The Beat Dance Crazed Too UK Tour presale codes

The Beat came out of late-70s Birmingham with a tight mix of ska, pop hooks, and reggae pulse that defined the 2 Tone moment. This run lands after hard changes: the passing of Ranking Roger, drummer Everett Morton, and later Ranking Jnr, so continuity and tribute are part of the night. The current lineup leans into crisp guitar upstrokes, punchy sax, and communal vocals to carry the songs without pretending nothing changed.

Hooks, Grooves, and Who Shows Up

Expect a compact set built around Mirror in the Bathroom, Hands Off...She's Mine, Too Nice to Talk To, and Save It for Later, with a few deeper cuts for long-timers. You will see multi-gen ska lifers next to first-timers in checkerboard caps, casuals in trainers, and a few families who learned these choruses from car stereos.

Quiet Nuggets From the Vault

A neat detail: Save It for Later uses a quirky DADAAD guitar tuning that Dave Wakeling popularized and Pete Townshend later covered. Also, early sax man Saxa cut sides with Prince Buster before joining the band, a thread that explains their warm, vintage horn tone. For clarity: the songs and production ideas noted here are educated hunches drawn from recent sets, not a fixed script.

Living the 2 Tone: The Beat Crowd, Up Close

The scene mixes checkerboard scarves, Fred Perry polos, and worn-in Docs with plenty of plain tees that just want to dance.

Checkerboard and Conversation

Skanking breaks out wherever there is room, and people swap smiles when the hi-hat starts its skip. Expect loud choruses on Hands Off...She's Mine and the sax line to Mirror in the Bathroom whistled between songs.

Rituals That Stick

Merch leans classic: 2 Tone logos, enamel badges, and fresh pressings that older fans will compare to their first copies. You may hear memories about Rock Against Racism gigs and the original Dance Craze era, paired with younger stories about finding the band on a streaming playlist. The mood is welcoming but alert, a collective nod that says the groove matters and everyone keeps time for one another.

The Beat: Rhythm First, Frills Second

The Beat live sits on a crisp off-beat guitar, warm bass that leans forward, and drums that push a notch faster than the records.

Tight Groove, Open Space

Vocals trade between lead and mic-ready harmonies, with the crowd often taking a line while the sax doubles the hook. Arrangements favor clean space: guitar chops on the upbeats, bass outlines the chords, and keys or sax fill holes rather than crowding them. They often tag endings with a short dub section, letting the snare echo and bass wobble before snapping back into the last chorus.

Small Tricks, Big Payoff

A recurring twist is a medley that flips from Too Nice to Talk To into Ranking Full Stop, stretching the outro for handclaps and percussion breaks. For Save It for Later, the guitarist swaps to a spare axe pre-tuned to DADAAD so the chiming drone rings right without fuss on stage. Lights usually track the beat with clean, high-contrast looks that frame the band rather than chase every hit.

If You Move for The Beat, These Acts Hit the Same Nerve

Fans of Madness will feel at home, as both bands balance bright ska bounce with pop choruses built for group singing.

Kindred Skankers

The Selecter makes sense too, sharing 2 Tone roots and a lean, fast approach that keeps dance floors moving. If you like rowdy, tongue-in-cheek stagecraft and fat sax lines, Bad Manners scratches the same itch.

Old School to New Wave

A modern bridge comes from The Interrupters, who carry the ska-punk flag with tight upstrokes and heartfelt themes that echo classic UK ska. These acts overlap in crowd energy and rhythm-first songwriting, but differ just enough in tone to keep a playlist lively for the ride to the show.