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.
Walk away
The Beat Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
"If you ever try to lean on me too heavily
I'll step aside and watch you fall
We'll make each other look so small
Or bang our heads into the wall and walkaway
Do you have to get this close before it hits?
You've always known just how much
People are a part of why we've now not got the heart to say
I'll leave it, if you will, let's walkaway"
Thought it was different
But it all turned out the same so so
Promised myself I'd never go through it again
Now that every love song bears the same familiar strain of
Walkaway before I
Do something stupid
Walkaway before these threats turn into
One of us could do it
Walkaway before I say
"It's getting too much"
Walkaway, walkaway
Before one of us cracks up
Did you have to get that close before it hit?
You'd always known just how much
People are a part of why we've now not got the heart to say
I'll leave it if you will, let's walkaway
Thought it was different
But it all turned out the same so so
Promised myself I'd never go through it again
Now that every love song bears the same familiar strain of
Walkaway before I
Do something stupid
Walkaway before these threats turn into
One of us could do it
Walkaway before I say
"It's getting too much"
Walkaway, walkaway
Before both of us crack up
Walkaway before I
Do something stupid
Walkaway before these threats turn into
One of us could do it
Walkaway before I say
"It's getting too much"
Walkaway, walkaway
Before both of us crack up
Walkaway before I
Do something stupid
Walkaway before these threats turn into
One of us could do it
Walkaway before I say
"It's getting too much"
Walkaway, walkaway
Before both of us crack up
Walkaway before I
Do something stupid
Walkaway before these threats turn into
One of us could do it
Walkaway before I say
"It's getting too much"
The lyrics of the song "Walk away" by The Beat tell the story of a relationship that has lost its spark and both people involved are struggling to keep it together. The woman in the relationship is telling the man that if he tries to lean on her too heavily, she will step aside and watch him fall because they are making each other look small. She suggests that they find another way or just walk away before one of them does something stupid or before one of them cracks up. The man is aware that they have come too close before hitting the breaking point, and they both know that people are a part of why they can't bear to say goodbye. They have promised themselves that they will not let this happen again, but every love song bears the same familiar strain of walking away before things get worse.
The lyrics of the song do not provide any specific details of what has gone wrong in the relationship, but it is clear that things are not working out. It's a song that talks about the fear of leaving and also the fear of hurting the other person. It's about the pain of having to walk away from someone you love because things are not working out. The song is beautifully written, with poignant lyrics that resonate with anyone who's experienced a rocky relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
Then she said
The story begins with a woman uttering something
"If you ever try to lean on me too heavily
The woman is warning the other person not to seek too much support from her
I'll step aside and watch you fall
She will leave and let the other person face their mistakes alone
We'll make each other look so small
Their interaction will be detrimental to both of them
Let's either find another way
The woman suggests looking for an alternative approach
Or bang our heads into the wall and walkaway
Otherwise, they'll face disappointment and frustration and should just give up and part ways
Do you have to get this close before it hits?
The singer is wondering if people have to get too involved in a relationship to realize it's not working out
You've always known just how much
The other person was well aware of the issues present in the relationship
People are a part of why we've now not got the heart to say
Perhaps societal pressure is making it difficult for them to address the truth
I'll leave it, if you will, let's walkaway"
They should give up their relationship and move on
Thought it was different
The singer expected things to be different from before
But it all turned out the same so so
However, it has ended up being the same as previous ill-fated relationships
Promised myself I'd never go through it again
The singer made a vow not to deal with such situations again
Now that every love song bears the same familiar strain of
The singer realizes that other people are going through the same thing
Walkaway before I
The singer is reminding themselves to walk away from unhealthy relationships
Do something stupid
Before they end up doing something foolish out of desperation
Walkaway before these threats turn into
The singer wants to move away before things escalates to the point of harm
One of us could do it
Before they end up harming one another or themselves
Walkaway before I say
The singer wants to leave before things get worse
"It's getting too much"
Before the pressure becomes too overwhelming to bear
Walkaway, walkaway
The singer is stressing the importance of walking away from toxic relationships
Before one of us cracks up
Before one of them reaches a breaking point and succumbs to the situation
Walkaway before both of us crack up
The singer wants to leave before the situation breaks them both
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
jimbro lesiw
"Wha'ppen" was HUGELY underrated, but it was my all time favorite English Beat album. I wore it out in the early 80's.
TheRaven Nevermore
I love this Band. Such underrated Music and give everytime these nostalgic vibes :)))
roger bruton
Greatest band ever, what a tune, thanks for the music roger
thingguy1
I listen to this and I can feel me coming back,the person I was,and who I know I can Be,thank beat.
Colin Davies
My deck didn't have auto stylus lift off, I used to listen to this album in bed with headphones on, fall asleep and wore the click off at the end of the tracks - bliss to hear these again, the layers of sound and production is immense. Thank you for posting this and others.
Jennifer B Martin Brown
Rest and skank in power, Roger. Thank you for your music. Blessings.
johnny b
@Jennifer B Martin Brown
I can hardly believe he's passed away. I'm especially shocked because he seemed so fit and energetic for his age (as he was when he was young). I like to think he's having a jamming session with Saxa, John Bradbury, Prince Buster, Desmond Dekker and Judge Dread in whatever dimension of existence they're now in. His passing hurts although I never knew him on a "personal" level (though I did get to shake his hand once). But I do know a couple of people who knew him personally and they said he was a lovely guy.
Jennifer B Martin Brown
@johnny b beautiful, man... blessed be, and aren't we lucky to have lived and shared in his same space? <3
johnny b
@Jennifer B Martin Brown
Yes absolutely.
CAPTAIN HYDRO K WAVEFORUM
Nostalgic and those horns are such a cool sound