Explore every episode of the podcast Ska Boom - An American Ska & Reggae Podcast

Welcome to the Ska Boom podcast. 

This episode marks the conclusion of the Soul Salvation series, which has served as the audio companion to my book Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat. 

Across 18 episodes, I’ve explored the legacy of the English Beat and their final album, Special Beat Service, highlighting its significance to a generation of music lovers. This final episode encapsulates the journey of celebrating a band that has profoundly influenced so many – musicians like Pete Townshend, Elvis Costello and Eddie Vedder are fans -- and, it can be argued the album was the template for what would become Brit pop, 10 years later.

While my podcast about the band is coming to an end, if you are a fan of the band and the Special Beat Service album I have some very exciting news for you. Record Store Day Black Friday 2024 has announced that among the 159 titles that will be released on Friday November 29, 2024 is an RSD exclusive double LP version of Special Beat Service album. 

With the reissue on the horizon, I’m going to use this last episode to reflect on the album in terms of the band’s musical evolution, its unique sound and it's commercial appeal, particularly to Americans.

My book Soul Salvation: A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat is now available from DiWulf.com and from Amazon globally.

The music clips included in this podcast fall under the “Fair Use Doctrine” as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976. The law allows for use of music clips for purposes of criticism, com

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast!  This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat."

Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me.  

The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant act – which initially was largely overlooked – and how their music and the love of a young woman changed me forever.

This week I’m taking a look at the influence American Bandstand had on 80s new wave music and the two appearances that the English Beat made on the show in 1982 and 1983 that were part I.R.S. Records goal of breaking the band in America.
 
My new book Soul Salvation: A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat is now available from DiWulf.com and from Amazon globally.

The music clips included in this podcast fall under the “Fair Use Doctrine” as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976. The law allows for use of music clips for purposes of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. 

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast!  This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat."

Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me.  

The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant act – which initially was largely overlooked – and how their music and the love of a young woman changed me forever.

This week I’m delving into the fascinating but futile attempt by VH-1 to reunite the band for their 2004 show “Bands Reunited” and the behind-the-scenes story of why it was doomed from the start.

My new book Soul Salvation: A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat is now available from DiWulf.com and from Amazon globally.

Here's a link to the full Ban's Reunited episode featuring the English Beat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUKLV9akM5c

The music clips included in this podcast fall under the “Fair Use Doctrine” as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976. The law allows for use of music clips for purposes of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. 

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast!  This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat."

Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me.  

The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant act – which initially was largely overlooked – and how their music and the love of a young woman changed me forever.

This week I’m telling the story of the International Beat, the band formed by English Beat saxophonist Saxa and drummer Everett Morton after the demise of the original band in 1983. While members of the Fine Young Cannibals and General Public reinvented themselves and found pop success, the two most overlooked members of the band may have been partially responsible for kicking off the American ska boom of the 90s.

My new book Soul Salvation: A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat is now available from DiWulf.com and from Amazon globally. 

The music clips included in this podcast fall under the “Fair Use Doctrine” as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976. The law allows for use of music clips for purposes of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. 

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast!  This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat."

Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me.  

The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant act – which initially was largely overlooked – and how their music and the love of a young woman changed me forever.

This week’s episode is about the English Beat's guitarist Andy Cox’s post-Fine Young Cannibals band Cribabi and their 2002 album "Volume." The story of how Cox -- best known for his memorable power chords on the worldwide hit "She Drives Me Crazy," and the band's Japanese singer Yukari Fukiu met could be the inspiration for a 90’s-styled Hollywood rom-com.  And I mean that in the best way possible.

I also touch on Cox's interest in the world of experimental music made by bicycles!  As noted, click here to listen to the full interview he did in 2007 with the Bike Show: https://thebikeshow.net/more-experimental-bicycle-music/

My new book Soul Salvation : A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat is now available from DiWulf.com and from Amazon globally. 

The music clips included in this podcast fall under the “Fair Use Doctrine” as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976. The law allows for use of music clips for purposes of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. 

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast!  This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat."

Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me.  

The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant act – which initially was largely overlooked – and how their music and the love of a young woman changed me forever.

This week’s episode is about the English Beat's bassist David Steele’s post-Fine Young Cannibals band Fried. Chances are you’ve never heard of Fried, but I’m hopeful that if you are a fan of my podcast and music made by all the former members of the English Beat, you’ll take my advice and check them out.  Take my word for it. You won’t regret it. On it you will hear all of Steele’s musical DNA stretching as far back as the English Beat’s first album and certainly the sounds on Special Beat Service.
 
My new book Soul Salvation : A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat is now available from DiWulf.com and from Amazon globally. 

The music clips included in this podcast fall under the “Fair Use Doctrine” as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976. The law allows for use of music clips for purposes of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. 

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast!  This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat."

Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me.  

The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant act – which initially was largely overlooked – and how their music and the love of a young woman changed me forever.

I recently attended the three-day, Supernova International Ska Festival in Hampton, Virginia which featured 30 plus ska bands from all over world that was headlined by The Selecter. I was invited to be part of the festival’s very first literary tent which featured authors like Pauline Black and Daniel Rachel who have focused on writing about ska and 2 Tone
 
This week’s episode features musician and author Charles Benoit interviewing me about the genesis of writing "Soul Salvation" and some interesting stories and anecdotes about the band and some of my personal story that is woven throughout the book.

My new book Soul Salvation : A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat is now available from DiWulf.com and from Amazon globally. 

The music clips included in this podcast fall under the “Fair Use Doctrine” as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976. The law allows for use of music clips for purposes of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. 

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast!  This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat."

Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me.  

The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant act – which initially was largely overlooked – and how their music and the love of a young woman changed me forever.

This week’s episode is about the dueling solo albums that both Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger released during the time between their two stints in General Public in the 80s and then again in the 90s.

After the second General Public album "Hand To Mouth" failed to meet record company expectations, both Roger and Dave Wakeling dissolved their musical partnership in 1987.  Wakeling recorded and released his solo record "No Warning" and Roger decided to do the same with his record “Radical Depature”.
 
My new book Soul Salvation : A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat is now available from DiWulf.com and from Amazon globally. 

The music clips included in this podcast fall under the “Fair Use Doctrine” as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976. The law allows for use of music clips for purposes of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. 

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast!  This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat."

Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me.  

The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant act – which initially was largely overlooked – and how their music and the love of a young woman changed me forever.

This week’s episode is about the vibrant musical partnership that grew between Ranking Roger and The Clash and later more specifically with Mick Jones who was a member of General Public briefly and Ranking Roger who was a member of Big Audio Dynamite.

My new book Soul Salvation : A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat is now available from DiWulf.com and from Amazon globally. 

The music clips included in this podcast fall under the “Fair Use Doctrine” as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976. The law allows for use of music clips for purposes of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. 

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast!  This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat."

Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me.  

The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant act – which initially was largely overlooked – and how their music and the love of a young woman changed me forever.

This week’s episode is all about Special Beat, the 2 Tone ska super group formed in the early 90s to tap into the growing popularity of ska in America.  The genesis of Special Beat was a one-off show by a band called The International Beat featuring Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger that electrified an audience of 10,000 ska crazy kids at an Earth Day celebration in Berkeley, CA in the Spring of 1990.  It's my opinion that the band was responsible for kicking off the explosion of 3rd wave American ska of the 90s.

My new book Soul Salvation : A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat is now available from DiWulf.com and from Amazon globally. 

The music clips included in this podcast fall under the “Fair Use Doctrine” as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976. The law allows for use of music clips for purposes of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. 

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast!  This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat."

Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me.  

The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant act – which initially was largely overlooked – and how their music and the love of a young woman changed me forever.

