat released its third album in 1982, Special Beat Service rose into the top forty in the United States, spawning the singles “Save It for Later,” “Jeanette,” “I Confess,” and “Can’t Get Used to Losing You.” Although the band was performing very well in the UK, and now fairly well in the United States, The English Beat disbanded in 1983. But in 2003, The English Beat reunited for a single show at the Royal Festival Hall, spurring talk of a reunion.

Although it would be another decade before The English Beat would fully revive, it did so as The English Beat starring Dave Wakeling in 2014, with the lineup of Wakeling, King Schascha, Jared Palazzolo, Brian Klemm, Nucci Cantrell, Matt Morrish, Kevin Lum, and Jeffrey Govan. The English Beat released a long awaited fourth studio album, Here We Go Love, in 2015, and is currently touring and performing regularly.