Jamaican musicians, Clement “Coxone” Dodd, and Duke Read got together in the late fifties and blended calypso music with jazz to create a new genre. This beautiful combination was called Ska. Ska was a big hit in the late fifties and sixties, but by the late seventies, it needed to be revitalized. So, ska migrated 7,483 kilometers to the north east. The English breathed new life into the old music by adding a slight touch of true punk attitude. This new evolution was named “two tone ska”, after one of its founders’ (Jerry Dammers) record company. Musicians like Dammers, The Specials, and The English Beat were the faces of the next generation of ska. The torch had been passed.
The English Beat broke up after only three studio albums. Their music has been featured in several soundtracks, has been covered by countless bands including The Who, and you’d be hard pressed to find a person who hasn’t heard an English Beat song. Over twenty years later, The English Beat was reborn into two separate groups – one led by Ranking Rodger, and one by Dave Wakeling. If you are lucky enough for them to come to your town, you don’t have much choice not to go. Missing this band is like missing a piece of history. Consider them a can’t-miss act! You have to go.
It was eight o’clock on a Saturday. I had just arrived at the Mercury Ball Room on Fourth Street in Louisville. The Mercury Ball Room is hard to miss. It has the appearance of an old church or castle. Castle is appropriate, being that the kings of two tone ska were preforming there on that night. The Ball Room is a pretty large concert hall, but on a typical night, the top floor is usually pretty empty. This wasn’t the case on Saturday. As the show grew closer, the room began to shrink. It began to look like the roomier Louisville Palace down the street would have been a more size appropriate choice in venue.
I found a spot near the stage and waited with burning anticipation that made time crawl by; I thought an hour had passed, and I had only been waiting a handful of minutes. A middle-aged man standing next to me kept telling me stories about Dave Wakeling and how the English Beat had created a genre, and how he had seen the original English Beat on their first U.S. Tour. He assured me countless times that it was worth all the miles he drove to see them. The man was giddy with excitement and the opportunity to teach a young man a few things about the heroes of his youth. This was a testament to the power of the English Beat’s music. Over thirty years after their first incarnation, people were still coming back with the same filling, the same excitement, the same energy that they had when the saw them when they were teenagers as young adults.
Photo by Byan KremkauThe audience cheered as the band came on stage. The night began with an appropriate number, “Rough Rider” by Prince Buster. When beginning a ska concert, why not start at the beginning? Speaking of the beginning, next up was The English Beat’s first single, “Tears of a Clown,” a Smoky Robinson cover, and the English Beat’s first single. We had waited quite some time for the show to start, but they made it alright by promising us two hours of live music. Other than Dave Wakeling, there weren’t any original members, but the new guys displayed the same kind of skill and presence as the original members. This was so evident that King Schascha had to continuously remind the audience that he was not Ranking Roger. The new Toaster flirted with the girls and kidded with the guys and jumped around like he had springs in his shoes. He had the voice and the attitude that proved he deserved his spot in the reassembled band. They started playing originals with, “Hands Off…She’s Mine” and “Twist and Crawl.” Next was a song by Dave and keyboardist Mikey Billingham’s band, General Public, “I’ll take You There.” Dave joked about how out of all their political songs, that was the one that two presidents used during their campaigns. He also said, and maybe he’s correct, that if you want to win election, he’s your guy. After “I Confess” and “Click Click” we got to here one of the many crowd favorites, “Save it for Later.” An excellent political protest song aimed at former British Prime Minister Margret Thatcher was played. “Whine and Grine/Stand Down Margret” still packs a punch. After “Too Nice to Talk To,” the band did an excellent tribute to Andy Williams with a cover of “Can’t Get Used to Losing You.”
The English Beat handed us “The Love That Lasts Forever,” and after “Two Swords,” Dave talked about all the horrible things we see on the news. He really took the time to tell the truth when he said music is our “Sole Salvation,” the title of the next song. I may try too hard and apply too much meaning to these reviews, but when you see those horrible things on the news, crazed savages with guns and bombs attacking concert halls and soccer stadiums, inner city violence, poverty, prejudice, abuse, and political madness, and you look around this concert hall and see old and young, black and white, male and female, American born and immigrants, together, all dancing to and filled with the love that is the English Beat, maybe I don’t have to try. Maybe it’s already there. Music heals wounds. Music brings people together. There is no hate in ska. Maybe music is our sole salvation. If everyone listened to music like this, we might just have a different world.
They played one more General Public Cover, “Tenderness” and “Ranking Full Stop” before playing the song we’ve all waited for. The last song of the evening was, of course, “Mirror in the Bathroom.” King Schascha pulled a little girl up on stage to dance with him. I wondered if her parents taught her well enough to know the honor it was to be up there. By the look on her face, she did. King introduced the band at the end of the song. When it came time to introduce legendary saxophone player, Matt Morrish, he needed a little help from a young man from the audience. He pulled the man up for greatest introduction he would ever make. “Ladies and Gentlemen, Matt Morrish!” he shouted, followed by yet another rippin’ saxophone solo.
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The music lasted two hours, as promised. The English Beat are just as good as they were in 1979. Every member was at the top of his game. We were even teased with the upcoming English Beat album. This will be the first new album since 1983 and will include both original singers. In the late eighties, the ska torch was passed once more to a next generation, Third Wave Ska. The Third Wave included bands like The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, No Doubt, and Less than Jake, who would use harder rock and more horns. These bands are great, but I would like to see The English Beat hold the torch just a little bit longer and watch as the flame still burns bright for them and their original sound of true, two tone ska.
