General Public
General Public were an English band formed by vocalists Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger of The Beat, and which also included former members of Dexys Midnight Runners, the Specials, and the Clash. They are best remembered for their hits "Tenderness" (1984) and "I'll Take You There" (1994). Career. After the break-up of The Beat in 1983 (known as the English Beat in North America), vocalists Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger decided to continue working together in a new venture. They joined up with keyboardist Mickey Billingham (Dexys Midnight Runners), guitarist Mick Jones (the Clash), bassist Horace  Panter (the Specials) and drummer Stoker (Dexys Midnight Runners/the Bureau) to form a supergroup of the UK punk and ska scene. They named the band General Public and were rapidly signed to Virgin Records in the UK and I.R.S. Records in North America. The band recorded and released the album "All the Rage" in 1984. Jones left General Public part way through the recording process, but he is listed in the album's inner sleeve credits as a group member (although he did not appear in any of the band photographs for the album cover). Jones' replacement, guitarist Kevin  White, also played on the album and was also listed an official group member. White's picture also appeared on the album's back cover. In the UK, General Public had a minor hit with the eponymous track "General Public", which reached No. 60 in the UK Singles Chart in 1984. The single's B-side "Dishwasher" (an instrumental mix of "Burning Bright" from "All The Rage") became a surprise Top 40 hit in the Netherlands, after its use as a closing theme tune to the pop radio show "Avondspits". Later in the year, the band fared even better in  North America, where their second single "Tenderness" was a Top 30 hit in Canada (No. 11) and the US (No. 27). The song's success benefited from appearing in the John Hughes films "Sixteen Candles" (1984) and "Weird Science" (1985) from the time period, and it would later appear in Amy Heckerling's "Clueless" (1995) and in the horror film "Devil's Due" (2014). Meanwhile, another General Public song, "Taking the Day Off" was featured in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" (1986). For the follow-up album, White and Stoker were replaced by brothers Gianni and Mario Minardi on guitar  and drums, respectively. "Hand to Mouth" was significantly less successful than their debut album, and the band dissolved soon after its release. The 1993 reissue of the album includes "Taking The Day Off" and other non-album songs and remixes. Roger and Wakeling worked on various solo projects for the next few years, before reconstituting General Public in 1994 to perform a cover version of the Staple Singers' hit "I'll Take You There" for the "Threesome" film soundtrack. The new General Public line-up retained only vocalists Wakeling and Roger from previous incarnations; the vocal duo was now backed  by Michael Railton (keyboards), Randy Jacobs (guitars), Wayne Lothian (bass), Thomas White (drums), and Norman Jones (percussion). "I'll Take You There" was a Top 40 hit in the US and Canada and a minor hit in the UK (No. 73). Jacobs and White then left the group, and new drummer Dan Chase was brought in. The sextet released the album "Rub It Better" for Epic Records in 1995, recorded in the US with the aid of record producer Jerry Harrison. Guests on the album included former bandmate Mick Jones, Saxa, Pato Banton, and Chris Spedding; ex-band members Horace  Panter and Stoker also participated in the album's creation, co-writing one song apiece. (Stoker also received an "additional recording" credit.) The single "Rainy Days" met with limited success in the US, but fared better in some international markets, notably Brazil. Sales were less than earlier albums, however, and Roger became tired of traveling to America, and they soon broke up again. Since 2004, Dave Wakeling has toured the US with a full backing band as the English Beat. They often perform General Public tracks. "Ranking" Roger Charlery died at his home in Birmingham on 26 March 2019 at  the age of 56.