Steel Pulse and The English Beat

Steel Pulse formed in 1975 and is looked at as one of the most important British reggae bands. The band was known for their Rastafarian and protest-minded beliefs. The band’s music consists of an upbeat reggae sound with elements of Latin and Jazz music. Despite the band’s sound varying from punk music, their music was well received by the punk community in the UK and they toured with well-regarded punk acts such as The Stranglers and XTC.

Eventually the band started to tour with bands closer to their style of music like Burning Spear. The band soon caught the attention of Island Records, who signed them to a record deal. Their debut album “Handsworth Revolution” was released in 1978 and was considered a milestone album for the growth of British reggae. The album was a great critical and commercial success. The album reached the No. 9 position on the British charts and contained the singles “Ku Klux Klan” and “Prodigal Son”. The success of the album gained the band an opening slot on Bob Marley’s tour as well as gave the band an opportunity to headline their own shows.

After the band released two more successful albums, “Tribute to the Martyrs” in 1979 and “Caught You” in 1980, they parted ways with Island Records and signed a deal with Elektra Records. The group released their album “True Democracy” in 1982, which showed the band returning to more political roots as well as a more light-hearted sound. The album peaked on the Billboard’s Top Pop Albums chart and contained the single “Worth His Weight In Gold (Rally Round)”. The band continued with their political tone in their music with the release of their 1984 album “Earth Crisis”.

For the band’s next album Island Records urged Steel Pulse to take a more pop oriented direction with their next release. In 1986 the group released their album “Babylon the Bandit”, which was well received critically and commercially. The album contained the hit single “Not King James Version” and received the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album. In 1988 the band switched labels and released their album “State of Emergency” through MCA Records. The album was more advanced in production quality compared to the band’s previous albums and blended rap elements with reggae. The band’s 1991 album “Victims” followed in the same style as the band’s previous album and gained them a Grammy nomination in the Best Reggae Album category.

In 1997 the band released the album “Rage and Fury”. The album is considered one of the band’s politically heaviest albums with songs like “The Real Terrorist” and “Black and Proud”. The album was also well received, reaching the No. 4 spot on the Billboard Top Reggae Album chart as well as receiving a Grammy nomination. The band’s 2004 album “African Holocaust” was also well received and contained guest appearances by Damian Marley and Capleton as well as a cover song of Bob Dylan’s “George Jackson”.

Steel Pulse’s music has also appeared in several films. The band contributed the song “I Can’t Stand it” to Spike Lee’s film “Do The Right Thing”. Steel Pulse is also well renowned for their live performances and has appeared at many notable reggae festivals such as Reggae Sunsplash USA, Jamaican Sunsplash, and Northern California annual Reggae on the River Festival.

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.