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News / Mar 27, 2019

The Beat singer Ranking Roger dies, aged 56

The Beat singer has passed away at the age of 56...

Ranking Roger, singer with Birmingham-based ska band The Beat, has died at the age of 56. The vocalist had been suffering from ill health for several months, having survived a stroke in summer last year, and had reportedly been diagnosed with two brain tumours and lung cancer over recent months. According to a statement on the band's website, Roger died peacefully at home on Tuesday surrounded by his family.

Born Roger Charlery in Birmingham in 1963, Roger was a key figure in the ska revivalist 'two-tone' movement that sprang out of the Midlands in the late 1970s and included bands such as The Specials and The Selecter. Known for hits including 'Mirror in the Bathroom' and the anti-Thatcher anthem 'Stand Down Margaret', The Beat were one of the scene's most successful outfits, while Roger himself also collaborated on tracks with the likes of The Clash, Sting, The Ordinary Boys and Big Audio Dynamite.

Since the news of his death emerged late on Tuesday evening, tributes have been pouring onto social media from the music industry and beyond, some of which you can find below...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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