This week I’m changing gears to focus on how the band signed with Arista Records and how they were able to create their own boutique label Go Feet Records which released their albums and singles as well as those of several artists they signed directly to the label.

 Much of the detail from the behind-the-scenes machinations of how the band ended up signing and creating Go Feet comes from Malu Halasa’s band bio book “The Beat: Twist & Crawl” that was published in 1981.  

My new book Soul Salvation : A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat is now available from DiWulf.com and from Amazon globally. 

The music clips included in this podcast fall under the “Fair Use Doctrine” as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976. The law allows for use of music clips for purposes of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. 

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast!  This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat."

Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me.  

The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant act – which initially was largely overlooked – and how their music and the love of a young woman changed me forever.

This week I’m focusing on the band’s keyboardist David “Blockhead” Wright whose melodic contributions added so much to the songs on Special Beat Service and have been overlooked and under appreciated.    

I interviewed Wright for my book and his perspective was invaluable in giving me an insider’s view on the band and the songs on the album.  The audio from that interview is part of this episode.  

My new book Soul Salvation : A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat is now available from DiWulf.com and from Amazon globally. 

The music clips included in this podcast fall under the “Fair Use Doctrine” as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976. The law allows for use of music clips for purposes of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. 

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast!  This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat."

Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me.  

The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant act – which initially was largely overlooked – and how their music and the love of a young woman changed me forever.

I love the sound of horns but I really love the sound of the saxophone.  Indeed, if I had had more musical talent and technical skill my nickname might have been 'Marco On The Sax!'  I did take a few sax lessons in elementary school and dabbled again as a teen but sadly it was not meant to be.  However, I owe my love of all things saxophone to one man in particular -- Lionel Augustus Martin -- better known as Saxa!

My new book Soul Salvation : A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat is now available for pre-sale from DiWulf.com and will be published on August 12th.

The music clips included in this podcast fall under the “Fair Use Doctrine” as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976. The law allows for use of music clips for purposes of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. 

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast!  This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat."

Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me.  

The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant act – which initially was largely overlooked – and how their music and the love of a young woman changed me forever.

It's my humble opinion that the band's drummer Everett Morton may be one of the best drummers you’ve either never heard of or just don’t know a lot about. And it's always been my mission to change that.  Sadly he passed in late 2021 and has never received the credit he deserves. I think it's fair to say that the English Beat’s identifiable sound has much to do with his drumming style.  

 So what was Morton’s style? It was clearly reggae but initially it was reggae drums that mixed with David Steele’s punky bass lines. So in effect they along with John Bardburry and Horace Panter of The Specials created something completely new and fresh.  It was neither reggae nor punk but a brand-new sound: punky reggae

My new book Soul Salvation : A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat is now available for pre-sale from DiWulf.com and will be published on August 12th.

The music clips included in this podcast fall under the “Fair Use Doctrine” as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976. The law allows for use of music clips for purposes of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. 

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast!  This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat."

Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me.  

The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant act – which initially was largely overlooked – and how their music and the love of a young woman changed me forever.

The focus of this episode is on the origins of General Public, the post-English Beat band formed by original guitarist/vocalist Dave Wakeling and vocalist Ranking Roger.

General Public picked up almost seamlessly from where the English Beat had ended. Taking the approach that they'd started on Special Beat Service Wakeling, Ranking Roger and company wrote glossy new wave pop songs with hints of reggae who took to Wakeling and Ranking Roger like a new wave Hall & Oates. And their American label IRS Records hoped to capitalize on the pent up affection so many Americans had for the English Beat.  

My new book Soul Salvation : A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat is now available for pre-sale from DiWulf.com and will be published on August 12th.

The music clips included in this podcast fall under the “Fair Use Doctrine” as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act. The law allows for use of music clips for purposes of criticism, comment, and news reporting.

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast!  This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat."

Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me.  

