Great Songs from My Favorite Year in Music: 1985, Part 62

General Public - "Never You Done That"



(Single Release: 1985?)
Let's start with the question mark you see above. This entry in this parade of great songs from 1985 might be cheating, but only just a little. You see, the General Public album, All the Rage, and most of its subsequent singles came out in 1984. But, the subject of this particular post, "Never You Done That," was released as a promo single in 1985, paired with "Tenderness," for some unknown reason. Okay, qualification over. Now we can get back to me fawning over long forgotten tracks from my junior high school days. Let's start with the English Beat, shall we? Or, as they were originally called, over in their home country, the Beat. When I speak of my favorite bands, the holy triumvirate of the Smiths, New Order, and Echo, and even other bands of that time like the Cure, Depeche Mode, Talking Heads, the Jesus and Mary Chain, Oingo Boingo, R.E.M., and the Waterboys, I somehow seem to inconveniently pass over the English Beat, and I don't know why. They really are one of the best bands, with their album, Special Beat Service as an example of a near-perfect album, jam-packed with incredibly infectious tunes. As Greg Proops has said in his podcast, The Smartest Man in the World, "Save it for Later" is probably the best song ever recorded. Hyperbole aside, the English Beat are often forgotten as one of the bastions of hope for popular music in the 80s. Though I would consider General Public, the offshoot of the Beat with the two frontmen, Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger, a step below the English Beat, they are still a fantastic band. Though I love me some "Tenderness," I also have a huge fondness for "Never You Done That," a song that sounds like it could have been ripped from Special Beat Service. I will have to admit, however, that as a budding young snob that would become an English major in about six years, I did have problems with the grammar of the title, but those agitations are quickly forgotten once the song begins. And, considering the recent resurgent fad of whistling in songs, it is ripe for revisitation.