Cambridge Junction welcomes The Beat

One of the biggest names from the ska/2 Tone revival of the late 1970s, early 1980s, The Beat came to the Cambridge Junction on Wednesday, June 21, with support act Bow Wow Wow featuring Annabella Lwin in tow.

When all eight members of the current incarnation of The Beat were on stage, charismatic singer/toaster Antonee First Class introduced singer, guitarist, founding member and bandleader Dave Wakeling as “the original singer, the original songwriter”. Antonee also alluded to Dave’s trademark ‘teardrop’ guitar.

“Are you ready to do some skanking?” asked Antonee. The nearly packed-out venue, which included people of varying ages (but mainly middle aged, like me), assured him that we were and duly began an evening of essentially jerking back and forth beginning with outstanding opening number Rough Rider, a cover of a Prince Buster classic which was included on The Beat’s debut album, 1980’s I Just Can’t Stop It.

Humorously, Dave forgot some of the lyrics Twist & Crawl, joking about it afterwards and then recalling how the lyrics to the song were written by a man called Les Bradsell, who went on to become well known in the UK and the US for inventing famous cocktails.

Ahead of the touching and melodic Can’t Get Used to Losing You, Dave warmly remembered the members of The Beat who are sadly no longer with us, namely Saxa, Ranking Roger and Everett Morton.

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Towards the end of the song, Dave whistled a few bars, joking afterwards, “I’m the last of the whistling 80s punks – when was the last time you heard Sting or Bono whistle a song?!”

Aside from Dave’s friendly banter with the audience, Antonee First Class also proved to be quite the showman, getting the crowd jumping to the emphatic Save It for Later and inventing infectious rhymes and clever lyrical musings as the gig went along.

After the catchy groove of Whine & Grine/Stand Down Margaret (about Margaret Thatcher), Dave joked that he can’t change the lyrics to include any current prime ministers as “they’re not around long enough”.

Too Nice to Talk To, the frenetic Two Swords, Ranking Full Stop and Mirror in the Bathroom were further standouts until the group left the stage with the sound of audience appreciation ringing in their ears.

[Read more: The Beat goes on as Dave Wakeling brings his ska/2 Tone collective to city]

Dave brought the band back out for the encore and recalled meeting the great Smokey Robinson, by way of an introduction to The Tears of a Clown, the Smokey Robinson classic that became The Beat’s first single in 1979.

Singing, dancing/skanking and listening to the kind of music that’s ideal for a summer’s evening, Dave Wakeling and co put on a great show.