Line-up

Headliner
The English Beat Last time in Liverpool: 10 years ago

Venue

O2 Academy Liverpool

11-13 Hotham St, L3 5UF, Liverpool, UK

www.liverpool-academy.co.uk/

Capacity: 1,200

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Additional details

Doors open: 19:00

Concert in your area for Rock, Pop, and Reggae.

Find out more about Rock and Pop.

The English Beat biography

The English Beat, known as The British Beat in Australia and simply The Beat elsewhere, are a British ska revival band formed in Birmingham, England in 1978.

The original lineup of The Beat were together for just five years, splitting in 1984 after meeting with both critical and commercial success with their blend of ska, reggae and 2 tone. In that time, they toured with some of the biggest musical names on the planet, including R.E.M., The Specials, David Bowie, Talking Heads, The Clash and The Police. Since the breakup, they’ve performed together just once - in 2003 at London’s Royal Festival Hall. VH1’s Bands Reunited television show tried, unsuccessfully, to make the reunion a permanently going concern, but instead, the two singers from the original band - Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger - have fronted their own versions of the group.

Wakeling is the singer in The English Beat, who have continued to tour and record. They contributed a couple of brand new songs to a Scooby-Doo cartoon in 2013, and announced plans in 2014 for a new album the following year, set to be titled For Crying Out Loud. It is set to be paid for via crowdfunding - in particular, PledgeMusic - and will be their first proper release since summer 2012, when they dropped a box set titled The Complete Beat. Rhythm Epkins, Matt Morrish, Kevin Lum and Larry Young round out the current lineup of The English Beat.

Live reviews

Simply put, to see The English Beat live is to experience profound happiness from the top of your pork pie hat to the tips of your checkered shoes!

From the moment Dave Wakeling and the rest of this legendary 2 Tone ska band take the stage, the dancing (“skanking!”) begins. Songs like “Save it for Later” are well-known classics but you may be surprised at just how many of their upbeat, saxophone-infused songs you’ll recognize.

Playing at smaller venues, Dave engages the audience between songs with funny stories of life in his hometown of Birmingham, England, and other witty commentary. They usually play a long set – upwards of two hours. And afterwards it’s not unusual for Dave and the band to shake hands & pose for pictures with their fans that crowd the front of the stage.

My love affair with The English Beat began in 1980 when they first toured the U.S. I went to see headliner, The Pretenders, but left the concert completely in love with the opening act, The English Beat. And you’ll fall in love, too, when you see them.

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