1) The English two-tone ska band The Beat known as The English Beat in North America and The British Beat in Australia.
2) The American power-pop band became known as Paul Collins' Beat in Europe.
1. The Beat are a band founded in Birmingham, England, in 1978. Their music fuses ska, pop, soul, reggae and punk rock.
The Beat, consisting of Dave Wakeling (vocals, guitar), Ranking Roger (vocals), Andy Cox (guitar), David Steele (bass), Everett Morton (drums), and Saxa a.k.a. Lionel Augustus Martin (1930 – 2017) (saxophone), released three studio albums in the early 1980s: I Just Can't Stop It (1980), Wha'ppen? (1981) and Special Beat Service (1982), and a string of singles, including "Mirror in the Bathroom", "Too Nice to Talk To", "Can't Get Used to Losing You", "Hands Off, She's Mine" and "All Out to Get You".[3]
Although the group’s main fan-base was in the UK, they were also popular in Australia thanks to regular exposure on the government-owned rock radio station Triple J and the nationally-broadcast TV pop show Countdown. They had a sizeable following in the U.S., and a strong presence on that country’s college radio.
After the break-up of The Beat, Dave Wakeling (guitar, lead vocals) and Ranking Roger (vocals) went on to form General Public, while Andy Cox (guitar) and David Steele (bass guitar) formed Fine Young Cannibals with vocalist Roland Gift.
Members of the band often collaborated on stage with The Specials and performed together on tracks such as “Free Nelson Mandela”. In the early 1990s, Roger joined members of The Specials to form the new band The Special Beat, which released two live albums.
Ranking Roger’s son, Ranking Junior, has followed in his father’s footsteps. In 2005, he appeared on The Ordinary Boys’ single “Boys Will Be Boys”. In 2003, The Beat’s original line-up, minus Cox and Steele but with the addition of Junior, played a sold-out one-off gig at the Royal Festival Hall. As of 2005, The Beat has reformed, counting Roger, Blockhead and Morton of the original line-up, with Ranking Junior also on vocals. The band is said to have the blessing of Cox, Steele and Saxa (of Desmond Dekker fame).
The Beat’s lead singer Dave Wakeling also continues to tour as The English Beat, as he has done for the last three decades, with an amazing all-star ska backing band playing the hits of The English Beat, General Public, and his new songs.
Saxa died on 3 May 2017, Ranking Roger died on 26 March 2019.
2. The Beat (known in Europe as The Paul Collins Beat or Paul Collins' Beat), were an American rock and power pop group from Los Angeles, California that formed in the late 1970s. The Beat resurfaced in the 1990s and continues to tour and record new material as Paul Collins' Beat. Frontman Paul Collins has released several projects with his alternative country group The Paul Collins Band, who play Americana music inspired by country rock and folk rock.
Don't Wait Up for Me
The Beat Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
No don't wait up for me tonight
I shut the door
I feel my feet up on the ground
Walk out
Walk on
Soon I disappear and I will be gone
But you would never listen anyway
So I will leave
You got to make it on your own anyway
Yeah I tried but I just can't find a way
So I'm going so far, far, far away
I won't be back
No matter what you say
Don't wait up for me
Don't wait up for me
Tonight
Tonight
I will be so far, far, away
Out on the road
There is no place that's home for me
Yeah I tried but I just can't find a way
So I'm going so far, far, far away
I won't be back
No matter what you say
Don’t wait up for me
Don’t wait up for me
Tonight
Don't wait up for me tonight
No don't wait up for me tonight
I tried to save
But you would never listen anyway
So I will leave
I got to make it on my own anyway
Yeah I tried but I just can't find a way
So I'm going so far, far, far away
I won't be back
No matter what you say
Don't wait up for me
Don't wait up for me no no
Wait up for me tonight
No don't wait up for me tonight
The song "Don't Wait up for Me" by The Beat (also known as The English Beat) is a classic eighties track that centers around the themes of leaving and independence. The song is about a man who is leaving his partner and his home behind because he feels unappreciated and unheard. He has tried to save his relationship, but his partner would never listen to him, and he feels like he has to make it on his own.
The lyrics are simple yet powerful and evocative. The opening lines of the song - "Don't wait up for me tonight / No, don't wait up for me tonight" - set the tone for the rest of the song. The man is leaving, and he doesn't want his partner to wait up for him because he is not coming back. As he walks out the door, he feels the ground beneath his feet, and he knows that he is making the right decision.
The chorus of the song - "Yeah, I tried, but I just can't find a way / So I'm going so far, far, far away / I won't be back, no matter what you say / Don't wait up for me" - is both anthemic and heartbreaking. The man has tried to save his relationship, but he knows that he cannot stay. He is going far away, and he won't be back, no matter what his partner says. In the end, he knows that he has to make it on his own.
Line by Line Meaning
Don’t wait up for me tonight
I am leaving and I don't want you to wait up for me tonight.
No don't wait up for me tonight
I don't want you to wait up for me tonight, please don't.
I shut the door
I closed the door behind me.
I feel my feet up on the ground
As I walk, I can feel the ground beneath my feet.
Walk out
I am leaving.
Walk on
I am continuing to walk away.
Soon I disappear and I will be gone
I will be gone from your life soon and you won't be able to find me.
I tried to save
I attempted to help or save something, probably our relationship.
But you would never listen anyway
You never listened to me, even though I tried to help us.
So I will leave
I am leaving because there is no reason for me to stay.
You got to make it on your own anyway
You need to learn to survive without me anyway.
Yeah I tried but I just can't find a way
I tried really hard but I couldn't find a solution.
So I'm going so far, far, far away
I am leaving and going very far away.
I won't be back
I am not coming back.
No matter what you say
Even if you try to convince me to come back, I won't.
Tonight
This current night.
I will be so far, far, away
I am going to be very far away from you.
Out on the road
I am on the road traveling.
There is no place that's home for me
I don't have a place that feels like home to me.
Don't wait up for me no no
Please don't wait up for me.
Wait up for me tonight
Please wait for me tonight.
Contributed by Elijah V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@michaelroush4996
I bought this album at Tower Records from their "try this shit" at the check out counter...blew my mind. Not a bad song on it. Why this band didn't rule the New Wave scene is beyond me. Still have it. Still love it!
@rossrowley4331
Agreed!!!
@Surferess
My Fraternity Brother at University of Miami turned me on to this song my first year of college 1980-81. Played it a million times and also covered the song in my 80s band. Additionally, I am starting a new duo and plan to play it again! Good music is timeless!
@martychristensen8862
LOVE THIS ONE, PLAYED IT OVER and OVER. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLAYED IT OVER and OVER for my X-wife....She was never any FUN!!!!!!!!!
@dariuslogan9801
Had a cassette tape of that song that I made by holding my Panasonic portable cassette player up against the side of my Sony Dream Machine clock radio. That's how we downloaded music in 1979 kids.
@tednugent82
this is perfect bought the 7" years ago when it was released also one of the best guitar solos ever on a pop or rock song
@clydebk
thanks!!!! I saw them live in '79
@davedederer4124
One of the best guitar solos ever in a pop song, IMO. Right up there with Elliott Easton's best.
@hectorsalinasisback
Yes, The Paul Collins Beat have huge followings in Texas, California, New York, Georgia and Wisconsin. The Paul Collins solo project is country music/country rock, which is popular in Tennessee, Arizona, Kentucky, Alabama and Florida.
@piouno
I've always loved them, from the start !!! Paul Collins.. Thanks so much for sharing ! I'm not fed up with that LP, even so many years later... :-) ! Nathalie