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Dave Wakeling | |
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 Wakeling performing in 2007 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 19 February 1956 Birmingham, England |
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| Years active | 1978–present |
| Labels | I.R.S. |
| Member of | The Beat |
| Formerly of | General Public |
| Website | davewakeling |
David Wakeling (born 19 February 1956) is an English singer, songwriter and musician, best known for his work with the band the Beat (known in North America as the English Beat) and General Public. [1]
Wakeling began his professional career when he formed the band the Beat. [2] The band's debut studio album, I Just Can't Stop It (1980), included the title song as well as "Mirror in the Bathroom", "Hands Off...She's Mine", and "Can't Get Used to Losing You", all of which charted within the Top 10 on the UK Singles Chart. [3] The band also had UK hits from the studio albums Wha'ppen? (1981) and Special Beat Service (1982).
Wakeling then formed General Public with Ranking Roger in 1983, and they released their debut studio album All the Rage the next year. He also recorded two other studio albums with General Public, Hand to Mouth (1986) and Rub It Better (1995), shortly after which the band disbanded.
In 1984, Wakeling, along with Ranking Roger, sang backing vocals on the song "Free Nelson Mandela" by the Special A.K.A. They also provided backing vocals on the Madness studio album Keep Moving , singing on the tracks "Waltz into Mischief" and "Victoria Gardens".
He then produced the soundtrack for the John Hughes romantic comedy film She's Having a Baby (1988), in which he also recorded the title track.
In 1991, Wakeling released his sole solo studio album No Warning, on I.R.S. Records.
He recorded two new songs that feature in the Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated episode "Dance of the Undead", which debuted in March 2013." [4]
In 2018, the Beat album Here We Go Love was released.
Wakeling regularly performs as the English Beat in North America. [5]
Throughout his career, Wakeling has mainly used a left-handed Vox Teardrop guitar, the Vox Mark III. He was initially drawn to this guitar as his favourite artist and guitarist Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones used one. "I wanted to be him and I used to play my cricket bat or my tennis racket and pretend it was a teardrop in the mirror when my mom had gone out shopping. I even bought a blond wig from a second-hand shop and I cut it out into a bob. As soon as I heard the front door I would think "Great, she's gone". I would take out the wig, the cricket bat and play in front of the mirror." [6] On 8 April 2006, he donated his Vox of 26 years to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. [7]
Wakeling is divorced, with two children, Max and Chloe. He resides in the San Fernando Valley, California. [8]
In 1985, Wakeling announced in a press interview with Mother Jones magazine that he was bisexual. [9]
Side one
Side two
Produced by Mark Goldenberg (tracks 1–9) and Steve Levine ("She's Having a Baby")
General Public were an English new wave band, formed in Birmingham in 1983, by vocalists Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger of the Beat, and which also included former members of Dexys Midnight Runners, the Specials, and the Clash. They are best remembered for their hits "Tenderness" (1984) and "I'll Take You There" (1994).
The Beat are an English band formed in Birmingham, England, in 1978. Their music fuses Latin, ska, pop, soul, reggae and punk rock.
I Just Can't Stop It is the debut studio album by British ska band the Beat, released on 23 May 1980 by Go-Feet Records in the United Kingdom. It was released the same year in the United States on Sire Records under the band name The English Beat". In Australia, it was released on Go-Feet under the band name The British Beat.
Andrew Cox is a British guitarist, who along with Dave Wakeling, formed ska band The Beat in 1978.
Roger Charlery, known professionally as Ranking Roger, was an English musician. He was a vocalist in the 1980s ska band the Beat and later new wave band General Public. He subsequently was the frontman for a reformed Beat lineup.
