With a knack for taut rhythms and tasty pop hooks, Dave Wakeling is a British-born singer, guitarist, and songwriter who enjoyed international success with the groups the Beat (aka the English Beat) and General Public. Formed in 1978, the Beat were one of the best and most influential acts to emerge from the U.K. ska revival, and their 1980 album I Just Can't Stop It is widely regarded as a masterpiece. After adding more pop elements into the Beat's sound, they began gaining a foothold in the American market with 1982's Special Beat Service, which spawned two popular MTV videos, "I Confess" and "Save It for Later." The Beat broke up in 1983, and in 1984 Wakeling debuted his next project, General Public, who scored a Top 40 hit with the song "Tenderness." After General Public dissolved in 1987, Wakeling moved to California and went solo, writing the title song for the movie She's Having a Baby and releasing the album No Warning in 1991. Throughout much of the '90s, music took a back seat for Wakeling as he focused on his family and working with the environmental group Greenpeace. But in the 2000s, he assembled a new version of the English Beat, regularly touring in North America and releasing a new album, Here We Go Love, in 2018.

Wakeling was born in Birmingham, England on February 19, 1956. Before he began playing music, he frequented local house parties with dueling DJs, as licensing made it hard for many young people to go to clubs. Enamored of punk, reggae, and '60s pop, Wakeling was interested in forming a band that combined all three. Teaming with guitarist Andy Cox, they formed the first line-up of the Beat in 1978, with bassist David Steele and drummer Everett Morton. The Beat played their first gig in March 1979, and grew to a sextet with the addition of toaster Ranking Roger and sax player Saxa. A tour with the Specials led to the Beat cutting a single for their 2-Tone label, and their debut single, "Tears of a Clown" b/w "Ranking Full Stop," became a Top Ten hit in the U.K. The Beat (known as the English Beat in North America to avoid confusion with a power pop band fronted by Paul Collins called the Beat) scored a major success in the U.K. with their 1980 debut album I Just Can't Stop It, and while their sophomore effort, 1981's Wha'ppen?, was a commercial and critical disappointment, their third LP, 1982's Special Beat Service, pumped up their pop influences and thanks to heavy MTV play of "I Confess" and "Save It For Later," it became a modest hit in America. However, it came too late for the Beat, who broke up in 1983.

Immediately after the breakup, Wakeling and Ranking Roger launched a new group, General Public. They released an album, All the Rage, in 1984; the album fared well in the U.K., and even better in the United States, where the single "Tenderness" became a Top 40 hit. However, their second album, 1986's Hand to Mouth, failed to match the debut's success, and creative differences broke up the act in 1987. (They briefly reunited for a 1994 album, Rub It Better.) Putting General Public behind him, Wakeling relocated to the United States and wrote the title song for the 1988 John Hughes film She's Having a Baby, as well as producing the soundtrack album. Wakeling stepped out as a solo artist with the 1991 album No Warning, but the album barely made a dent in the marketplace, and for several years he stopped performing. Wakeling settled down, raised a family, and became involved with the environmental activist group Greenpeace. In 1994, he produced a multi-artist benefit album to benefit the organization, Alternative NRG, which was recorded using a solar-powered mobile studio.

Feeling the urge to perform again, Wakeling assembled an informal band, Free Radicals, to play Greenpeace benefits, but after his old friend Elvis Costello told him, "All this Greenpeace and anti-Apartheid work is all well and great, but your place is on-stage, Wakeling," he decided it was time to seriously hit the road again. An attempt to reunite General Public was a bust, so Wakeling put together a band called Bang and began playing clubs on the West Coast. After club owners frequently used the English Beat and General Public names in their advertising for Bang's shows, Wakeling struck up an agreement with Ranking Roger where Roger could use the name the Beat in the U.K. and Wakeling could bill his band as the English Beat in America. By the end of the 2000s, Wakeling's English Beat was playing as many as 140 shows a year, and were a successful club draw across the country. Wakeling started writing new material for the group, and in 2015 he launched a crowd-funding campaign to raise money to record a new album. In 2018, he released Here We Go Love, credited to the English Beat starring Dave Wakeling. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi