davewakeling

Dave Wakeling and Paul Collins band together for "Two Beats Hearting as One" tour

by Bill Pearis

Dave Wakeling / Paul Collins
English Beat
Paul Collins Beat

Holy 1980! As gimmicks go this is a pretty good one: Power pop pioneer’s The Paul Collins Beat and The English Beat are hitting the road together for a string of dates dubbed “Two Beats Heart As One” tour which includes a stop in NYC on October 16 at B.B. King’s Blues Club. Tickets are on sale now.

Paul Collins’ Beat, perhaps best known for “There She Goes” which featured on the Caddyshack soundtrack, had first dibs on the “Beat” name, forcing Birmingham, UK neo-ska band to change their name to The English Beat. While it was surely a point of contention back then, time (and the internet) have smoothed things out for Wakeling and Collins. Says Wakeling: “Paul and I originally met back in ’83 and have been in touch occasionally over the years, but recently we’ve been in closer Facebook contact, which led to this idea becoming a reality….Two beats, hearting as one!”

After the East Coast tour, The English Beat (Wakeling being the only original member) will continue to tour through the Midwest and West. For fans of the shortlived group, you should really check out this recent interview the AV Club did with Wakeling, it’s a good read.

All English Beat tour dates are below.

The Paul Collins Beat – “Rock N Roll Girl”

The English Beat – “Best Friend” on Rockpalast 1980

The English Beat – 2012 Tour Dates
Sep 28 Coach House San Juan Capistrano, CA
Sep 29 Saint Rocke Hermosa Beach, CA
Oct 05 Romano’s Concert Lounge Riverside, CA
Oct 06 The Canyon Club Agoura Hills, CA
Oct 11 The Orange Peel Asheville, NC *
Oct 12 The State Theatre Falls Church, VA *
Oct 13 The Center for Arts Natick, MA *
Oct 14 World Café Live Philadelphia, PA *
Oct 16 BB King’s New York, NY *
Oct 18 Rapids Theatre Niagara Falls, NY *
Oct 19 Phoenix Concert Theatre Toronto, ON *
Oct 20 Hard Rock Café Detroit, MI *
Oct 23 SPACE Evanston, IL *
Oct 24 Hard Rock Café Pittsburgh, PA *
Oct 25 Hard Rock Café Pittsburgh, PA
Oct 26 Turner Hall Milwaukee, WI *
Oct 27 Mill City Nights Minneapolis, MN *
Oct 30 Knucklehead Tavern Kansas City, MO
Oct 31 The Blue Note Columbia, MO
Nov 02 Variety Playhouse Atlanta, GA
Nov 03 Vinyl Music Hall Pensacola, FL
Nov 09 Hard Rock Café Las Vegas, NV
Nov 16 The Depot Salt Lake City, UT
Nov 23 Bimbo’s 365 Club San Francisco, CA
Nov 24 B Ryder’s Bakersfield, CA
Nov 30 SoHo Santa Barbara, CA
Dec 01 SLO Brewing Company San Luis Obispo, CA
Dec 07 T. Boyle Tavern Pasadena, CA
Dec 08 T. Boyle Tavern Pasadena, CA
Dec 14 Ace of Spades Sacramento, CA
Dec 15 Mystic Theatre Petaluma, CA
Dec 22 House of Blues Anaheim, CA
Dec 29 Saint Rocke Hermosa Beach, CA
Dec 31 The Canyon Club Agoura Hills, CA
* w/ Paul Collins Beat