When The Beat rushed on to the music scene in 1979, it was a time of social, political and musical upheaval. Into this storm came The Beat, trying to calm the waters with their simple message of love and unity set to a great dance beat. The band was all about inclusion, rather than exclusion, and this showed in their personnel and their music influences. The band crossed over fluidly between soul, reggae, pop and punk, and from these disparate pieces they created an infectious dance rhythm, and became an overnight sensation as well as one of the most popular and influential bands of the British Two Tone Ska movement. By Christmas, The Beat were riding high in the UK charts. Over the next five years, they toured relentlessly and released three studio albums. After their third, they decided to call it quits, and The Beat's members went on to different projects - Dave Wakeling formed General Public, Andy Cox and Dave Steele saw success with The Fine Cannibals and Saxa and Everett Morton formed International Beat. Combined, all these bands scored multi-platinum record sales, sold out shows all over the world, and, most importantly, universal fan approval because they kept The Beat alive! They came back together in 2003 when they reunited for a UK tour. Today, Wakeling continues to tour the world as The English Beat with an amazing all-star ska backing band playing all the hits of The Beat, General Public and his new songs.