Ranking Roger
Ranking Roger (b. 21 February 1961), born Roger Charlery in Birmingham, is a British musician. He was a vocalist in the 1980s two-tone band, The Beat (known in the USA as The English Beat) and one of its successor bands, General Public. He is now leading a re-formed Beat line-up.
Roger became a punk rock fan as a teenager and joined ska revival pioneers the Beat in the late 1970s. He had appeared on stage toasting and singing with them many times before officially joining, and moving onto the sofa. His energetic style and Jamaican-influenced vocals, paired with Dave Wakeling, were crucial in distinguishing the band from the other second-wave ska bands.
The Beat released three albums: the critically-acclaimed and seminal I Just Can't Stop It (1980), Wha'ppen (1981) and Special Beat Service (1982). After The Beat's 1983 break-up, he and Wakeling formed General Public with Mickey Billingham and Stoker of Dexy's Midnight Runners and Horace Panter of the Specials. They released the album All the Rage, a British hit, aided by the single "Tenderness". In 1986 they released Hand to Mouth which was significantly less successful, and the band soon split up. Rogers and Wakeling worked on various projects and reunited for the Threesome soundtrack.
In the early 1990s, Roger joined members of The Specials to form the new band The Special Beat, which released two live albums.
Ranking Roger's son, Matthew Murphy - 'Ranking Junior' aka 'Mini Murphy', has followed in his father's footsteps. In 2005, he appeared on The Ordinary Boys' single "Boys Will Be Boys". In 2003, the Beat's original line-up, minus Cox and Steele but with the addition of Junior, played a sold-out one-off gig at the Royal Festival Hall. As of 2005, The Beat has re-formed, counting Roger, Blockhead and Morton of the original line-up, with Ranking Junior also on vocals. The band is said to have the blessing of Cox, Steele and Saxa.
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