The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant act – which initially was largely overlooked – and how their music and the love of a young woman changed me forever.

The focus of this episode is on the origins of the Fine Young Cannibals, the post-English Beat band formed by original guitarist Andy Cox and bassist David Steele with singer Roland Gift.

What many casual fans of the English Beat may not know is that Cox and Steele were the original creative engine of the band, at least across the first two albums. Wakeling referred to Steele as the “Mozart of the bass” and his unique and unorthodox approach to playing his instrument was responsible of many of the band’s most remarkable songs. So its no surprise that the Cox and Steele's combined efforts led to great success with their new project.

My new book Soul Salvation : A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat is now available for pre-sale from DiWulf.com and will be published on August 12th.

The music clips included in this podcast fall under the “Fair Use Doctrine” as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act. The law allows for use of music clips for purposes of criticism, comment, and news reporting.

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast!  This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat."

Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me.  

The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant act – which initially was largely overlooked – and how their music and the love of a young woman changed me forever.

The focus of this episode is on the role that cover songs by the English Beat played early in their career and later the many covers of their songs by other musicians and bands have played in extending their influence on popular music and their enduring legacy.   

My new book "Soul Salvation : A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat" is now available for pre-sale from DiWulf.com and will be published on August 12th.

The music clips included in this podcast fall under the “Fair Use Doctrine” as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act. The law allows for use of music clips for purposes of criticism, comment, and news reporting.

Hi! It’s Marc Wasserman! It’s been a minute. But I’m glad to be back.

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast and welcome to Soul Salvation, a limited edition series about the English Beat and their third and final album Special Beat Service that was released in 1982.

I have a question for you? Can music save your life?  I believe it can. Not surprisingly, many great thinkers across the ages have considered this question. The 18th century German romantic writer Jean Paul Friedrich Richter said “Music is the moonlight in the gloomy night of life” More recently, Bob Marley sang, “One good thing about music, when it hits you feel no pain.”

I think the combination of the ideas shared by these two philosophers form the core of my thinking on how music can save us. In my case, it was the music of the English Beat and the love of a girl at the dawn of the 1980s that saved me from the gloomy night of life that had enveloped me.  And it was the songs from Special Beat Service that were my missing moonlight. 

And so, this new limited edition podcast series about the English Beat and Special Beat Service are based on my new book Soul Salvation which is my Gen X love letter to the band that helped to save my life.

In this first episode we start at the end of the band, for as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said, “Great is the art of beginning, but greater is the art of ending.” I’ve long felt that it was my destiny to write a book about the English Beat, but with a specific focus on their end which coincided with my new beginning.

Soul Salvation will be published by Diwulf Publishing in August 2024 and available from the Diwulf.com website and from Amazon.  

The music clips included in this podcast fall under the “Fair Use Doctrine” as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act. The law allows for use of music clips for purposes of criticism, comment, and news reporting.

Welcome to 2 Tone Legacy a special 10-part audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the stories behind the songs that contribute to the enduring legacy of 2 Tone music and its ongoing impact on popular culture. 

When it came time for The English Beat to create a logo for their first album and for marketing posters and advertisements they called upon Hunt Emerson who is a noted British cartoonist and comic book artist.  Emerson drew the Beat Girl from an original photo of a woman dancing with Prince Buster in the early 1960s that he saw in the Melody Maker in May 1979. 

Until now, the identity of the Beat Girl has been a mystery. But my guest Joanna Wallace has done some amazing research and online detective work to identify who the Beat girl is and to tell her fantastic and cinematic story.  Watch the documentary here.

Ska Boom is hosted/produced by Marc Wasserman and co-produced/engineered by Rob George. Ska Boom is the audio companion to my book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History available from DiWulf Publishing and Amazon.  

The music clips included in this podcast fall under the “Fair Use Doctrine” as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act. The law allows for use of music clips for purposes of criticism, comment, and news reporting