The Beat: Live At The Royal Festival Hall

HISTORY:The Beat were formed in Birmingham in 1978. Soon after, they had to change their name to The ENGLISH Beat to avoid confusion with another band. They are known as one of the leaders of the Ska revivalist movement along with fellow Brits The Specials, Madness, The Selecter and The Body Snatchers.The British ska groups were of course multiracial and were formed by kids who lived in the same areas. Much like the poor kids of Jamaica, they didnt have much money so they formed bands to perform when they couldnt get into clubs.The English Beat was co-lead by Guitar/Vocalist Dave Wakeling a punk rock toaster, along with Ranking Roger another brilliant reggae/ska toaster. The other members were made up of Andy Cox (Guitar), Dave Steel (Bass), Everett Morton (Drums) and the one and only Saxa (Saxophone). Saxa was originally in a well known band called Prince Buster and Desmond Dekker, and this helped bring The Beat even more attention at the time. Saxa was also much older than the other chaps (around 50 years old at the time), but he contributed an extra special soulful touch that made the band sound even better than before. The Beat went on to open for The Selecter and they then were signed to the 2 Tone label (specialists in ska) and they followed this with the release of their first single "Tears of A Clown", a skanked up version of the Motown Smokey Robinson classic hit.In 1980, The Beat decided to start their own indie label and they called it Go-Feet (an Arista sub-label). They continued to quickly move up the UK Charts with songs like "Mirror In The Bathroom". Their first album was titled I Just Cant Stop It. This album fused pop ska with more politically edged songs. In 1981, they decided to go back to traditional reggae sounds for their album Wha'ppen. In 1982 with the advent of MTV, The Beat put out Special Beat Service and their hit single/video "Save It for Later" was played reguarly on the radio and MTV and other music video stations. This brought the band back into the bright spotlight.....but sadly it was only for a short time.In 1983, The English Beat decided to break apart. Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger went on to form the band General Public and Andy Cox and Dave Steel joined up with Roland Gift to form Fine Young Cannibals. FYC had a big hit with "She Drives Me Crazy".THE DVDRecorded at The Royal Festival Hall in London, England, the Live DVD of The English Beat from MVD (Music Video Distributors) and Secret Films is a celebration of the music the Beat made when they were together so many years ago. They still sound great and from watching/listening to the DVD you can see the crowd is especially excited by these guys even now. Its like seeing a group of old friends again. Watching them play here its like they havent missed a step. If you love ska/reggae music, you'll really have a great time with this DVD. Its filled with classic hits by The Beat. Grab a pint, turn up your home theater system and revisit the glory days of the British ska scene with The English Beat and Friends! Massive!