Matt Westcott talks to Ranking Roger of The Beat, who believes his band’s songs are just as relevant today as they were three decades ago.

THIRTY years ago, unemployment was on the increase and there was turmoil on the streets. In the charts and playing to audiences up and down the country, The Beat were providing the soundtrack for a generation.

Fast forward three decades and history appears to be repeating itself to a degree. People are without work once again and the threat of civil disobedience is never far away.

What’s more, The Beat are still bringing their brand of Ska, reggae and punk fusion to the masses.

“Our songs are even more relevant now,” says frontman ‘Ranking’ Roger as he and the rest of the band prepare to play at Middlesbrough Town Hall. “It could get worse than it ever was. You can see the way the financial situation is, people are losing jobs left, right and centre every day. It’s exactly the same kind of scenario as when Thatcher was in power.

“We seem to get a recession every ten or 20 years; it’s something we have to live with, it’s almost like it’s a way of life. I’m not advocating anarchy, but unless things change and become fairer, we could see the same things happening again.”

Formed in Birmingham in 1978, The Beat told it like it was, while at the same time offering hope for the future. Songs like Mirror In The Bathroom, Hands Off She’s Mine, Can’t Get Used To Losing You and All Out To Get You saw them established as household names.

The band split up in the 1980s, but reformed for a reunion gig at the Royal Festival Hall in London. Such was the response that they began touring again and the rest, as they say, is history.

Roger and fellow original member Everett Morton have been joined by, among others, ‘Ranking’ Junior – Roger’s son – and through a mix of old and new material have been packing venues wherever they go.

“There are new aspects to our music, in part because of Ranking Junior,” says Roger. “He is well incorporated into the band now. It’s almost like if he wasn’t there, it wouldn’t be The Beat anymore. He is the new blood in the band and the next generation.

“I have written new songs about Blair and Bush and the United Nations and there’s are a few love songs and a few jolly ones. It’s a mix and match with the same themes of love and unity – telling people that no matter what colour you are, you have to get on. Judge a man by his heart and not the way he looks.”

Despite the intervening years, Roger says he’s still as energised by his music as he was in the band’s heyday – something that becomes apparent when they take to the stage.

“When you listen to that kind of music, you can’t just sit there,” he says. “If you don’t dance, you at least have to tap your foot. It’s kind of infectious. I really do believe that it’s the vibe the band puts across that makes the show. That’s what the audience feeds off and we, in turn, feed off them. It’s almost like a party.”

• The party begins on Friday, June 10 at 8pm. Tickets are priced at £15.