— A Small Creature (in Shorts)
Ska music first came into my life about thirty years ago. We were visiting my grandparents in the small southern Alberta city of Lethbridge. My mum and grandma were out shopping; my dad and grandpa were happily drinking rum and Pepsi and playing crib. Being in a the middle of a desolate trailer park on the outskirts of town, my sister and I turned on the TV and we quickly settled on MuchMusic, Canada's equivalent of MTV. They were showing a feature on the history of ska, with emphasis near the end on how Jamaican and British acts had influenced Canadian groups. It was riveting and as soon as I discovered it was being rerun, I taped it off the VCR and I would go on to watch it many times over the next few years. (Sorry, I can't seem to find it on YouTube — maybe someday)
With all due respect to Bedouin Soundclash and King Apparatus, I wasn't bothered about the effect ska had on Canadian bands. The Jamaican groups were pretty good and I still love Millie Small's "My Boy Lollipop" though I really ought to investigate that scene further. No, what made me so fascinated — indeed, what got me to watch it several times on a well-worn video tape — was the British acts of the post-punk era. The Specials, The Selecter, Madness, The Beat. What a crew. I was exposed to "Gangsters", "A Message to You, Rudi", "Bed and Breakfast Man" — I even managed to learn to appreciate "On My Radio" once it had ceased getting on my nerves.
"Mirror in the Bathroom" was also featured in the ska documentary and it quickly became a big favourite of mine. I'd never heard it before and really the only thing I knew about The Beat was that two of them had also been members of Fine Young Cannibals (guitarist Andy Cox and bassist David Steele, one of whom can be seen in an archived group interview doing something peculiar; Beat singer Dave Wakeling does the talking and his bandmate sits glumly while occasionally picking up a drink just to smell it. To this day, I sometimes wonder if I'll ever encounter that beverage that you're only supposed to sniff). I knew a bit at the time about Madness because "Our House" had been a number one in Canada but the British ska acts were otherwise unknown to me. I would soon become a big fan of The Specials but The Beat were all about this one song. Turns out, I wouldn't be alone.
It was a little later that I began hearing "Mirror in the Bathroom" on the radio. A lot. It also began appearing in movie soundtracks. DJ's would spin it at the clubs. Eighties retro was at its height and it was becoming one of its key songs. For the love of god, Derassi: The Next Generation even named an episode after it. And, yet, it was never a hit single in North America back in the day and there's little evidence that it impacted people beyond a cult fanbase. So, how did it become a song that everyone suddenly seemed to know?
The above observation from David Hepworth "a small creature (in shorts)" gives us a clue. Of course, it was always a great song and was the biggest of their five top 10 hits in the UK. The Beat had been beset with having to call themselves The English Beat on the other side of the Atlantic and it was an add-on that they could never shake (as opposed to, say, 'The Charlatans UK' and 'The London Suede'); the group's lead singer has resided in the US for years and he eventually decided to stir into the skid by forming his own 'English Beat starring Dave Wakling'. Yet, they had a considerable following. When American ska acts like The Might Mighty Bosstones and No Doubt began to emerge, they talked up Coventry ska; Gwen Stefani loved her some Selecter but the so-called English Beat ended up being who everyone flocked towards — and it wasn't for their cover of the Smokey Robinson classic "Tears of a Clown".
Thus, "Mirror in the Bathroom" began to be played, people heard it, heard it again and came away convinced that they'd always known it. Well done to the small creature (in shorts) for seeing this coming. But why this song? Well, there's a familiar new wave sound to comfort listeners while every addition manages not to be off putting. Veteran Jamaican saxophonist Saxa busts out a muscular solo that is miles away from the sort of thing you might hear on "Baker Street" or "Careless Whisper". Their marriage of post-punk and ska put them in a distinct sphere from both Wire and The Specials. Wakeling's voice is authoritative, much stronger than Sting's or Weller's if not quite as unique as either Terry Hall or Suggs (then again, that may well be a point in his favour, at least on this record). The tune stays with listeners long after it has finished and even the title is something you don't forget.
Music fans, particularly those with a fondness for the eighties, often obsess over One Hit Wonders. Some (Thomas Dolby, Soft Cell) are legit examples, even if they may have had more than one hit single elsewhere. Others may have had a hand full of hits but are now only remembered for the one, as I discussed a while back in a post about Eurythmics. But The Beat pulled off the most stunning feat of all: they never had a hit single in North America yet they're remembered for having had one — and it's all because so many of us went through a ska phase back in the nineties.
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Also Reviewed This Fortnight
Gang of Four: "Outside the Trains Don't Run on Time"
Gang of Four, Martha & The Muffins, The Monochrome Set, The Revillos and Jah Wobble are all reviewed by the small creature (in shorts) this issue. A wealth of new wave/post-punk riches this fortnight, eh readers? Yes but perhaps there's a little too much of a good thing going on. Smash Hits reviewers of this period were beginning to express frustration at the number of groups still clinging to 1977 punk but I have to wonder when they began tiring of all the clipped guitars, shouty yet robotic vocals and insistent rhythms. It can't be long, can it? Gang of Four are more beloved now than they ever were at the time but this goodwill is almost entirely reserved for their debut album Entertainment! Second LP Solid Gold is more of the same only not quite as good. What they did, they did well but it was old hat and they weren't alone. New Pop (aka the so-called 'Second British Invasion') couldn't have come fast enough.
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