Farewell, Ranking Roger
• Roger Charlery, best known and love as Ranking Roger, the vocalist and toastmaster for British Ska revival bands The Beat and General Public, died Tuesday, March 26 after a months-long battle with brain and lung cancer. He was only 56.
The sad news of Roger’s death was initially posted Tuesday afternoon on The Beat’s Facebook page in a brief notice that read, “‘He fought & fought & fought, Roger was a fighter.’ Sadly Roger past away a few hours ago peacefully at his home surrounded by family. Roger’s family would like to thank everyone for their constant support during this tough time. More to follow in the coming days. RIP ROGER!”
As reported by NME, Roger, who was born in Birmingham, England in 1963, was best known for his work in The Beat (known in North America for legal reasons as “The English Beat”), who released three albums during their first period together: I Just Can’t Stop It(1980), Wha’ppen?(1981) and Special Beat Service(1982). Among the band’s best known songs are “Stand Down Margaret,” “Mirror In The Bathroom” and “Drowning.”
In the mid-’80s Roger and Beat bandmate Dave Wakeling formed General Public and released two albums, 1984’s All The Rage (which spawned the hit single, “Tenderness”) and 1986’s Hand To Mouth.
Roger also released a string of solo albums, kicking off with 1988’s Radical Departure. He released what would be his final album, Public Confidential with the latest iteration of The Beat earlier this year. Thankfully for his millions of fans, Roger had finished his autobiography, I Just Can’t Stop It (My Life In The Beat) with Daniel Rachel, which is scheduled to be published later this year.
