I caught The English Beat last week in New York on a leg of their 30th Anniversary tour. It seems that many of the most notable shows of 2008 were bands from the 80s or 90s that I only knew tangentially in their heyday, but out of a vague curiosity decided to catch when coming through town in whatever their current incarnation. Almost without fail, they have been really great shows. This English Beat show ranks along with Wire and Suicide as recent shows where I came out thinking, “Why didn’t I pay closer attention to this band sooner?” The English Beat and their Two-Tone sound made for a fun vibe and a fun crowd. The English Beat played nearly two hours and included a few songs from David Wakeling’s post English Beat project, General Public, as well. My brother and wife have both independently lamented about being unable to find General Public songs on iTunes and elsewhere so I will include “Tenderness”, as recently performed live by The English Beat.

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Download: The English Beat – Tenderness (Live)