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.
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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!
Much more, after the jump…