General Public “All the Rage”

sfilzen — Wed, 24 Aug 2022 17:41:56 +0000

General Public “All the Rage” 1984, the ska/funk-infused new wave supergroup’s debut, formed after the breakup of The (English) Beat by Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger. Filed under things I didn’t know but really should have: Mick Jones from The Clash was in the original lineup but left the band during the recording of All the Rage (replaced by guitarist Kevin White). Dexys Midnight Runner’s Mickey Billingham (keyboards) and the Specials’ Horace Parker (bass) were also part of General Public.

All the Rage, the band’s first LP, went to #26 in the US, propelled by their hit single “Tenderness” (#27 US, #95 UK); I loved this song back in ’84. It appeared in two iconic 80’s films: Sixteen Candles and Weird Science, giving it broad exposure though I do remember it getting heavy rotation on MTV. Mick Jones plays guitar on that track. General Public released three other singles from All the Rage: “General Public,” “Never You Done That” and “Hot You’re Cool.”

We saw Dave Wakeling play live most recently this past April at Turner Hall in Milwaukee as part of The (English) Beat (totally revamped of course, I’m pretty Wakeling was the only original member of the band playing). Besides Beat songs, they performed two songs from All The Rage, “Tenderness,” of course, and “Never You Done That.”

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The English Beat “Wha’ppen?”

sfilzen — Wed, 27 Mar 2019 01:02:04 +0000

The English Beat “Wha’ppen?” 1981. Ranking Roger, The Beat’s vocalist and deejay/toaster, died today, March 26th at age 56 (b. Roger Charlery, 1963). I loved English Beat, especially their first album I Just Can’t Stop It which I’ve had on heavy rotation since the mid-80′s, but since I’ve already written about it, I’m spinning their second album Wha’ppen? today in tribute. The LP went to #3 on the UK charts with a more dialed-back reggae/ska sound than their first release. NME ranked Wha’ppen? at number 4 on their top ten “Albums of the Year” in 1981. It’s got a lot of blended world beat flavors: steel drums paired with saxophone, marimbas mixed with trumpets. I like the groovier, upbeat tracks the best: “All Out to Get You,” “French Toast,” “Over and Over” and “Get-a-Job” though the chill island vibes of “Drowning,” “Dream Home in NZ” and “The Limits We Set” are pretty great, too. I never got the chance to see English Beat Ranking Roger iteration – in recent years he toured with a version of the band that included his son, while Dave Wakeling toured with a different iteration and that was the one we saw a couple of years ago as part of an 80′s retrospective.

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General Public “All the Rage”

The English Beat “Wha’ppen?”