Interview: The Beat's Dave Wakeling talks ahead of Robin 2 show

The group, originally from Birmingham, are back out on tour as The English Beat and arrive at Bilston's Robin 2 on Friday, September 23 supported by Walsall band The Assist.

They have a new album out this month and another due next year and things are looking pretty good. We had a chat with frontman Dave Wakeling to discuss the renaissance.

Becci Stanley (Interviewer): You're returning to your local area, how do your shows compare here to in other places?

Dave Wakeling (Volcalist): It feels like it's a homecoming. You always want to do your best shows there.

It's really about creating an atmosphere, people have known us for years, they sing along to the words and the aim is to connect with them and it makes it easier when a show has that comfortable, hometown feel to it.

When you started in 1979 your songs touched on themes of social, political and musical upheaval, is that still what drives your band?

Pretty much yeah. I have a song on the new record that has a political element within it just like songs have before. We don't behave very well as a species do we? We've spent more time trying to kill other people and their children than we have trying to raise our own.

It's a shame, when you're a young person and you're writing songs about political changes you're hoping that everything will get better really quickly, but then as you get older like most people you start to realise that this change takes a little bit longer and some of the stuff we were singing about when we started just continue happening in front of people. The issues we covered when we started still affect millions of people today, and music can be seen as a call to arms when addressing these.

Over almost 40 years of your career your line-up has changed a lot, you've all done your separate musical projects and now you are the last remaining original member of The Beat, how has that affected the band and it's style?

The Beat has always been changing, to me it doesn't matter how big your songs get or how well known you become you've always got to make changes. Sometimes for the band it's so much work alongside these changes but the last few months it's been an absolute pleasure.

Do you still keep in contact with any of the original members?

Yeah we've spoken and met up lots of times since we've gone our separate ways. We sort of have to with interviews and uses of our music and albums so that sort of brings us back together talking. Our relationships with each other are all fairly smooth.

Do you think you'll ever join each other on stage again?

I don't know about everyone, some don't set foot on stage anymore, but some – definitely yes. To us now in the band it's just second nature to get on stage.

What can we expect from your new live shows? Will there be new music?

Yeah, there'll probably be two or three new songs. You've got to be careful how many you do because it's the first time some people have ever heard it and you can lose some people's attention if it's not a fan favourite. In England the first album seems to be the most popular so there will be songs from there for sure mixed in with the new songs. We've been getting great reactions from our latest shows, some people have been coming up to us and saying that our setlists have been the best from any of our tours.

Finally, what's next for the beat?

Our brand new album Bounce comes out on September 30, then we'll be bringing out a new album in February and then we'll be coming to England in June to promote the album. Then we'll be touring America in the summer and continue to write new songs.

By Rebecca Stanley