I Just Can't Stop It

Last updated

I Just Can't Stop It
I Just Cant Stop It.jpg
Studio album by
Released23 May 1980 (1980-05-23)
Genre
Length36:24
Label
Producer Bob Sargeant
The Beat chronology
I Just Can't Stop It
(1980)
Wha'ppen?
(1981)
Singles from I Just Can't Stop It
  1. "Tears of a Clown"/"Ranking Full Stop"
    Released: 30 November 1979
  2. "Hands Off...She's Mine"/"Twist and Crawl"
    Released: 14 February 1980
  3. "Mirror in the Bathroom"
    Released: 25 April 1980
  4. "Best Friend"/"Stand Down Margaret"
    Released: 8 August 1980

I Just Can't Stop It is the debut studio album by the English two-tone band the Beat, released on 23 May 1980[ citation needed ] by Go-Feet Records in the United Kingdom. It was released the same year in the United States on Sire Records, with the band credited as "The English Beat"; in Australia, it was released on Go-Feet under the band name "The British Beat".

Contents

The album was well-received; Rolling Stone raved that the music was "wild and threatening, sexy and sharp," [1] while AllMusic later wrote it "was a stunning achievement" which had not been diminished by time. [2]

The album was reissued on CD in 1990 by I.R.S. Records in the U.S, and in 2012 by Edsel Records in the UK and Shout! Factory in the U.S. [3]

Artwork

The "Beat Girl" icon seen on the cover and used on the band's merchandising was designed by Birmingham-based cartoonist Hunt Emerson. [4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [2]
Christgau's Record Guide A− [5]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Record Mirror Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [8]
Smash Hits 9/10 [9]
Sounds Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [10]
Spin Alternative Record Guide 10/10 [11]
Tom Hull – on the Web A− [12]

At the end of 1980, I Just Can't Stop It appeared in numerous lists of the best albums of the year: NME ranked it third, [13] Sounds ranked it 13th,[ citation needed ] The Village Voice ranked it 21st[ citation needed ] and OOR ranked it 41st.[ citation needed ] In 1995, Spin ranked the album at No. 94 in its list of the "Top 100 Alternative Albums". [14] Fast 'n' Bulbous ranked the album at number 283 in its list of "The 500 Best Albums Since 1965". [15] A 2002 poll of KCPR DJs ranked it at No. 40 in a list of the "Top 100 Records of the 80s".[ citation needed ] Les Inrockuptibles included it in its list of "50 Years of Rock 'n' Roll."[ citation needed ] Music journalist Simon Reynolds lists it as one of the five most important albums of "2-Tone and the Ska Resurrection" in his 2005 book Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984 . [16] In 2016, Paste ranked I Just Can't Stop It at No. 48 on its list of the 50 best new wave albums. [17]

"Mirror in the Bathroom" was ranked at No. 3 in the NME "Singles of the Year" list[ citation needed ] and at No. 24 in Sounds' "Singles of the Year" list.[ citation needed ] In 2003, Q ranked the song at No. 517 in its list of the "1001 Best Songs Ever". [18] In 2002, Gary Mulholland included the song in his list This Is Uncool: The 500 Greatest Singles Since Punk and Disco. [19] In 2001, Michaelangelo Matos included it in his list of "The Top 100 Singles of the 80s."[ citation needed ] In 2006, 97x ranked it at No. 186 in its list of "The 500 Best Modern Rock Songs of All Time."[ citation needed ] In 1990, Robert Christgau ranked "Twist & Crawl" at No. 10 in his list of the best songs of the 1980s. [20]

Track listing

All tracks are written by The Beat (as per ASCAP: Roger Charlery, Andy Cox, Everett Morton, David Steele and Dave Wakeling), [21] except where noted. Note that despite the group author credits on the label, Saxa is not listed as a co-author of any song according to ASCAP.

Original UK release
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Mirror in the Bathroom" 3:10
2."Hands Off...She's Mine" 3:01
3."Two Swords" 2:19
4."Twist & Crawl"
2:35
5."Rough Rider" (originally performed by Prince Buster & the All Stars)
  • Eddy Grant
  • Patrick Grant
  • Dervan Gordon
  • Lincoln Gordon
4:53
6."Click Click" 1:28
7."Big Shot" 2:34
8."Whine & Grine/Stand Down Margaret" ("Whine & Grine" originally performed by Prince Buster & the All Stars)
  • The Beat
  • Prince Buster
3:51
9."Noise in This World" 2:19
10."Can't Get Used to Losing You" (originally performed by Andy Williams)3:04
11."Best Friend" 3:01
12."Jackpot" (originally performed by the Pioneers)4:19