All the Rage is the debut studio album by English new wave band General Public, released in January 1984 by I.R.S. Records. It was recorded digitally. After his expulsion from the Clash, Mick Jones was a founding member of General Public. Though he is listed in the credits of the album as a member, Jones left General Public part way through the recording process and was replaced by Kevin White. White's picture appears on the back cover; Jones' picture does not. Jones did play guitar on many of the album's tracks however, including "Tenderness". The album spent 39 weeks on the US Billboard 200 chart and reached its peak position of No. 26 in mid-February 1985. However, it failed to chart in their home country.
Paul Vincent Collins is an American writer, author, music producer, and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known for his work in the power pop groups The Nerves, The Breakaways and The Beat.
David "Shuffle" Steele is an English musician who was a member of the Beat and Fine Young Cannibals.
Special Beat Service is the third studio album by the British ska band the Beat, released on 1 October 1982 by Go-Feet Records. Like the rest of their material, it was released in the US under the name "the English Beat". It peaked at No. 39 on the Billboard 200 album chart in 1983 on the strength of two singles, "I Confess" and "Save It for Later," the music videos for which received modest airplay on the fledgling MTV video network.
"Hands Off...She's Mine" is the second single by British ska/new wave band the Beat, released on 14 February 1980 as the first single from their debut album I Just Can't Stop It. The single was successful, peaking at number 9 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Stand Down Margaret" is a song by British ska/new wave band the Beat, released as a double A-side single with "Best Friend" in August 1980. It is one of the band's most political songs, referring to the want for the then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to resign.
Wha'ppen? is the second studio album by British ska band the Beat, released in 1981 via Go-Feet Records in the United Kingdom and Sire Records in the United States. After the critical and commercial success of I Just Can't Stop It (1980), which mixed ska, reggae and punk rock with social lyrics, the band changed direction on Wha'ppen?, taking influence from many other musical styles which were intriguing the band, including African, steel band and dub music, while keeping reggae at its core. The fast pace of the band's previous work is also exchanged for a slower, mid-tempo pace. Accompanying the music is the socially conscious and political lyrics. The band recorded the record at Roundhouse Studios with producer Bob Sargeant.
Hand to Mouth is the second studio album by English new wave band General Public, released in 1986 by I.R.S. Records.
Rub It Better is the third studio album by English new wave band General Public, released on 4 April 1995 by Epic Records. The band had not recorded together in almost 10 years.
"Mirror in the Bathroom" is a single by the British ska band the Beat, released as a single in 1980 from their debut studio album I Just Can't Stop It. It reached number 4 on the UK Singles Chart and consequently was their highest charting release in the UK until 1983. It was released again in 1995 as a 12" single and early in 1996 as a CD single to promote B.P.M.: The Very Best of the Beat. The reissued single reached number 44 in 1996.
"Save It for Later" is a 1982 song written and recorded by the British ska/new wave band the Beat. The song was released as a single from the band's third and final studio album, Special Beat Service (1982), finding moderate chart success in Britain.
Here We Go Love is a studio album by rock and ska band the Beat credited as the Beat Starring Dave Wakeling, released in the UK on May 25, 2018 and in the US June 15, 2015. It has received positive reviews from critics.
"I Confess" is a 1982 song written and recorded by British band the Beat. The song was released as a single from the band's third and final studio album, Special Beat Service, finding moderate chart success in the UK. Inspired by the romantic escapades of English tabloids and Wakeling's own personal relationships, the song featured a piano performance led by touring keyboardist Dave "Blockhead" Wright.
"Too Nice to Talk To" is a non-album single by British ska/new wave band The Beat, released on 5 December 1980 by Go-Feet Records. It peaked at number 7 on the UK Singles Chart. The song has since been included on CD reissues of the band's second album Wha'ppen?.
"Best Friend" is a song by British ska/new wave band the Beat, released on 8 August 1980 as the fourth and final single from their debut studio album I Just Can't Stop It. It was released as a double A-side single with a dub version of "Stand Down Margaret". The single wasn't as successful as the band's previous singles and only peaked at number 22 on the UK Singles Chart. The band raised 14 thousand pounds from the sales of the single, which went to the Anti-Nuclear Campaign and the CND.
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