Photo: Neil Zlozower

Hey, do you know about the Beat? They’re the great power pop band led by Paul Collins, who was in another great power pop group, the Nerves. I’m particularly fond of the Beat’s 1979 self-titled debut, which is just a fantastic rock ‘n’ roll record, front-to-back. Seriously, every song on it sounds like a hit, though, alas, in the States, at least, none of them were. The Beat were better received in Europe, with the band first touring the continent in the spring of 1980. In an exclusive excerpt from his upcoming autobiography, Paul Collins recounts the Beat’s 1980 European tour—one of drink, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll.

But first, a little more background.

The ‘80s began on a high note for the Beat, with the group taping an appearance on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand in February. But this was followed by a disheartening tour opening for the Jam, in which they weren’t even allowed to meet the band. They also learned that Columbia had no intention of getting behind their music; pushing Billy Joel’s Glass Houses was the label’s priority that year. Some good news came when Columbia’s International Department offered to bring the Beat across the pond for a European jaunt, offering full tour support. Soon, the band were flying to Paris to begin the outing.

FYI: In Europe they were known as “Paul Collins’ Beat,” as there was a UK band also called the Beat. In addition to Collins, the lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist, the members of the Beat were Steve Huff, bassist; Larry Whitman, lead guitarist; and Mike Ruiz, drummer. Their road manager, Kevin Burns (“K.B.”), also comes up in the excerpt.

*****

On the evening of March 29th 1980, we arrived at the Orly Airport in Paris. Our guide, a guy named Andre, hardly spoke English, but he was hysterical, and we had great fun with him. Back at the hotel, despite being very tired, I couldn’t fall asleep.

The next morning, I was really spaced out. I had to get my shit together, but there were no drugs, not even a joint. What would I wear for the first gig? I decided to be cool and downplay it, by not dressing up. A jacket, t-shirt, and jeans would do.

 

Photo: Catherine Sebastian

After breakfast, we were off to the Pavillon Baltard, a fairly large auditorium that held about 800 kids. We were playing with eight other bands, and immediately, we were all on ‘drug recon,’ looking for anything to get high on. We checked out a couple of ska bands, and I met a photographer, who introduced me to a guy from one of the other bands. Finally, we went to the boy’s room and I smoked my first joint in Paris. Ahh… it was great!

A little later, Larry and I were in a tavern around the corner, listening to French rock ‘n’ roll on the jukebox. We met up with some reps from CBS International, named Suzy and Jon-Jacque. We met two crazy American chicks, Jon-Jacque’s friends, and one of them had a huge block of hash. She told me to keep it! Now we had enough hash for the whole trip, and my voice was getting pretty shot.

It was show time, and Steve and I were having trouble tuning our guitars. We were getting worried, until we realized we were a whole key up! I hoped we wouldn’t get booed off stage, but thank god for rock ‘n’ roll. The kids dug us and we got the first encore of the day. Europe here we come!

When we arrived in Madrid, Spain, we were met by the CBS reps. One of them, named Paco, was so excited to meet us, he kept forgetting his English. We went straight to the Hotel Claridge, had a drink at the bar, and Paco gave me some Spanish lessons.

I did some interviews and the only thing the reporters wanted to know was, “what do you think about The Knack?” I told everyone that I didn’t think about them. One of the journalists, Jesus Ordovas, told me about a nearby club called the Esacalon. The scheduled band had cancelled, but had left their equipment there. When I told Jesus that we could do a surprise last-minute set, everyone thought I was nuts. Jesus went about setting up the show and I went all over town promoting it. In Spain, Jesus Ordovas went on to become one of the most influential radio journalists of all time. Many years later, I wound up living down the block from him in Madrid.

After the interviews, we did the Aplauso TV show, and it was perhaps the funniest TV show that I will ever do. Every time we were supposed to start, this little fat man, who spoke no English, started jumping up and down, and playing an imaginary guitar. Larry and I were just cracking up. We performed “Rock ‘N Roll Girl,” and “No Me Esperes,” the Spanish version of “Don’t Wait Up” we released over there as a 45.

