THE BEAT JOINED THE SELECTER AND RHODA DAKAR FOR UK TOUR

Legendary 2-Tone group The bEAT, led by vocalist Dave Wakeling, have announced that the special guests for their forthcoming 21-date UK Dance Crazed Too tour will now include The Selecter, fronted by the legendary Pauline Black, alongside a DJ set from Rhoda Dakar.

Dance Crazed Too starts on 1st October 2026 in Coventry, the birthplace of  2-Tone Records, at HMV Empire. The tour includes a show at London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire on 2nd October, a hometown performance at Birmingham’s Town Hall on 17th October, before concluding at O2 Academy in Oxford on 29th October. The Selecter will appear at all dates except Folkestone, Bristol and Bournemouth.

Unfortunately, Doug Trendle, the much-loved frontman of Bad Manners, won’t be match fit in time to join the tour this autumn. However, fans need not despair, as plans are already in place for The bEAT and Bad Manners to hit the road together next summer.

In the meantime; “We are thrilled that Pauline and the Selecter will be joining us for this two tone extravaganza!” says Dave Wakeling.

Formed in 1979, The bEAT made an instant impact with their debut single, an infectious cover of the Smokey Robinson classic ‘Tears of a Clown’, released on 2-Tone Records and entering the UK charts at No. 6. Alongside contemporaries The Specials, Madness and The Selecter, The bEAT became an overnight sensation.

Over the course of the next five years, The bEAT released three studio albums – I Just Can’t Stop It, Wha’appen? and Special Beat Service – and enjoyed a series of classic hit singles between 1979 and 1983, including ‘Mirror in the Bathroom’, ‘Best Friend’, ‘Can’t Get Used to Losing You’, ‘Hands Off…She’s Mine’, ‘Too Nice To Talk To’, ‘Drowning’, ‘Doors of Your Heart’, ‘Save It For Later’, ‘I Confess’, ‘Stand Down Margaret’ and ‘Twist and Crawl’.

The bEAT have toured the world alongside artists such as The Clash, The Police, The Specials, The Pretenders, R.E.M., Talking Heads and David Bowie, and they continue to do so today, selling out their last UK tour in 2023.

Between them, The bEAT, The Selecter and Rhoda Dakar helped define one of British music’s most vibrant and influential eras. The Dance Crazed Too tour promises a joyous celebration of Two Tone and unforgettable live music.

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The bEAT UK 2026 Dance Crazed Too shows in full

October

Thu       1             Coventry  HMV Empire

Fri          2             London    Shepherd’s Bush Empire

Sat         3             Southampton O2 Guildhall

Sun       4             Leicester   O2 Academy  

Tue        6             Sheffield   Octagon Centre

Wed      7             Liverpool  O2 Academy

Fri          9             Manchester  O2 Ritz

Sat         10          Newcastle NX

Sun       11          Glasgow Barrowland Ballroom

Tue        13          Middlesbrough Town Hall

Wed      14          Leeds  O2 Academy

Sat         17          Birmingham  Town Hall

Sun       18          Cambridge  Corn Exchange

Mon      19          Guildford  G live

Wed      21          Bath  The Forum

Fri          23          Folkestone Leas Cliff Hall *

Sat        24          Bristol  Electric Bristol *

Sun       25          Bournemouth O2 Academy *

Tue        27          Cardiff Tramshed        

Wed      28          Fareham Live

Thu       29          Oxford O2 Academy  

* special guests tbc

Get tickets for the 2026 UK tour – for one of the most popular and influential bands of the 2-Tone Ska movement. Tickets available from BookingsDirect.com and venue box offices.

Main photo: Tony Smith Images