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When original frontman Dave Wakeling brought the group that’s called The English Beat these days to Summerfest, it was a walk down memory lane for the large crowd at the Generac stage. However, it was a pretty brief walk.
Wakeling founded the reggae- and ska-influenced band in Birmingham, England in 1978, which was perfect timing for The Beat (the “English” is added for American audiences), which joined like-minded travelers like The Specials, The Selecter and Madness in a post punk-era ska revival led by The Specials’ Two Tone Label.
A solid rhythm section, the sweet saxophone of the mono-monikered Saxa and the interplay between Wakeling and Jamaican-style “toaster” (or rapper) Ranking Roger gave the band a sound that was unique even among its cadre of Two Tone bands.
Taking the stage at 6:05 p.m. on Thursday, Wakeling and company ran through The Beat favorites like “Save it for Later,” “Mirror in the Bathroom” and a cover of Prince Buster’s “Rough Rider.”
They also revisited a cover of The Staple Singers’ “I’ll Take You There” – a song inspired by the 1960s rock steady anthem “The Liquidator" – that was originally covered by General Public, the band he and Roger formed when The Beat split, and which had a big hit with “Tenderness."
Wakeling – donning the white, left-hand Vox Teardrop guitar familiar to fans since the earliest days of The Beat – was joined by four talented musicians and Antonee First Class on the microphone once wielded by Ranking Roger.
That Wakeling is the only original member of The Beat in the long-ago reformed outfit is no surprise. Bassist Dave Steele and guitarist Andy Cox formed Fine Young Cannibals after that initial 1983 split and everyone else – Roger, Saxa and great drummer Everett Morton – has passed away.
Wakeling mentioned the latter three in his introduction to The Beat’s cover of Andy Williams’ “Can’t Get Used to Losing You.”
The highlights for me were two of my favorite Beat tunes – “Too Nice to Talk To” and “Stand Down Margaret,” which is a reminder of a time in the late ‘70s and into the ‘80s when bands spoke out about social and political issues much more than today.
However, The Beat only played about 45-50 minutes, a fact Wakeling acknowledged after the final note rang out, saying, and I paraphrase, “we’d love to play some more for you but our time was cut.”
Afterward, the early '80s nostalgia continued with performances by The Chameleons and The Psychedelic Furs. Before The Beat, new Milwaukee cover band Circa '79 played a variety of hits from that era.
SETLIST
(NOTE: My Notes app mysterious erased my saved setlist, so this is recreated from memory, and may not be perfect. Any suggested corrections via email welcomed.)
Rough Rider
Tenderness
I’ll Take You There
Can’t Get Used to Losing You
Save It for Later
Whine & Grine/Stand Down Margaret
Too Nice To Talk To
Ranking Full Stop
Mirror in the Bathroom
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
