Monday, January 10, 2011

The English Beat: Peel Sessions


Since The Beat was a kinda dull band name shared by two very exciting late-seventies acts, North Americans got a rushing power-pop band named Paul Collin's Beat and a roaring ska-punk one christened, The English Beat. Nomenclaturaly, I'd say The English Beat won out as theirs was a peculiarly English beat, with rhythms learned from American R&B and Jamaican ska interpolated into the relentless forward-motion of the English strain of punk rock.


These three Peel Sessions show their early punkifed-ska sound as well as their later, smoother pop side, both of which are to be treasured for somewhat different reasons.

November 5, 1979
1. Tears Of A Clown
2. Ranking Full Stop
3. Click Click
4. Mirror In The Bathroom
5. Big Shot

September 22, 1980
6. Too Nice To Talk To
7. New Psychedelic Rockers
8. Monkey Murders
9. Walk Away

March 29, 1982
10. Spar Wid Me
11. She's Going She's Gone
12. Save It For Later
13. Pato And Roger A-Go Talk
14. Sole Salvation



Peel Session are available on Edsel Records and Shout Factory.

Speaking of comment. Does putting the word English in The Beat's name make any difference one way or another?


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Posted by jeffen at 6:00 AM
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25 comments:

  1. Urban FalloutJanuary 10, 2011 at 6:35 AM

    Nice one - Going to see them in march

    ReplyDelete
  2. brink.January 10, 2011 at 6:35 AM

    hooray! hooray! the (english) beat became my Favorite Band right after the police, as my tastes became less mainstream (slightly).

    i still file my records under "e" and "b", depending on whether they are imports or not... i'll admit that this is senselessly confusing, so my english beat cd's are filed sensibly all together under "e".

    thanks for the download!

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJanuary 10, 2011 at 8:37 AM

    thanks, very much looking forward to hearing this.

    ReplyDelete
  4. martin41smithJanuary 10, 2011 at 10:34 AM

    loved The Beat, saw them at 100 club great show, peel sessions are usually good bet this is a cracker, thank you for this

    ReplyDelete
  5. CallPastorJerkfaceJanuary 10, 2011 at 11:14 AM

    I love the English Beat.

    It was strange finding out that "Save It For Later" was by them as I loved that song as a kid but had no idea who it was. A very interesting progression from "Twist & Crawl" I must say.

    Now here's a fun game for the regular commentors:

    Seeing what was done to differentiate between the two Beats, what's the best way to seperate Tom Petty's Heartbreakers from Johnny Thunder's without using their names?

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousJanuary 10, 2011 at 2:28 PM

    Thank you. Loved the English Beat (just The Beat here in New Zealand) - paticularly the earlier faster stuff.

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousJanuary 10, 2011 at 2:40 PM

    Thanks a lot!

    ReplyDelete
  8. DonJanuary 10, 2011 at 3:05 PM

    Hell yeah the name made a difference. It meant that I never knew whether Paul Collins' Beat was filed under P, B or C. Then there were the pretentious clerks who filed English Beat under B since that WAS their real name.

    And Elvis Costello under McManus. Good thing they weren't around during the early Sixties teen idol era.

    I thought English Beat was a better name. The Beat is only two syllables, it's over before anyone has heard the name of the band.

    ReplyDelete
  9. piratecyanJanuary 10, 2011 at 6:47 PM

    Thank you very much. My fav song was Save It For Later

    ReplyDelete
  10. RahJanuary 10, 2011 at 7:03 PM

    Thanks for sharing!

    I saw the latest version of the band onstage a while back--with Wakeling, without Ranking Roger, and with the band filled out by some former members of The Specials. Great show! Dave was laid-back & funny but still has his voice; his singing partner was very strong; and the band was TIGHT. Definitely worth seeing!

    ReplyDelete
  11. jbull49January 10, 2011 at 7:38 PM

    They had to be the ENGLISH Beat! The cachet, as they say, was crucial, as the good music in my set came from the UK (or honorary little corners of England such as Athens, GA). Their look was crucial too, in sync with what we saw in midnight showings of "Quadrophenia."
    Not as arch and wonderful as Terry and the Specials, but redolent of the same cool.

