Caught a bit of
VH1's Bands Reunited: The English Beat tonight. Sadly, it didn't include a reunion concert as they couldn't get original bassist David Steele or guitarist Andy Cox (the two that went on to FYC)to come 'round. It's got a few minutes of chatting with the guys that were willing to get together for one last gig: Ranking Roger, Everett Morton (the original drummer) who still plays with Roger, the legendary Saxa, and Dave Wakeling. You can tell none of the other fellas have ever forgiven Wakeling for busting up the group the way he did and it leads to a few awkward moments. The word "greed" gets tossed around quite a bit. They all seem like good guys though, Wakeling the least of them, but at least repentant and not in denial about wha'ppened
I was amazed to learn that Ranking Roger, in addition to still touring, is also a part-time inline skating instructor. I know those guys never made U2 money but ...
In any event, it's cool to see Dave, Roger, Everett, and Saxa react to invitation and to hear them talk about the old days when they were one of the
world's best bands. Wakeling and Saxa join the latter day pub band Beat to perform "Mirror in the Bathroom" at the end of the show and I'd have loved to have been in that room. It shows on VH1 again Sunday afternoon at 2pm ET.
