Soul Salvation - A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat: General Public

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast!  This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat."

Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me.  

The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant act – which initially was largely overlooked – and how their music and the love of a young woman changed me forever.

The focus of this episode is on the origins of General Public, the post-English Beat band formed by original guitarist/vocalist Dave Wakeling and vocalist Ranking Roger.

General Public picked up almost seamlessly from where the English Beat had ended. Taking the approach that they'd started on Special Beat Service Wakeling, Ranking Roger and company wrote glossy new wave pop songs with hints of reggae who took to Wakeling and Ranking Roger like a new wave Hall & Oates. And their American label IRS Records hoped to capitalize on the pent up affection so many Americans had for the English Beat.  

My new book Soul Salvation : A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat is now available for pre-sale from DiWulf.com and will be published on August 12th.

The music clips included in this podcast fall under the “Fair Use Doctrine” as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act. The law allows for use of music clips for purposes of criticism, comment, and news reporting.