The Beat – I Just Can’t Stop It: Deluxe Edition (2012) [2CD+DVD]
Pop | 2.15 GB
The Beat was formed in Birmingham in 1978, with members Dave Wakeling (vocals, guitar), Ranking Roger (vocals, toasting), Andy Cox (guitar), Everett Morton (drums), veteran Jamaican saxophonist Saxa, and David Steele on bass. The band was part of the West Midlands ska revival scene that also produced The Specials and The Selecter, whilst London saw the formation of Madness and The Bodysnatchers.
The Beat s first single was an arresting version of Smokey Robinson s Tears Of A Clown , given a completely new feel, and was backed with their own composition Ranking Full Stop . Released in a one-off deal on Jerry Dammers Chrysalis-backed 2-Tone label, the single stormed into the Top 10 in December 1979, and saw the band appear twice on Top Of The Pops. Backed by Arista, the band formed their own label Go-Feet Records. The first release in February 1980 was another Top 10 hit, Hands Off… She s Mine , and was the first of twelve chart singles for the band on Go-Feet.
Edsel Records is proud to announce its reissue programme of all three of the band s albums, each in Deluxe 2 CD + DVD digipaks, featuring the original albums along with all the non-album A- and B-sides, the many 12 mixes and live tracks, as well as the best of their BBC radio sessions from John Peel, Mike Read and David Jensen s shows. The DVDs feature the singles promo videos, Top Of The Pops performances and bonus appearances from ITV shows and documentaries.
First album I Just Can t Stop It (1980, # 3) features the hits Tears Of A Clown , Hands Off… She s Mine , Mirror In The Bathroom , Best Friend and Stand Down Margaret as well as 19 bonus tracks, including nine previously unreleased BBC radio sessions. The DVD features three promo videos, five TOTP appearances and a live performance recorded for ITV s Alright Now .
The booklet features an individual note especially written by Rhoda Dakar of The Bodysnatchers, along with the lyrics and photos, memorabilia and ephemera from the band s own collection.
BBC Review
The Beat’s greatest strength was also their biggest weakness. Dave Wakeling was a superb bandleader and songwriter, bringing Elvis Costello-like intelligence to the Birmingham sextet’s bouncy mix of punk, reggae, calypso and pop. But, in a British pop era dominated by charismatic eccentrics, Wakeling was a sullen and unprepossessing frontman.
As the DVD of TV appearances that form part of this comprehensive reissue proves, once you saw The Beat in 1980, all you remembered is how much you loved, feared or fancied Terry Hall, Kevin Rowland and Suggs.
Which is perhaps why only this debut album has found a place in British music’s fickle memory banks. I Just Can’t Stop It, with its delicious claret, white and black pop-art cover and relentless danceability, feels entirely comprised of hit singles (and six of the 12 tracks were, including double A-sides). Its fusion of black and white musical influences and anti-racist defiance makes it as perfect an example of the 2 Tone era as anything by The Specials or Madness.
Because of Bob Sargeant’s tough and simple production and its historic place as the first digitally recorded album, it hasn’t dated. And this despite the presence of anti-Thatcher anthem Stand Down Margaret, which now sounds like one of pop’s most futile gestures.
What quickly undid The Beat, apart from Wakeling’s lack of X factor, was the increasing disconnect between the catchy, carnivalesque music and morbid, self-lacerating lyrical themes. When 1981’s Wha’ppen? and 1982’s Special Beat Service – also deservedly reissued here with a slew of bonus material – failed commercially, The Beat split, with Wakeling and Roger going on to minor US success as General Public, and bassist Cox and guitarist Steele hitting the mother lode alongside Roland Gift as Fine Young Cannibals.
As with the majority of post-punk bands, The Beat’s natural sense of musical adventure and bleak worldview wouldn’t mesh comfortably with 80s pop’s rediscovery of glam aesthetics and upward mobility. But I Just Can’t Stop It remains one of British pop’s most lovable and ebullient albums, and the kind of politicised party album they just don’t make anymore.
–David Katz
Disc 1: Original LP (released as Go Feet BEAT-001 (U.K.)/I.R.S. SP-70606 (U.S.), 1980)
1. Mirror in the Bathroom
2. Hands Off…She’s Mine
3. Two Swords
4. Twist & Crawl
5. Rough Rider
6. Click Click
7. Big Shot
8. Whine & Grine/Stand Down Margaret
9. Noise in This World
10. Can’t Get Used to Losing You
11. Best Friend
12. Jackpot
Disc 2: Bonus Material
1. The Tears of a Clown (single A-side – 2 Tone TT6A, 1979)
2. Ranking Full Stop (single A-side – 2 Tone TT6A, 1979)
3. Twist & Crawl (Extended Remix) (12? A-side – Go Feet FEET121, 1980)
4. Hands Off…She’s Mine (Extended Remix) (12? B-side – Go Feet FEET121, 1980)
5. Stand Down Margaret (Dub) (12? B-side – Go Feet FEET3, 1980)
6. Mirror in the Bathroom (Sure is Pure Mix) (from B.P.M. compilation – Arista 74321 23195-2, 1996)
7. Mirror in the Bathroom (Tic Tac Toe Mix) (from B.P.M. compilation – Arista 74321 23195-2, 1996)
8. Mirror in the Bathroom (Mark “Spike” Stent Mix) (from B.P.M. compilation – Arista 74321 23195-2, 1996)
9. Dub in the Bathroom (Simon & Diamond Mix) (from B.P.M. compilation – Arista 74321 23195-2, 1996)
10. Just Can’t Stop the Dub (Adelphi Mix) (from B.P.M. compilation – Arista 74321 23195-2, 1996)
11. The Tears of a Clown (John Peel Session – 11/5/1979)
12. Ranking Full Stop (John Peel Session – 11/5/1979)
13. Click Clack (John Peel Session – 11/5/1979)
14. Mirror in the Bathroom (John Peel Session – 11/5/1979)
15. Big Shot (John Peel Session – 11/5/1979)
16. Big Shot (Mike Read Session – 2/11/1980)
17. Mirror in the Bathroom (Mike Read Session – 2/11/1980)
18. Hands Off…She’s Mine (Mike Read Session – 2/11/1980)
19. Rough Rider (Mike Read Session – 2/11/1980)
20. Twist & Crawl (Mike Read Session – 2/11/1980)
Disc 3: DVD
1. Hands Off…She’s Mine (promo video)
2. Mirror in the Bathroom (promo video)
3. Best Friend (promo video)
4. The Tears of a Clown (Top of the Pops – 12/13/1979)
5. The Tears of a Clown (Top of the Pops – 1/3/1980)
6. Hands Off…She’s Mine (Top of the Pops – 2/22/1980)
7. Mirror in the Bathroom (Top of the Pops – 5/1/1980)
8. Best Friend (Top of the Pops – 9/4/1980)
9. ALRIGHT NOW broadcast on 12th December 1980 – Film from a live performance at Top Rank Suite, Birmingham: Hands Off…She’s Mine
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