The U.S. release of the album on Sire Records added "Tears of a Clown" and "Ranking Full Stop", originally released as double A-sides of a single on 2 Tone Records in 1979 (TT 6). [21] These tracks remained on subsequent CD reissues of the album. [21]

US LP release and CD reissues
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Mirror in the Bathroom" 3:10
2."Hands Off...She's Mine" 3:01
3."Two Swords" 2:19
4."Twist & Crawl"
  • The Beat
  • Dick Bradsell
2:35
5."Tears of a Clown" (originally performed by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles)2:39
6."Rough Rider"
  • Eddy Grant
  • Patrick Grant
  • Dervan Gordon
  • Lincoln Gordon
4:53
7."Click Click" 1:28
8."Ranking Full Stop" 2:44
9."Big Shot" 2:34
10."Whine & Grine/Stand Down Margaret"
  • The Beat
  • Prince Buster
3:51
11."Noise in This World" 2:19
12."Can't Get Used to Losing You"
  • Doc Pomus
  • Mort Shuman
3:04
13."Best Friend" 3:01
14."Jackpot"
  • George Agard
  • Sydney Crooks
  • Jackie Robinson
4:19

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes. [22]

The Beat

Production and artwork

"Thanks to: John Peel, the Specials, Selecter, A/W Hunt Emerson"

Charts

Chart (1980–81)Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [23] 66
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [24] 30
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [25] 30
UK Albums (OCC) [26] 3
US Billboard 200 [27] 142

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [28] Gold100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ Rose, Frank (4 September 1980). "The English Beat: I Just Can't Stop It". Rolling Stone . No. 325. Archived from the original on 22 April 2008. Retrieved 12 August 2007.
  2. 1 2 Greene, Jo-Ann. "I Just Can't Stop It – The English Beat". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 May 2004.
  3. ↑ "Discography". englishbeat.net. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  4. ↑ "The Beat Girl – Noted Cartoonist Hunt Emerson Designs a 2-Tone Era Icon". Marco on the Bass. 16 December 2008. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
  5. ↑ Christgau, Robert (1990). "The English Beat: I Just Can't Stop It". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. ISBN   0-679-73015-X . Retrieved 4 May 2009.
  6. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press.
  7. ↑ "Albums" (PDF). Record Mirror: 20. 24 May 1980. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  8. ↑ Considine, J. D. (2004). "English Beat". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Fireside Books. pp.  277–278. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8 . Retrieved 17 March 2010.
  9. ↑ Cranna, Ian (29 May – 11 June 1980). "The Beat: I Just Can't Stop It". Smash Hits. Vol. 2, no. 11. p. 30.
  10. ↑ Silverton, Peter (24 May 1980). "The Beat: I Just Can't Stop It (Go Feet)" . Sounds. Retrieved 19 November 2020– via Rock's Backpages.
  11. ↑ Hermes, Will (1995). "English Beat". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. p. 127. ISBN   0-679-75574-8.
  12. ↑ Hull, Tom (26 April 2021). "Music Week". Tomhull.com. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  13. ↑ "1980 Best Albums And Tracks Of The Year". NME. 10 October 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  14. ↑ Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). "Top 100 Alternative Albums". Spin Alternative Record Guide. New York: Vintage Books. p. 454. ISBN   0679755748.
  15. ↑ "Best Albums Since 1965 | Fast 'n' Bulbous". Archived from the original on 7 May 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  16. ↑ Reynolds, Simon (2005). Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984. Faber and Faber. ISBN   0-571-21569-6.
  17. ↑ "The 50 Best New Wave Albums". Paste. 8 September 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  18. ↑ "Q - 1001 best songs ever (2003)". Muzieklijstjes.nl. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  19. ↑ Mulholland, Garry (2002). This is Uncool: The 500 Greatest Singles Since Punk and Disco. London: Cassell Illustrated. p. 122. ISBN   0304631860.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ignored ISBN errors (link)
  20. ↑ "Robert Christgau: Decade Personal Best: '80s". Robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  21. 1 2 3 I Just Can't Stop It (CD liner notes). The Beat. Los Angeles: Go-Feet Records/Shout! Factory. 2012. 826663-13177-B1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  22. ↑ I Just Can't Stop It (liner notes). The Beat. Go-Feet Records. 1980. BEAT 1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  23. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). Australian Chart Book. pp. 29, 46. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  24. ↑ "Charts.nz – The Beat – I Just Can't Stop It". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  25. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – The Beat – I Just Can't Stop It". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  26. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  27. ↑ "The English Beat Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  28. ↑ "British album certifications – Beat – I Just Can't Stop It". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 19 November 2020.