General Public “Tenderness” b/w “Limited Balance” 1984. 45 rpm. Today, February 19th, is the 60th birthday of General Public founder (and The Beat/English Beat singer/songwriter/guitarist) David Wakeling (b. 1956).

Wakeling, along with The Beat’s Ranking Roger, formed General Public after The Beat’s dissolution. GP was a super-group of British new wave/ska/punk musicians: besides Wakeling and Ranking Roger, members included Mickey Billingham of Dexys Midnight Runners on keyboards, Horace Panter of The Specials on bass, Stoker of DMR and The Bureau on drums and Mick Jones of The Clash on guitar (though Jones left the group midway through the recording of All the Rage).

“Tenderness,” a poppy new wave single, made it to #27 on the charts in the US, fairing less well in the UK where it only hit #95. I remember hearing it A LOT the summer of ‘84 and at one point I know I borrowed the full length LP All the Rage, upon which “Tenderness” appeared, and probably made a cassette copy. “Limited Balance” is much more heavily reggae, a slow rock steady beat that makes me wish I was sitting on a Caribbean beach, tropical drink in hand.