Record Rack: A round-up of the week’s new albums, expanded reissues and/or box sets, appearing each Monday on Slicing Up Eyeballs. All releases due out this Friday unless noted. This week’s releases include titles from Johnny Marr, Peter Buck, The English Beat, The Sisters of Mercy and King Blank.
Nearly four years after launching a campaign to fund the project, Dave Wakeling’s oft-touring incarnation of The English Beat is preparing to release a brand-new studio album — the first from Wakeling under the Beat imprint since 1982’s Special Beat Service. The album is now available for pre-order.
Lionel Augustus Martin, the Jamaican-born saxophone player better known as Saxa, who played with ska legends Prince Buster and Desmond Dekker before helping lead the second wave with The Beat, died on Wednesday at the age of 87, his former band announced.
The Retro Futura package tour returns this summer for a 24-date U.S. run in July and August with a bill headlined by synthpop legend Howard Jones that also features The English Beat, Men Without Hats, Modern English and Katrina of Katrina and the Waves — plus appearances by Paul Young and Bow Wow Wow’s Annabella Lwin.
Take a trip back to the 1983 installment of the US Festival — a four-day event over Memorial Day Weekend that year that drew an alleged 670,000 music fans into the middle of nowhere in California — with this 90-minute collection of footage from the fest’s “New Wave Day,” featuring performances by The Clash, INXS, Oingo Boingo, The English Beat and more.
After years of touring under the English Beat banner, frontman Dave Wakeling now is turning his attention to recording brand-new music, launching a PledgeMusic campaign to help crowdfund a new record that would be the Beat’s first since 1982’s Special Beat Service.
Parents of young children or fans of cartoons in general may want to tune in to this afternoon’s installment of “Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated” on the Cartoon Network: Today’s episode, “Dance of the Undead,” celebrates 2 Tone-era ska music and features two songs recorded just for the show by Dave Wakeling.
Q&A: Daniel Ash on Love and Rockets’ reunion, his new band — and figuring out how to play “So Alive” 
Q&A: Chris Frantz talks Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club and new book ‘Remain in Love’ 
Q&A: Steve Wynn on The Dream Syndicate’s first new album in nearly 30 years 
Q&A: Bauhaus’ David J on his ‘accidental’ concept album ‘Not Long For This World’ 
Q&A: Peter Murphy on ‘Ninth,’ Bauhaus’ break-up, reuniting Dalis Car 
Q&A: Joey Santiago on Pixies’ ‘Doolittle’ tour, possible ‘Surfer Rosa’ shows, new album talk 
Q&A: Prefab Sprout’s Paddy McAloon on new album, changing the world with music 
Q&A: Peter Hook talks ‘Unknown Pleasures’ tour, re-recording Joy Division 