English Beat – She’s Going

To me, this album is synonymous with summer, parties, drinking and dancing, and every time I hear it, I am transported back to June 1983. 

This was also my introduction to ska. I suppose I knew songs like “One Step Beyond” by Madness, or “A Message to You Rudy” by the Specials, both of which might be more true to that genre, but I’ll tell you what the English Beat had that they didn’t, Saxa.

So often a saxophone in popular music is going to just be so cheesy that you roll your eyes. My mind immediately goes to Glenn Frey’s “You Belong to the City” and other Miami Vice-esque songs. But the way Saxa played the saxophone was the element that made these songs soar. Sure, Dave Wakeling’s voice was swoony, and he was easy on the eyes, but the saxophone set these songs apart. I offer as evidence that General Public (which is Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger, the two front men of the Beat) was a shadow of the Beat’s greatness. I don’t mean they were bad, I liked them, bought the album, and I even saw them in concert.

It was spring of my senior year of high school and I think there were six of us crammed into a two-door car, driving up to the University of Maine at Orono. That was pretty far away, close to 2 hours, so I had lots of time to talk with the friend whose lap I had to sit on because there was no other way for us all to fit. I feel like this story is better if you know this friend was a dude with long curly hair and a mustache and very much looked like a metal fan. We both agreed General Public were good, and we were excited to see them, but both hoping they’d play some English Beat songs even if it was a shame that Saxa wouldn’t be there. To our great surprise and delight, about 2/3 of the way into the show, they strike up an English Beat song and then, walking on stage comes Saxa to lend his signature sound to the song. We both looked at each other and shouted, “Saxa!!!”

I would also like to take this opportunity to point out that R.E.M. opened for the English Beat in 1983 and there’s a picture of Peter Buck wearing an English Beat T-shirt while hanging out with Paul Westerberg. Of course I knew the English Beat before I knew anything about R.E.M.