Then it was off to Radio Madrid, where we found out “No Me Esperes” (“Don’t Wait Up”) had been #1 on their playlist for two weeks. It was a great interview, and I got my first taste of what it’s like being a rock star. I can’t begin to describe how good it felt in that hot little studio, drinking Bacardi and Coke, with the outer room just jam packed with kids. Someone told me they had waited four years to ask me questions about The Nerves, as the DJ segued from The Nerves’ “Working Too Hard,” right into The Beat’s version. It was a good interview, and on the air, I told everyone about the impromptu gig that evening. After signing a few Nerves and Beat records, we were off.

By the time I arrived at the gig, I was pretty drunk, and I worked my way through the dense crowd, toward the stage. I found out that the rest of the band was likewise, completely smashed. The equipment was bad, Mike was babbling about the shitty drums, and Larry was screaming at me, “How the hell did you get us into such a mess?” Surprisingly, Steve had it together, and was getting things organized with the soundman.

I looked out into an audience; the likes of which I had never seen. It was like an Agatha Christie movie, with people from all over the world, Spaniards, Germans, Americans, punkers, bikers, you name it. I don’t know how, but this ended up being the best show we had done, to date. It sounded great to me on that stage, and it was one of the few times where I could hear everything. The crowd was going nuts during “Don’t Wait Up,” drowning us out by singing along to the chorus. A guy from the radio station had tears running down his face. Back at the hotel, I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning, drinking champagne with Jenny Bier, head of CBS International. What a night… I will never forget it.

We made some real fans that night in Madrid, and believe me - The Beat had no problem communicating with a Spanish-speaking audience. A few years later, when Steve and I returned to Spain, we found out that we had become true rock stars. That first show at the Esacalon had become legendary; a permanent part of Madrid’s rock ‘n’ roll canon. For me, this one last-minute show paved the way for a lifetime of high-profile, lucrative gigs in Spain.

In Hamburg, Germany, we played at Onkel Po’s, a fondly remembered club from the the late ‘70s/early ‘80s. They were able to stay open as late as they wanted, and there were no liquor laws, so once again, we ended up getting very drunk. Somehow we made it back to the hotel, but Larry and the road crew were ‘looking for a little action,’ so they went to Reeperbahn Street, a notorious German red-light district. When they got back, Larry didn’t seem too impressed, and K.B. ended up with a black eye, after an attempted mugging in front of the hotel.

In Paris, we did a live show called Chorus TV. Our sound was critical to us, and using rented equipment didn’t help. It was frustrating speaking through interpreters, but it ended up being, perhaps, our best live performance on video.

For the last day of the tour, we went out with a bang, opening up for The Police at the Palais des Sports in Paris. It was the biggest show we’d ever done, a 6,000 seater, and there was a lot of electricity in the air. No one expected us to get any reaction from The Police’s fanatic fans. We went out there undaunted, and kicked ass. We nearly got an encore, but at the last second, the house lights came on. The reps from CBS were pleased with us. To top everything off, Stewart Copeland of The Police, a very nice guy, came back to our dressing room, and chatted with us.

So that was it: 16 gigs in 17 days, in six countries; a total blow-out. We were living the dream, but now it was time to start worrying about our next record.

*****

This excerpt is taken from Paul Collins’ upcoming autobiography, I Don’t Fit In: My Wild Ride Through the Punk & Power Pop Trenches with the Nerves & the Beat. Published by HoZac Books, the first edition includes an archival 7-inch from 1978/79. Read all about it and pre-order yours via HoZac’s site.
 

 
Remember: Forget Get the Knack , get the Beat.
 

 
Here’s the Beat blazing through two terrific tunes from their debut album, “Rock N Roll Girl” and “Walking Out on Love,” in Paris during their 1980 European tour:
 

Previously on Dangerous Minds:
The blissful ‘80s power pop of Julian Leal
The Baker Street Regulars: Obscure ‘70s band that featured former members of Big Star