A Little Sunday "Up Beat" Music by Way of the English Beat (or The Beat)

[just strum]

[Geraint Jones]

Cor Blimey this takes me back , I was well into two tone .Were The Beat big in the States , I always thought of it as a localised scene, although its influence on bands like No Doubt and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones is there I suppose.
Thanks for that Strum , I might go and dig out my Harrington jacket and see if it still fits.

[sunvalleylaw]

Geraint, they were very big in my '80s college scene youth. I am not sure how big they were in the mainstream. The Beat, The English Beat, the Talking Heads, The Specials, along with the Violent Femmes, the Clash, Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson, etc. were all part of a very fun scene for me back then.

[just strum]

They were popular enough in Cleveland to get air play. Back then Cleveland was sort of a gateway for bands on the other side of the pond to get some mainstream airplay. I can remember Bowie coming in early on and his stage act wasn't even polished, didn't come off well at all, but major airplay kept him afloat. Many of the others that SVL mentioned received airplay as well.

Some others:

The Sensational Alex Harvey Band

Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel

and from the mid 60's into the early 70's: The Pretty Things

[Geraint Jones]

Hello Cleveland [the supply of quotes from that film are endless]. I remember Two Tone from maybe '79 to 81 being quite an influence on my young mind . In particular The Specials, Madness and the Beat unfortuneately this led on to the miserable shoe gazers of the mid to late eighties. Over ten years ago a load of old mates had a great reunion at Glastonbury watching Steve Harley in a small tent while the herds watched some flavour of the day .

[just strum]

Over ten years ago a load of old mates had a great reunion at Glastonbury watching Steve Harley in a small tent while the herds watched some flavour of the day .

That's interesting. Based on the youtube clips, it appears he dropped off to small clubs pretty quickly. Did he get much airplay over there?

I think me and a high school bud were the only ones that listened to Steve Harley (at least it seemed that way). He played a small movie theater and I caught the concert. I thought some of his music was interesting. Stage show, he was riding the glam wave that brought Bowie and a few others into town.

[Geraint Jones]

That's interesting. Based on the youtube clips, it appears he dropped off to small clubs pretty quickly. Did he get much airplay over there?

I think me and a high school bud were the only ones that listened to Steve Harley (at least it seemed that way). He played a small movie theater and I caught the concert. I thought some of his music was interesting. Stage show, he was riding the glam wave that brought Bowie and a few others into town.

I think Come up and see me was a massive hit and still gets played a fair bit . I remember a great band from Leeds the Wedding Present did a cover of it as did a band i played for , [those damn pauses]. Steve Harley does make me laugh though, he recently had a radio show in the UK he appears to still have enough ego for all of us .

How did Glam Rock take off in the States ,that as well seems curiously British , people look back on it now and just see bands like the Sweet and Mud with the flares and platforms and think of it as more as a novelty thing but there were some great music being played as well .

[just strum]

I think Come up and see me was a massive hit and still gets played a fair bit . I remember a great band from Leeds the Wedding Present did a cover of it as did a band i played for , [those damn pauses]. Steve Harley does make me laugh though, he recently had a radio show in the UK he appears to still have enough ego for all of us .

How did Glam Rock take off in the States ,that as well seems curiously British , people look back on it now and just see bands like the Sweet and Mud with the flares and platforms and think of it as more as a novelty thing but there were some great music being played as well .

Bowie, T-Rex, Mott the Hoople, Roxy Music (one of my favorites when Brian Eno and Phil Manzanera was still with them), were the front runners here in the Cleveland area or at least radio and the club scene that I frequented. My brush with fame was meeting David Bowie in a bar after one of his gigs. Of course Queen followed shortly after, but I never put them in the Bowie category. I know there were others, but the mind doesn't function as good as it use to, plus that is a very blurry time in my life.

As for the British wave of glam, it was very big in the Cleveland area. While glam got knocked off by metal in a lot of places, I would say Bruce Springsteen was the one that dethroned glam in this area. When Bruce hit the scene here, he was the king of the radio and the most sought after concert ticket.

You are starting to bring back old memories, I think I will put on my orange platform shoes and listen to Roxy Music for awhile.

[Geraint Jones]

You are starting to bring back old memories, I think I will put on my orange platform shoes and listen to Roxy Music for awhile.


I feel bad about bringing back up all those memories now , i mean orange platforms....i bet you only just starting to get over the stigma .