General Public

Last week Dr. Rob at Ban Ban Ton Ton, the one stop shop for all things Balearic and related, posted a mix he'd done for the Eclectics label, his Balearic Bargain Bin Mix. The post and the mix (free download while stocks last) can be found here, two hours chock full of hidden treasures and delights- Wendy and Lisa remixed by The Orb, a Mediterranean summer cover of Waiting In Vain by one of Adam's Ants, his wife and Trevor Horn, Blow Monkeys, Brian Eno, Djum Djum, Shakespear's Sister, 808 State's Graham Massey, Fred Wesley, an ACR B-side, some Germans before they became Snap!, early Steve Cobby as Ashley and Jackson, some Spaghetti Western synth action, The Beloved and, as they say, much more. As well as all of this there's an instrumental by General Public. 

General Public were formed in 1983 by singers Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger as a new band when The Beat broke up. Various members of other early 80s ska/ punk groups joined- Mickey Bellingham and Stoker from Dexys, Horace Panter from The Specials and briefly Mick Jones after he was sacked from The Clash by Joe and Paul. Mick left partway through the recording of the album but is credited on the sleeve. In 1984 they released a self- titled single- General Public- a six minute dub- punk song, funky bassline, lots of reverb on the snare, monotone, socially conscious Two Tone vocals, surging into the bridge and then the chanted chorus, 'General public/ Uh huh/ General public/ Uh huh'.

General Public (Longer)

The B-side, Dishwasher, is the one on Dr Rob's mix. Dishwasher is a guitar led instrumental, not a million miles as Dr. Rob notes from the sound on Combat Rock, that kind of funky, crunching sound that you can imagine filling the floor at the nightclub in town when they let the punks, rudies, goths and other assorted outsiders in on a Thursday night. The piano line running through it and the tom toms also plant Dishwasher half a decade later, playing in bars and clubs in the Med as the sun goes down/ comes up. 

Dishwasher (Longer)

Roger

Just over four years ago The Beat led by Ranking Roger played Sale Waterside, a venue just ten minutes walk away from home. Roger led a well drilled band through a top set list of songs by The Beat, plus some new ones and a cover of Rock The Casbah. His son Ranking Junior was with him, toasting and rapping, and Roger encored with his shirt off, looking like a man in the rudest of health and with boundless energy.  How sad then to hear the news first thing yesterday morning that Roger had died aged just 56, following multiple health issues- a stroke last summer, two brain tumours and lung cancer.

The Beat were one of the bands of the post-punk and ska days and in Mirror In The Bathroom had a genuine classic single that still moves dancefloors today.  They weren't a one song band though and also had Hands Off... She's Mine, Stand Down Margaret, Too Nice To Talk To, their debut single cover of Tears Of A Clown and the wonderful Save It For Later plus three albums. As frontman/co- vocalist Roger was arguably the face of the group, a very young man suddenly thrust into Two Tone tours and Top Of The Pops, always with a grin on his face and an infectious manner. The world is a sadder place and poorer place without him.

Save It For Later (Extended Version)

After The Beat split he joined General Public with various refugees from other groups- some of The Beat, a Dexys outcast, Horace Panter from The Specials, a post- Clash Mick Jones - and although they did little in terms of sales they had some moments. This one is shimmying mid- 80s dance pop.

Tenderness (Special Dance Mix)

In recent years Roger played with Mick Jones in late period line up of Big Audio Dynamite, made solo records and fronted one version of The Beat while co-singer/guitarist Dave Wakeling fronted another. They had an agreement to tour in different parts of the world, Roger's Beat in the UK and Europe and Dave's in the US. How sad to end at such a young age. RIP Roger.

Uptown Top Ranking

The Beat were a blast on Saturday night. You'd have to be a proper sourpuss not to find some enjoyment in ska played live and fronted by someone as irrepressible and happy as Ranking Roger (with son Ranking Junior on co-vocals). They played all songs you'd want The Beat to play, a few new ones, a full on dub version of Mirror In The Bathroom to follow the usual one and a cover of Rock The Casbah. As we'd walked up the ramp to the Waterside Roger was outside having a smoke. He met me in the eye and said Hello. Fifteen minutes later he was bouncing around on stage to the delight of the middle aged of Sale. A good night for babysitters.

In 1982 Roger recorded some vocals for a different, unreleased version of Rock The Casbah. Mick Jones intended it to go on his idea of what became Combat Rock but was over-ruled. It's been available on bootlegs ever since.

Rock The Casbah (Ranking Roger version)

They encored with Save It For Later, a minor classic of the early 80s and proof that it wasn't all ska, ska, ska.

Rankin' Night Out

Tonight The Beat are playing at Sale Waterside, a ten minute walk from our front door. It seems silly not to go doesn't it? There are two versions of The Beat on the road at the moment, one led by Andy Wakeling and the other by Ranking Roger. We are going to see the Ranking Roger version. I'm not sure if the two bands are competing after a fall out or if it's a ska franchise thing. Either way the babysitter's booked and we get to do the middle aged skank.

In this clip The (English) Beat play Rankin' Full Stop at the gigantic US festival in San Bernadino in 1983, also the occasion where Mick Jones last trod the boards with The Clash.