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"Here We Go Love!" - The English Beat - First New Album in Over 30 Years!


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | REYBEE INC.

As THE ENGLISH BEAT starring Dave Wakeling readies the public for the release of HERE WE GO LOVE, their first studio album since 1982, on June 15, 2018, venues across the country are bracing for a frenetic and frantic round of skanking with the announcement of U.S. tour dates. With his brand-new collection of 13 vital songs from the new record to choose from along with his timeless classics such as "Twist and Crawl", "Mirror in the Bathroom", "Tenderness" (from his General Public days), and of course, "Save It For Later," Dave Wakeling and his band will be making way for a new generation of Ska, Punk, Reggae, and Pop (tour dates below).

 

The English Beat “How Can You Stand There”

 

As engaged and switched on as ever, Dave Wakeling’s lyrics draw from observing life; and given the tumultuous events of recent months. His thoughts on what holds us together, but also the impermanence that underscores the human condition, have never been more relevant. Here We Go Love has been crafted over the last two years in between breaks from touring. Wakeling’s ability to create a nagging Pop hook is undimmed, as too is his political edge. Blending wit and wisdom, and of course Ska, Punk, Soul, Reggae, Pop and anything else that came to hand in the melting pot that was late 70s Birmingham, The English Beat were ahead of the time and creating a hybrid sound that came in part to define their times. With five Top 10 singles to their name, their first two albums Just Can’t Stop It and Whap’pen both bounded to #3 in the UK charts and their rise continued to the point where they could fill arenas across America. They were, as vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Wakeling recalls, “An incongruous set of people from all different cultures and upbringings.” When the Birmingham sextet first hit the charts in 1979, joint-frontman Ranking Roger was just sixteen-years-old while saxophonist Saxa, who had played with the likes of Desmond Dekker and Prince Buster, was pushing fifty.

 

HERE WE GO LOVE Track listing

1. how can you stand there? 2. the one and the only 3. redemption time 4. if killing worked 5. here we go love 6. never die 7. the love you give 8. you really oughtta know 9. you're stuck 10. every time you told me 11. dem call it ska 12. drive her away 13. be there for you

 

Here We Go Love references that vitality, whilst refracting through the prism of experience and is packed with a fizzing energy and intent right from the start. Thematically, Wakeling explores the outer regions of what it means to be alive in the here and now; notions of love, self, identity, and of course politics. "The One And Only" examines, “the Donald Trump in all of us. It is too easy for us to just point fingers.” While the music rolls on a tight groove from the live band, a handful of special guests make a significant contribution too – notably Roddy ‘Radiation’ Byers of The Specials and The Skabilly Rebels, Train guitarist Luis Maldonado and backing vocalists Durga McBroom, Kevin Williams and Jelani Jones. Wakeling even sought input from The English Beat’s late saxophonist Saxa. Although encumbered by a tendon injury which meant he couldn’t play, he hummed some saxophone melodies which Wakeling incorporated into the album to maintain a taste of his musical flavor. The release of Here We Go Love represents a culmination of a lengthy journey for Wakeling, a man who has been described as “a singer-songwriter as savagely witty as Elvis Costello” (Rolling Stone) and who “ought to be spoken of in the same breath as Weller and Strummer in the post-punk pantheon of heroes” (The Quietus). Honoring The English Beat’s roots, without being beholden to the past, Dave Wakeling’s reappraisal starts here.

Here We Go Love offers fans the chance to reconnect with a truly essential British act. A band that matters.

Dave Wakeling of The English Beat Looking at the “Mirror in the Bathroom” - Photo by Jay Gilbert

 

ENGLISH BEAT feat. Dave Wakeling ON TOUR

May 18 San Juan Capistrano, CA Coach House May 19 Hermosa Beach, CA Saint Rocke June 21 Falls Church, VA State Theatre June 22 Philadelphia, PA Underground Arts June 23 Boston, MA The Sinclair June 24 Brooklyn, NY The Bell House June 28 Pasadena, CA The Rose June 29 Big Bear Lake, CA The Cave June 30 Riverside, CA Romano's July 6 Chicago, IL The Metro July 7 Minneapolis, MN First Ave July 10 Kent, OH The Kent Stage July 11 Milwaukee, WI Turner Ballroom July 12 Omaha, NE The Slowdown July 15 Denver, CO The Gothic July 16 Salt Lake City, UT The Complex July 18 Salem, OR Salem's Riverfront Park July 19 Orange, CA Irvine Regional Park July 20 Seattle, WA The Showbox July 25 Dallas, TX The Kessler July 26 Austin, TX The Scoot Inn July 27 Houston, TX Heights Theatre July 29 Atlanta, GA The Masquerade July 30 New Orleans, LA House of Blues August 7 Nantucket, MA The Chicken Box August 8 Nantucket, MA The Chicken Box August 9 Truro, MA Payomet PAC August 10 Kingston, RI Ocean Mist August 17 Santa Cruz, CA (FREE SHOW) Santa Cruz Boardwalk August 24 Sacramento, CA Ace of Spades Nov 3 Punta Cana, DR 80's In The Sand

 

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