When I think about Dave Wakeling. I honestly get a little giddy. I mean, this guy has been a professional musician since I was in grade school! I remember hearing "Mirror In The Bathroom" years ago and loving that sound because I had honestly never heard anything like it before. Fast forward to just a few days ago... English Beat were in town and they stopped by for an in-studio interview/performance with Mark Wheat. Imagine how giddy I was when Dave Wakeling agreed to do a Theft Of The Dial session with/for me!

Dave wanted to trace the roots of ska a bit and told us some great stories about not only English Beat's history, like how another one of my heroes, John Peel, gave them their big break! Dave also taught me a thing or two about the history of ska. Dave and I thought it would be fun to call this session The Ska Stimulus Package.

We kicked off the fun with the classic English Beat track "Ranking Full Stop." And then Dave played...
The Wailers - "Simmer Down"
Desmond Dekker - "It Mek"
Lord Tanamo and The Skatelites - "I'm In The Mood for Ska"
Toots & The Maytals (often called 'The Vikings' in the UK) - "6th and 7th Books"
Justin Hinds and the Dominoes - "Carry Go Bring Come"
Derek Morgan - "Forward March"

Once Dave returned the mic to me, we talked about the next step for English Beat. The band intends to release a 7-song single/EP later this year. We played one of the new tunes you'll find on the album that the band had recorded earlier during their an in-studio interview/performance... "The Love You Give Lasts Forever."

Thanks again to Dave for being such an incredible dude and for making great radio! If you missed it, or simply want to experience it again...

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