Tiresome stories about the late '70s and early '80s British music scene that incubated The Sex Pistols and The Clash often neglect to mention ska as part of their spirited tapestry. If the name Dave Wakeling doesn't have the same
je ne sais quoi
as a "Rotten" or "Strummer,"
perhaps his legacy, cemented through his seminal ska band The English Beat, and their nihilist nod to schizophrenia, "Mirror in the Bathroom,"
Smokey Robinson's juiced-up "Tears of a Clown" and the perennial soccer mom playlist staple "Save it for Later" will ring some bells.
Dave Wakeling started The English Beat in 1979. The Beat released three albums:
I Just Can't Stop It
(1980),
Wha'ppen
(1981) and
Special Beat Service
(1982). Among his various side projects after the Beat's initial 1983 breakup was General Public, a band he assembled with Beat bandmate Ranking
Roger. General Public
positioned
Wakeling in the limelight once again with their hit "Tenderness," while other former Beats created the homicidally annoying falsetto trio Fine Young Cannibals.
Resting from two weekend shows, Wakeling took time to chat from his home in Malibu about his upcoming gig at the Santa Fe Brewing Company (8 pm Friday, Jan. 19. $20).
SFR: Ska and punk rock have had an interesting co-existence. How did the late '70s/early '80s British music scene define these two disparate sounds?
DW:
Reggae and punk have a symbiotic relationship. They're both enthusiastic and they have the ability to open your heart, and when you open your heart, your mind opens up. The song subject is affected, so you can write and sing about different things. House parties had a lot to do with it. You would have a reggae DJ and a punk DJ at the same party. The reggae provided the groove and the punk provided the energy. Both elements were eventually mixed up with Motown, soul and a bit of Velvet Underground's dense, insistent sound.
Arguably, The English Beat had everything to do with the shaping of ska's popularity. Are you artistically comfortable at this point in your career?
I'm more particular about my songwriting nowadays, but at times I still feel totally lost. I went through my angry young fellow phase, but now I express it differently. It's more than craft. It's trying to get to the bottom of things, how I feel. You have to struggle to get deeply personal, then work on it some more to express it universally in an example that will connect to other people, connect your heart to your throat and into other people's hearts. I've had this hook in my head for the longest time: 'If killing worked it would have worked by now.' I'm trying to figure how to build around it.
Ranking Roger popularized 'toasting' in the music world and essentially connected ska to the African griot oral traditions of storytelling. Is it fair to say that ska is often ignored for its artistic innovation, cultural relevance and political significance?
I suppose if it were a completely white form of music there would be museums built for it. The social matter and the cultural blend is an evolutionary process. The sound and ideas of '79 were pushed into the mainstream by No Doubt and now with bands like The Aggrolites, Westbound Train and The Hepcats. Ska is becoming embedded in the culture as a recognizable icon in the same way people in America of different cultures learn from each other, becoming one another. I don't mind that these things take time. I feel very optimistic.
Are your shows attracting a more eclectic crowd because of bands like No Doubt?
We have a bit of a gap. Thirty-year-olds found us through No Doubt and the Mighty Mighty Bosstones or they had older siblings who played them General Public or English Beat records. Because of newfound ska resurgence, we are playing more all-ages shows. These are fractious times, so it's great to see a 16-year-old dancing next to a 50-year-old to the same groove. For some, it's an exacting show in the moment; to others, it's a trip down memory lane.
With so many things seemingly designed for artists not to succeed, how do you maintain a presence in pop culture after 28 years?
I was lucky. No Doubt helped. One of my guitars was placed in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next to Sterling Morrison's [The Velvet Underground] guitar.
How did that come about?
They came to one of our shows in Cleveland and invited us the museum. They took us in the back and showed us some handwritten lyrics by John Lennon on an envelope. It was the first draft of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." It had marked-out words and everything. They also showed us one of Bob Marley's dreadlocks. Then they asked for one of my guitars for their collection and I asked them why. They said they had a stack of letters from artists stating how The English Beat had influenced their lives.
How did that make you feel?
I had a sense of relief. It was like, you really did well after all.
