The Beat featuring Ranking Jnr at Yardbirds Rock

The Beat featuring Ranking Jnr at Yardbirds Rock

One of the key bands of the UK ska revival of the late ’70s and early ’80s,The Beat achieved a near-perfect balance of pop melodies and taut rhythms that made them stars in Britain and won them a substantial cult following in the United States.

The band crossed over fluidly between soul, reggae, pop and punk, and from these disparate pieces they created an infectious dance rhythm. Along with their contemporaries The Specials, The Selecter, and Madness, The Beat became an overnight sensation and one of the most popular and influential bands of the British ska movement.

By Christmas of 1979, The Beat were riding high in the UK charts with their first single, a smoking remake of the classic Smokey Robinson tune Tears of a Clown.

The Beat kept scoring hits with tunes that have now become so popular that it’s hard to remember a time when they didn’t exist, such as Mirror in the Bathroom, Hands Off… She’s Mine, Too Nice To Talk To, Save it for Later, I Confess, Stand Down Margaret, and their serene cover of Andy William’s Can’t Get Used To Losing You. The Beat featuring Ranking Jnr continue to perform all the classic hits in their dynamic live shows