UK
2 Tone
CHS TT6
7" vinyl
Released: 1979-12-08

<a href='/display/?rank50'>Tears Of A Clown</a>
<a href='/display/?rank50'>Tears Of A Clown</a>
<a href='/display/?rank50'>Tears Of A Clown</a>
<a href='/display/?rank50'>Tears Of A Clown</a>

Side 1
Tears Of A Clown

Side 2
Ranking Full Stop

This, The Beat's one and only single for the label, is a cover of the old Smokey Robison classic. The band had came to the attention of Jerry Dammers via a support slot for The Selecter. Dammers quickly spotted potential in the band and they agreed to release a single on the label. They were considering releasing a single for some time so they jumped at the chance of a deal with 2 Tone.

A recording session in Coventry produced an early version of the song which no one was entirely happy with so they relocated to London to re-record the song. 'Mirror in The Bathroom' was the original choice for a single but the band were less than impressed with contract with Chrysalis and didn't like the idea of handing 2 original songs over to the label so they opted for a cover and one original track* as the lesser of the 2 evils. Chrysalis soon lost interest in the band when they discovered that they had no plans to stay with 2 Tone and a scheduled appearance on Top Of The Pops was only brought to their attention by accident.

John Peel was so impressed by the band that he swapped his DJing fee for the bands performance fee when they play on the same bill at Birmingham's Aston University. He also said of 'Ranking Full Stop' that it was 'a song guaranteed to fill any dance floor'.

The band later signed a deal with Astria Records , who give them a label with its own distinctive name and logo (Go-Feet). The deal also give them the option to release records by other bands and even went as far as pressing initial copies of singles on a paper label and later ones on a grey plastic label. Sound familiar?.

*Although 'Ranking Full Stop' is credited as an original track, it's obvious that the band were quite generous with their interpretation of the Laurel Aitken 'rude reggae' classic, 'Pussy Price'. Ranking Roger's toasting on the track owes a lot to Big Youth's 'S90 Skank'.


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