July 2003, Respectable Street, West Palm Beach, Fla.
It was 1984, and I was over at a friend’s house while his older brother was playing I Just Can’t Stop It on the tape deck.
“What is that?” I asked.
“The English Beat,” he said. “You don’t know them?”
“No, but they’re amazing.”
“Yeah, it’s too bad they broke up,” he said.
And that was that. I went out and bought the three albums — Wha’ppen and Special Beat Service the other two — and settled in knowing it was a band I would never see live. When I learned Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger joined to form General Public, I bought those albums too. I know David Steele and Andy Cox went on to form Fine Young Cannibals, but when having to choose who to side with on the band’s breakup, I clearly side with Dave and Roger.
The one time I had a chance to see General Public ended badly, a date from hell that saw us late for the band’s set. It was not meant to be.
Fast forward some 20 years, and news comes Dave Wakeling is coming to a small club in West Palm Beach for a Monday night show. Not once did I think this was an English Beat show, but simply Dave playing some solo songs, hoping to attract a crowd based on his name recognition. Whatever, I was in, I love me some Dave Wakeling and his teardrop guitar.
I’m there with my wife and our friends Rich and Kim, and I edge up to the stage and there, taped in front of the mic stand, is a setlist. “Twist and Crawl”? “Tears of a Clown”? “I Confess”? “Mirror in the Bathroom”?
Wait, this is an English Beat show? Yes, it was. How fucking glorious.
Dave was the only original member — he did have a guy doing Roger’s part somewhat OK — but the songs were all there, with his familiar voice, and the fantastic English Beat sound. We started dancing, and it never seemed to end. “Click Click,” “Save It for Later,” “Ranking Full Stop”. He added “Tenderness” and “Never You Done That” from the General Public catalog, it was a show of riches, and there were maybe 40 people there to see it.
The show ended with “Mirror in the Bathroom,” which is simply one of the best dance songs ever written (“Rock Lobster” and “Groove is in the Heart” two other top-rate dance tunes). When the show was over we walked out the club into a driving rainstorm, walking happily to our cars in the drenching rain.
I have since seen The Beat a couple times since then, and even had a chance to interview Dave Wakeling for a magazine article. He was genuine and friendly and gave me just what I needed to write the article I needed to.
Dave Wakeling gives the people what they want. God bless him.
