THE BEAT interview The Base Sessions

SKA band The Beat played their first gig in 1979 on the same weekend as the Three Mile Island nuclear incident. The fallout from the show was a string of hits which provided part of the soundtrack to a turbulent time in British history, when high unemployment and social unrest was rife. The Beat, who are preparing for a show at Kidderminster Town Hall (UK) Friday Oct 1st 2010, came from the industrial heartland of Birmingham and singer Ranking Roger has been telling The Base Sessions about his musical career.Although The Beat, whose hits include Mirror in The Bathroom and Hands Off She's Mine, may be where Ranking Roger made his name his CV is packed with rock royalty. He has performed alongside artists including Sting and The Clash and toured the globe supporting stars including David Bowie, Talking Heads and REM. Following the end of The Beat, Roger went on to form new band General Public with fellow Beat man Dave Wakeling and Dexy’s Midnight Runners’ keyboard player Micky Billingham