The English Beat & The Paul Collins Beat To Tour Together in October

The English Beat and The Paul Collins Beat will play a series of shows together this fall. The shows will mark the first time that the two bands with the same name will share the stage.

The back story about the bands with the same name coming together is fascinating. The English Beat were the first to establish themselves as The Beat in the UK and Europe in the late 1970's, prompting a voluntary decision by the U.S. power pop version of the group that included Paul Collins and Peter Case (the future front man of The Plimsouls) to be billed as Paul Collins' Beat in the UK and Europe. Check out The Beat on American Bandstand from 1980:



In the U.S., Collins' version of the band was first to release an album in turn forcing the British group to use the name The English Beat in the U.S., only after the British group was threatened with a lawsuit by Collins' label Columbia Records. So what brought the former legal adversaries together after all this time? In a 2010 interview Collins joked about confusion on a date in Pittsburgh when the two Beats performed at venues practically across the street from each other.

Now, in a move that makes perfect sense, the two bands will, after 30 years, finally team up to play in major cities in the Eastern and Midwestern U.S -- both Wakeling (ska) and Collins (power pop) are virtually synonymous with their selected genres of music. They have each recorded major hits and have influenced musicians of their respective styles for many decades. Further, both are road warriors, continuing to tour nearly year round.

Check out the tour schedule below to see if the bands will be playing near you.

Oct 11 – The Orange Peel, Asheville, NC
Oct 12 – State Theatre, Falls Church, VA
Oct 13 – The Center for Arts, Natick, MA
Oct 14 – World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA
Oct 16 – B.B Kings, New York, NY
Oct 18 – Rapids Theatre, Niagara Falls, NY
Oct 19 – The Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto, Canada
Oct 20 – Hard Rock Café, Detroit Detroit, MI
Oct 23 – Space, Evanston, IL
Oct 24 – Hard Rock Café, Pittsburgh, PA
Oct 26 – Turner Hall Ballroom, Milwaukee, WI
Oct 27 – Mill City Nights, Minneapolis, MN