The spirited English Beat were part of England’s “two-tone” movement of the ’80s, a new wave subgenre that blended Jamaican ska and with pop and soul.
Led (still) by singers David Wakeling and Ranking Roger, the band released a series of engaging singles in the early ’80s including a over of Smokey Robinson’s “Tears of a Clown,” “Mirror in the Bathroom,” “Save It for Later,” and “Can’t Get Used to Losing You.”
The band broke up in 1983. But like so many others from that era, swept up in a wave of nostalgia, it regrouped in the mid ’00s and has been touring ever since.
The group’s returning to the Beachland Ballroom. Tickets are $18 in advance, $20 at the door. You’ll get your money’s worth, especially since they regularly perform hat amazing earworm “Tenderness,” a hit for Wakeling and Roger’s post-Beat group General Public.