Announcement
Collapse
No announcement yet.
Full Stop
Collapse
X
-
Originally posted by tee rex View PostI can't believe he was so young.
Comment
-
As tee rex and treibeis said, forgot how young he was (only six years older than me). As mentioned on another thread, I met Dave Wakeling in Chicago last year, and he talked fondly about the early days of The Beat and his friendship with Roger. I was, and still am, a lover of that era of ska and 2-Tone. Can't get used to losing you...
Comment
-
It's weird that the age thing is hitting everyone the same way. I always figure the band you're bouncing around to is 5-10 years older than you, so finding that RR is 56? Fuck. Saw them as The Beat and General Public and always thought they were great.
Mirror is one of those 'signature' songs that I think are wildly overrated. I can think of 10 Beat songs I prefer to it. But that's the same with People Are People, which I think is pretty dire from DM.
Comment
-
- Jul 2016
- 9277
- Dublin
- Bohemian FC Manchester United Mansfield town Torino Berwick rangers
- Chocolate Digestives
Went to see the beat and selecter about 18 months ago, tbh they weren't that great, " the beat " were a group of long haired session men who looked like they'd rather be anywhere else and a large part of the show was Roger pushing his son's music.
However we adjourned afterward to a pub where a local ska band were playing, Roger and his son came back and played a brilliant set, even better, they stood at the bar chatting to everyone so he's part of the small group of famous people I've talked to.
He was supposed to play again later this year so it must have caught up with him quickly.
R.I.P.
Comment
-
So, this is The Beat at the US Festival in 1983....the year they broke up. He's 20 here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MlBzPvCsMo
Comment
-
- Mar 2008
- 9759
- Tyne 'n' Wear (emphasis on the 'n')
- Dundee Utd, Gladbach, Atleti, Napoli, New Orleans Saints, Elgin City
Loved The Beat, wore the ‘dancing girl’ t-shirt with (Milan away-style) red and black stripe in the 80s until it literally began to fall apart. And am exactly the same age as Roger. Gulp.
Comment
-
Originally posted by WOM View PostMirror is one of those 'signature' songs that I think are wildly overrated. I can think of 10 Beat songs I prefer to it. But that's the same with People Are People, which I think is pretty dire from DM.
Mirror in the Bathroom was similarly a signature hit, sure, but far braver in that it was one the earliest examples of a UK top-five single directly referencing mental illness. (They're Coming to Take Me Away Ha-Haaa beat it by over a decade, to be fair.) The fact that, in April 1980, MITB didn't sound like anything else - even the other ska hits with which it rubbed shoulders - also helped.
Comment
-
Interesting. But I'm not judging it within either its contemporary or its historical context. I'm talking about enduring popularity / general quality. I just don't hear that good a song. It's fine, but it ain't all that. I realize that a lot of people really like it. And, it's the only [English] Beat song that a lot of people know.
Frankly, the line 'Can I take you to a restaurant that's got glass tables / you can watch yourself while you are eating' should be enough to permanently sink it to the depths of the Marianas Trench.
Comment
-
I guess it 'is' their best-known song - I think having got to know it at that time in British music (and my own life) makes something of a difference, however. It mightn't be their most melodic moment, but it still sounds dark and urgent to me: nobody else was really doing that in ska, at least not at the top level.
Looking back, two of the other major hits were covers (Tears of a Clown and Can't Get Used to Losing You), which leaves Too Nice to Talk To (great, but almost 'Mirror Pt II' for me), Hands Off She's Mine and Stand Down Margaret (good party staples), the decent Best Friend, Drowning, Doors of Your Heart and Save It For Later (by which time their star was fading here). (Hit It, I Confess and Jeanette were not vintage Beat, while Ackee 1-2-3 I don't recall ever hearing.) For other cuts, I'd need to revisit the albums.
(And that's a great line!)
Comment
-
Head and shoulders above all the others, for me, is Save It For Later. I'd need paper and pen to sort out the rest. Ranking Full Stop is right up there, along with Best Friend. Tears of a Clown is lovely, but covers never count in these matters. Unless it's UB40, and what else are you going to do?
Comment
-
If it's UB40, you go with Signing Off, the first album - which had some good and original moments. King/Food For Thought was one of the best singles (well, double-headers) of 1980.
All of your selected Beat moments were decent, indeed.
Comment
-
Save it for Later is indeed wonderful, one of their best moments. But there were a lot of 'em; there always seemed an extra layer to The Beat's stuff, which put them a notch above their largely excellent 2-Tone/ska-revival peers.
Even as a young kid, Mirror in the Bathroom and Too Nice To Talk To (their best song IMO) were entrancing and magnificent.
Comment
Comment