Tony Beet
Encyclopedia
Tony Beet is an English musician best known for being the lead singer of The International Beat (1988-1993). The band included members of The Beat
(Saxa
, Everett Morton
) and General Public
and Dexys Midnight Runners
(Mickey Billingham
), and poet Louie Campbell.
Their The Hitting Line album was produced by Ranking Roger
and Mickey Billingham
.
Beet wrote and co-wrote many songs for The International Beat. They performed live around the world, including tours in the U.S. and Europe, alongside Bad Manners
, The Selecter
, The Toasters
, and original English Beat members Dave Wakeling
and Ranking Roger
, among others.
Beet is a singer, songwriter and accomplished soprano saxophone player, which is what he was playing when he met Saxa
in 1984. He started playing the guitar at the age of fourteen and soon fell in love with the sound and dynamics of an acoustic guitar, on which all of his songs are written.
Tony Beet's roots are in ska
and rocksteady
, which are reflected in his songs - they are a blend of ska/reggae and rocksteady/a cool soul feel sound mixed with urban folk.
He currently plays with The Acoustic Theatre playing ska and rocksteady songs with acoustic instruments.
The Beat (band)
The Beat are a 2 Tone ska revival band founded in England in 1978. Their songs fuse ska, pop, soul, reggae and punk rock, and their lyrics deal with themes of love, unity and sociopolitical topics....
(Saxa
Saxa (musician)
Saxa is a saxophonist famous for having performed with the British ska band The Beat. He has also played with many early reggae stars such as Laurel Aitken, Prince Buster, and Desmond Dekker....
, Everett Morton
Everett Morton
Everett Morton is a drummer and percussionist from Birmingham, England, most notable as the drummer for the early 1980s ska band The Beat. Originally from the West Indies, Morton is known for his distinctive drumming style that includes syncopation and polyrhythm in a rock beat...
) and General Public
General Public
General Public were a band formed by The Beat vocalists, Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger, and which included former members of Dexy's Midnight Runners, The Specials and The Clash...
and Dexys Midnight Runners
Dexys Midnight Runners
Dexys Midnight Runners are a British pop group with soul influences, who achieved their major success in the early to mid 1980s. They are best known for their songs "Come On Eileen" and "Geno", both of which went No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart....
(Mickey Billingham
Mickey Billingham
Mickey Billingham is an English keyboardist. He was the former keyboardist of the band Dexys Midnight Runners...
), and poet Louie Campbell.
Their The Hitting Line album was produced by Ranking Roger
Ranking Roger
Ranking Roger is an English musician. He was a vocalist in the 1980s two-tone band, The Beat and General Public...
and Mickey Billingham
Mickey Billingham
Mickey Billingham is an English keyboardist. He was the former keyboardist of the band Dexys Midnight Runners...
.
Beet wrote and co-wrote many songs for The International Beat. They performed live around the world, including tours in the U.S. and Europe, alongside Bad Manners
Bad Manners
Bad Manners are an English 2 Tone ska band. They quickly became the novelty favourites of the UK pop scene through their bald outsized frontman's on-stage antics, earning early exposure through their Top of The Pops exploits and an appearance in the live film documentary, Dance Craze.They were at...
, The Selecter
The Selecter
The Selecter are a 2 Tone ska revival band from Coventry, England, formed in mid 1979.Like many other bands in the ska revival movement, The Selecter featured a racially diverse line-up. Their lyrics featured themes connected to politics and marijuana, set to strong melodies and a danceable beat...
, The Toasters
The Toasters
The Toasters was one of the first American bands in the third wave of ska, and is one of the longest active third wave ska bands.They have released nine studio albums, most of them on Moon Ska Records. The Toasters experienced a small degree of commercial success in the late 1990s due to the...
, and original English Beat members Dave Wakeling
Dave Wakeling
Dave Wakeling is an English rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is most famous for singing and writing songs for the 1980s 2-Tone band The Beat and also General Public.-Career:...
and Ranking Roger
Ranking Roger
Ranking Roger is an English musician. He was a vocalist in the 1980s two-tone band, The Beat and General Public...
, among others.
Beet is a singer, songwriter and accomplished soprano saxophone player, which is what he was playing when he met Saxa
Saxa (musician)
Saxa is a saxophonist famous for having performed with the British ska band The Beat. He has also played with many early reggae stars such as Laurel Aitken, Prince Buster, and Desmond Dekker....
in 1984. He started playing the guitar at the age of fourteen and soon fell in love with the sound and dynamics of an acoustic guitar, on which all of his songs are written.
Tony Beet's roots are in ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
and rocksteady
Rocksteady
Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor to ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was performed by Jamaican vocal harmony groups such as The Gaylads, The Maytals and The Paragons. The term rocksteady comes from a dance style that was mentioned in the Alton...
, which are reflected in his songs - they are a blend of ska/reggae and rocksteady/a cool soul feel sound mixed with urban folk.
He currently plays with The Acoustic Theatre playing ska and rocksteady songs with acoustic instruments.