General Public

General Public was a rock band, formed by The Beat vocalists Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger. After the 1983 break-up of The Beat (known as The English Beat in North America), Wakeling and Roger decided to continue working together in a new venture. They joined up with keyboardist Mickey Billingham (ex-Dexys Midnight Runners), guitarist Mick Jones of The Clash, bassist Horace Panter (The Specials) and drummer Stoker (ex-Dexys Midnight Runners/The... more

General Public was a rock band, formed by The Beat vocalists Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger. After the 1983 break-up of The Beat (known as The English Beat in North America), Wakeling and Roger decided to continue working together in a new venture. They joined up with keyboardist Mickey Billingham (ex-Dexys Midnight Runners), guitarist Mick Jones of The Clash, bassist Horace Panter (The Specials) and drummer Stoker (ex-Dexys Midnight Runners/The Bureau) to form a quasi-"supergroup" of the UK punk/ska/mod scene. The band was dubbed General Public, and was 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 is listed in the album's inner sleeve credits as a group member (although he did not appear in any of the band photographs). Jones' replacement, guitarist Kevin White also played on the album, and was also listed an official group... less