Bands Reunited - English Beat

[Claymore]

Anyone else see this on VH-1 last night?

I went to bed thoroughly depressed.

[CHICO13]

I went to bed thoroughly depressed.
Why?

I hope they replay it cause they were one of my favorites way back when....

[nancyb]

Anyone else see this on VH-1 last night?

I went to bed thoroughly depressed.


I curious as to why, also. I didn't see it (fell asleep), but they were a great band.

[bojendyk]

I'm curious, too. Could you give a summary?

[Claymore]

Why?

I hope they replay it cause they were one of my favorites way back when....

Andy Cox and David Steele refused (I wasn't too surprised about that), and Saxa looked like he's one step from the nursing home. Ranking Roger is working as an in-line skating instructor in Birmingham. The only one doing relatively well is Dave Wakeling.

I just felt old watching these guys. I had the opportunity to hang out with them on their last US tour in '82, and they were pretty cool.

[CHICO13]

I hope they replay it
Bummer, nothing to see here folks, move along.... :o

[Crimen y Castigo]

Depressed was my reaction as well. Why?

1) Dave Wakeling came off as a bit of a bastard.
Clearly Wakeling split the band to make more money. Ranking Roger said it directly a few times.
Roger at least copped to it, saying "It was the worst thing I ever did." At one point he said he felt like he had no option but to go with Wakeling, but at another he said he should have stuck the guys. He said they did make more money at first, but the music and the vibe wasn't as good.

2) There was no real reunion.
Just Wakeling hooking up with three guys who see each other all the time. Roger, Saxa and Morton play together every weekend as "The New Beat" or something like that in this small Birmingham club.

3) There was no big performance.
ABC only reunited 2 out of 4, yet they put together some band and performed as ABC. I thought it would suck, but it actually sounded quite good.
Yet with 4 out of 6, the Beat didn't do the same. Granted those were two key members.

4) The performance they did show was deeeeeee-pressing.
So at the end, Roger invites Wakeling to play with their band and he does -- for about 10 people in aforementioned small Birmingham club. Did not sound too great and was really a sad sort of image.

Oh well. I saw them at their height, so I consider myself lucky.

[Claymore]

4) The performance they did show was deeeeeee-pressing.
So at the end, Roger invites Wakeling to play with their band and he does -- for about 10 people in aforementioned small Birmingham club. Did not sound too great and was really a sad sort of image.

Oh well. I saw them at their height, so I consider myself lucky.

Yeah, I was much more impressed with the Haircut 100 performance.

[supersport]

I ran into Ranking Roger at the Filmore (SF) at a Blur show 1995, he wanted to kick my ass because when the "Special Beat" came through town a few weeks earlier I had hooked up with his girlfriend. Memories. Did see the English Beat back in the early eighties and they were a great band.