Shetland Arts is delighted to announce that local funk band Troppo Funk has been confirmed to support visiting ska/2-tone band The Beat live in Mareel on Saturday 6 April.

Describing themselves as “intense funk-fusion, at its finest,” Troppo Funk has been playing gigs around Shetland for the past year, including slots at both the Blues Festival and Jazz Festival, and features Norman Willmore on saxophone, Max Tyler on piano, Hayden Hook on bass, Joe Watt on guitar, and Lewis Murray on drums. Norman, Max, and Hayden will be familiar to anyone who has attended the Sunday Afternoon Jazz performances in Mareel’s Cafe Bar where they play fortnightly, and Joe Watt is also well known for his playing in local bands The First Foot Soldiers and Wind Up Projectiles.

Shetland Arts’ Marketing Officer, Lisa Ward, said: “We’re very happy to welcome Troppo Funk to Mareel to support The Beat. Ska and funk are both very popular in Shetland, so between the two bands, I’m sure the audience will have a great time!”

The Beat are known as one of the biggest bands of the 2-Tone movement and they play with the aim of connecting with and entertaining their appreciative audience with their relentless energy and world class musicianship.

The Beat are known the world over for a string of hit singles, including ‘Mirror in the Bathroom,’ ‘Too Nice To Talk To,’ ‘Can’t Get Used To Losing You,’ ‘Hands off She’s Mine’ and ‘All Out To Get You’. Their songs of peace, love and unity fuse ska, pop, reggae and punk rock and their dynamic live show has garnered them a loyal following at home and abroad

The Beat formed in Birmingham in 1978, part of the West Midlands ska revival scene that also produced The Specials and The Selecter, whilst London saw the formation of Madness and The Bodysnatchers.

Their first single was an arresting version of Smokey Robinson’s ‘Tears Of A Clown,’ given a completely new feel, and was backed with their own composition “Ranking Full Stop”. Released in a one-off deal on Jerry Dammers’ Chrysalis-backed 2-Tone label, the single stormed into the Top 10 in December 1979, and saw the band appear twice on Top Of The Pops. Backed by Arista, the band formed their own label Go-Feet Records. The first release in February 1980 was another Top 10 hit, ‘Hands Off… She’s Mine,’ and was the first of twelve chart singles for the band on Go-Feet.

The band released three albums ‘I Just Can’t Stop It’ (1980), ‘Wha’ppen’ (1981) and ‘Special Beat Service’ (1982), which contained many tracks that demonstrated their more politicised and socially-conscious leanings. All three albums were reissued in the Summer of 2012 by Edsel Records with bonus additions.

The 2012 line-up features Ranking Roger and Ranking Junior on vocals, Everett on drums plus Andy Pearson, Michael Billingham, Matt Godwin and Steve Harper on sax, keys and guitars.

Tickets for this concert cost £18 and are available for purchase via Shetland Box Office in Mareel & Islesburgh, over the phone on 01595 745 555, or online at www.mareel.org and www.shetlandboxoffice.org

Doors on 6 April are at 8pm.

Source: Shetland Arts