The bEAT
joined by special guests
The Selecter and Rhoda Dakar
present
‘Dance Crazed Too’
2026 UK Tour
Legendary 2-Tone group The bEAT, led by vocalist Dave Wakeling, have announced that the special guests for their forthcoming 21-date UK Dance Crazed Too tour will now include The Selecter, fronted by the legendary Pauline Black, alongside a DJ set from Rhoda Dakar.
Dance Crazed Too starts on 1st October 2026 in Coventry, the birthplace of 2-Tone Records, at HMV Empire. The tour includes a show at London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire on 2nd October, a hometown performance at Birmingham’s Town Hall on 17th October, before concluding at O2 Academy in Oxford on 29th October. The Selecter will appear at all dates except Folkestone, Bristol and Bournemouth.
Unfortunately, Doug Trendle, the much-loved frontman of Bad Manners, won’t be match fit in time to join the tour this autumn. However, fans need not despair, as plans are already in place for The bEAT and Bad Manners to hit the road together next summer.
In the meantime; “We are thrilled that Pauline and the Selecter will be joining us for this two tone extravaganza!” says Dave Wakeling.
Formed in 1979, The bEAT made an instant impact with their debut single, an infectious cover of the Smokey Robinson classic Tears of a Clown, released on 2-Tone Records and entering the UK charts at No. 6. Alongside contemporaries The Specials, Madness and The Selecter, The bEAT became an overnight sensation.
Over the course of the next five years, The bEAT released three studio albums – I Just Can’t Stop It, Wha’appen? and Special Beat Service – and enjoyed a series of classic hit singles between 1979 and 1983, including Mirror in the Bathroom, Best Friend, Can’t Get Used to Losing You, Hands Off…She’s Mine, Too Nice To Talk To, Drowning, Doors of Your Heart, Save It For Later, I Confess, Stand Down Margaret and Twist and Crawl.
The bEAT have toured the world alongside artists such as The Clash, The Police, The Specials, The Pretenders, R.E.M., Talking Heads and David Bowie, and they continue to do so today, selling out their last UK tour in 2023.
Between them, The bEAT, The Selecter and Rhoda Dakar helped define one of British music’s most vibrant and influential eras. The Dance Crazed Too tour promises a joyous celebration of Two Tone and unforgettable live music.
The bEAT UK 2026 Dance Crazed Too shows in full
October
Thu 1 Coventry HMV Empire
Fri 2 London Shepherd’s Bush Empire
Sat 3 Southampton O2 Guildhall
Sun 4 Leicester O2 Academy
Tue 6 Sheffield Octagon Centre
Wed 7 Liverpool O2 Academy
Fri 9 Manchester O2 Ritz
Sat 10 Newcastle NX
Sun 11 Glasgow Barrowland Ballroom
Tue 13 Middlesbrough Town Hall
Wed 14 Leeds O2 Academy
Sat 17 Birmingham Town Hall
Sun 18 Cambridge Corn Exchange
Mon 19 Guildford G live
Wed 21 Bath The Forum
Fri 23 Folkestone Leas Cliff Hall *
Sat 24 Bristol Electric Bristol *
Sun 25 Bournemouth O2 Academy *
Tue 27 Cardiff Tramshed
Wed 28 Fareham Live
Thu 29 Oxford O2 Academy
* special guests tbc
Get tickets for the 2026 UK tour – for one of the most popular and influential bands of the 2-Tone Ska movement. Tickets available from BookingsDirect.com and venue box offices.
