10:00am | You may not know his name but, if you grew up in the 80s, Dave Wakeling’s distinctive voice was a fixture on the radio, and in films. His band, known in the US as The English Beat, had a string of up-tempo 2 Tone Ska-infused hits like ‘Mirror In The Bathroom,’ ‘Cant Get Used To Losing You,’ and ‘Save It For Later.’ Bands like Sublime and No Doubt owe a debt to The English Beat, and other 2 Tone bands, including Madness, The Selector, and The Specials.
In the mid-80s, Wakeling and Beat cohort Ranking Roger joined up with Clash guitarist Mick Jones, bassist Horace Panter of The Specials, and two guys from Dexys Midnight Runners to form the super group General Public, which went on to have a number of hits, including ‘Tenderness,’ and ‘I’ll Take You There,’ which made it to the #1 spot on US dance charts in 1994.
Wakeling has, for the last several years, been touring as The English Beat and, tomorrow night, will make two stops in Long Beach. First, he’s doing an English Beat Pizza Party at Fingerprints, located at 420 East 4th street, from 6 – 7 PM. Line up, get something signed, and say hello.
After that, he’s performing at MADHaus Long Beach, a multi-use art space located at 624 Pacific Avenue, which is just a few blocks North and West from Fingerprints.
Tickets are available at Fingerprints for $20 (plus a very small fee), at the door of MADHaus for $25, and via Ticketmaster.