The Beat (known in North America as The English Beat and in Australia
as The British Beat) are a 2 Tone ska revival band founded in Birmingham,
England, in 1978. Their
songs fuse ska, pop, soul, reggae and punk rock, and their lyrics deal with
themes of love, unity and sociopolitical topics.
The Beat, consisting of Dave Wakeling (vocals, guitar),
Ranking Roger (vocals), Andy Cox (guitar), David Steele (bass), Everett Morton (drums),
and Saxa (saxophone), released three studio albums in the early 1980s: I Just
Can't Stop It (1980), Wha'ppen? (1981) and Special Beat Service (1982), and a
string of singles, including "Mirror in the Bathroom", "Too Nice
to Talk To", "Can't Get Used to Losing You", "Hands Off,
She's Mine" and "All Out to Get You".
