The Beat featuring Ranking Jnr

The Beat are playing The Live Rooms on Saturday 12 December, with Ranking Jnr on the bill. It's a night built around the classic ska hits they're still touring.

If the name doesn't ring a bell, the context helps. The Beat were one of the most popular bands of the British ska movement, sitting alongside The Specials, The Selecter and Madness. They worked their way across soul, reggae, pop and punk, and by Christmas 1979 they were high in the UK charts with their first single, a remake of Smokey Robinson's 'Tears of a Clown'. Over the next five years they toured relentlessly and put out three studio albums: I Just Can't Stop It, Wh'appen and Special Beat Service. Along the way they toured the world with David Bowie, The Police, REM, The Clash, Talking Heads, The Pretenders and The Specials. Hits like 'Mirror in the Bathroom', 'Hands Off... She's Mine', 'Stand Down Margaret' and their cover of Andy Williams' 'Can't Get Used To Losing You' are the ones that stayed in the public ear.

These days they tour as The Beat featuring Ranking Jnr, and they're still playing those same classic hits. The night is 14+, and under-16s have to be accompanied by an adult at all times. Doors open at 19:00 at The Live Rooms, Homer House, 1 Station Road, Chester CH1 3DR. Tickets are £25.85 including fees, which breaks down to £23.50 face value plus a £2.35 booking fee.