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Subject: The musical style of The English Beat

Written By: Tarzan Boy on 10/23/2000 at 2:17 p.m.

I was wondering, what type of musical style best describes The English Beat? New Wave/Pop, Ska, Ska-like, or what? Personally, I think they border in the Ska-like range, but I don't listen to ska to actually derive such an opinion. What do you guys think?


Subject: Re: The musical style of The English Beat

Written By: John on 10/24/2000 at 10:51 a.m.

: I was wondering, what type of musical style
: best describes The English Beat? New
: Wave/Pop, Ska, Ska-like, or what?
: Personally, I think they border in the
: Ska-like range, but I don't listen to ska to
: actually derive such an opinion. What do you
: guys think?

How about this: ska with jazz and punk influences?

John

Subject: Re: The musical style of The English Beat

Written By: Alex on 10/24/2000 at 8:02 p.m.

: How about this: ska with jazz and punk
: influences?

: John

Each succesive wave of ska was slightly changed from its predecessor. As one of the second wave bands, The English Beat are best described as ska. Some bands were a bit more reggae influenced, some a bit more punk. Even the Clash - listen beyond the rage and the punk and you'll hear reggae and ska.

Alex

Subject: Re: The musical style of The English Beat

Written By: Tarzan Boy on 10/25/2000 at 12:37 a.m.

: Each succesive wave of ska was slightly changed
: from its predecessor. As one of the second
: wave bands, The English Beat are best
: described as ska. Some bands were a bit more
: reggae influenced, some a bit more punk.
: Even the Clash - listen beyond the rage and
: the punk and you'll hear reggae and ska.

: Alex

Totally; I wholly agree with your opinion(s). It's just that I was talking about 80's music with a person who happens to like ska music and she totally dismissed The English Beat as nonska music, but rather as "just another New Wave band." She wouldn't even admit to their music resembling ska. I was left wondering...what exactly is ska then? I don't really listen to ska much, except for the occassional Mighty Mighty Bosstones, The Specials, Phish, and a few other famous ska bands. I love The English Beat (A LOT), though, and I thought I could include them with the aforementioned. To me, they sound like ska...

Subject: Re: The musical style of The English Beat

Written By: John on 10/25/2000 at 12:41 p.m.

: Totally; I wholly agree with your opinion(s).
: It's just that I was talking about 80's
: music with a person who happens to like ska
: music and she totally dismissed The English
: Beat as nonska music, but rather as
: "just another New Wave band." She
: wouldn't even admit to their music
: resembling ska. I was left wondering...what
: exactly is ska then? I don't really listen
: to ska much, except for the occassional
: Mighty Mighty Bosstones, The Specials,
: Phish, and a few other famous ska bands. I
: love The English Beat (A LOT), though, and I
: thought I could include them with the
: aforementioned. To me, they sound like
: ska...

The English Beat not ska? Early on in their career, before they started their own Go-Feet label, they recorded with Two-Tone which is a ska label. Also, their line-up featured saxophone-player Saxa who had played for first-wave ska artists Prince Buster and Desmond Dekker.

While I'll admit that the song "Save it For Later" has a fairly pop sound, I'd have to disagree with anyone saying that the Beat were not a ska band. Just listen to "Mirror in the Bathroom" - and the rest of their early hits from I Just Can't Stop It - and you'll hear what I mean.

John