    Thanks for the past blast! Cheers,

    ReplyDelete
  12. bglobe313January 10, 2011 at 7:44 PM

    You know, I really AM an idiot because it had never occurred to me that there must be (English) Beat BBC sessions.

    Haven't heard this yet, but I feel very comfortable saying thanks right now.

    Ace K.

    ReplyDelete
  13. GeoffJanuary 10, 2011 at 9:11 PM

    I've got two records.'I just can't stop it' by the british beat and 'Wha'ppen? by the Beat. So Australia couldn't make up its mind. Original price tag still on them. $8.99 & $9.99. Wonder what the CD's price is new.
    Perth(WA)

    ReplyDelete
  14. biopunkJanuary 11, 2011 at 4:31 AM

    Sweet!

    Looking for them under the 'English Beat' title just made it near impossible to find them in the import catalogues. So, the only vinyl I ever had by them was I Just Can't Stop It. 10 years later, I figured it out...

    ReplyDelete
  15. AnonymousJanuary 11, 2011 at 5:50 AM

    Thank you.
    The Beat are a great band. I saw them play at a local club last year, and it was one of the best gigs I have ever been to. Afterwards the band mingle with the audience for a drink and to sign stuff etc. Please go see them if you get chance.

    ReplyDelete
  16. DougJanuary 11, 2011 at 8:41 AM

    Hey Jeffen

    How do you get The Commodore Ballroom floor into maximum bounce mode?You book The Beat or The Specials or Madness or The Selecter.Gee, there seems to be a pattern!
    The Police made the big mistake of having The Specials open on NA tour circa 1979.The Beat would have also blown Sting and the boys off the stage.

    Doug

    ReplyDelete
  17. AnonymousJanuary 11, 2011 at 9:41 AM

    Further to Rah's comment, a version of the Beat featuring Ranking Roger (and his son)regularly tours the UK. They too are a great night out. And the name is 'The Beat'!!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Phil in NJJanuary 11, 2011 at 5:34 PM

    Thanks a lot!! Saw them open up for Squeeze on their (first) farewell tour. Other opening band was a newcomer named REM...

    ReplyDelete
  19. AnonymousJanuary 11, 2011 at 7:57 PM

    Like I said, so much good music came from the guys in this band, then - later - and now.
    Thank you for posting this.
    s.nail

    ReplyDelete
  20. biopunkJanuary 11, 2011 at 10:55 PM

    @CallPastorJerkface

    The New Yawk vs The Suvvern Heartbreakers,

    or

    Rawk vs NuWave Heartbreakers

    or

    The Good vs The Bad Heartbreakers

    ReplyDelete
  21. John HylandJanuary 12, 2011 at 11:57 AM

    Truly fantastic, thanks for posting all this great English Beat material. I do believe that their version of "Tears of a Clown" is my favorite cover ever...

    ReplyDelete
  22. AnonymousJanuary 12, 2011 at 2:00 PM

    Dig The English Beat. Thanks and I like the name with "English" in it better.

    ReplyDelete
  23. jeffenJanuary 19, 2011 at 11:46 AM

    Hey commenters, thanks for the outpouring of words

    Glad everyone dug the Peel Session and The Englishness of it all!

    ReplyDelete
  24. AnonymousOctober 22, 2011 at 8:20 AM

    Thanks for this! Such a treat. I've seen various versions of the band playing various types of shows over the past 25 yrs. One time I saw Dave accompanied by a DJ, another time I saw him play an unplugged/storyteller set. Typically, it's him with a crackerjack band. I just saw them in LV last wkend - as always, fantastic. Anyway, thanks for this (these) treat! Like one of the others, I never considered that a Peel session would be out there floating around. Thanks for this!!! I only wish it included End of the Party. Any idea if that exists? Take care...

    ReplyDelete
  25. AnonymousOctober 28, 2012 at 10:37 PM

    Is the link still available, I don't see it.

    ReplyDelete

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