Ranking Roger first came into contact with the Beat when, as one of their very first gigs, the band openned his. Roger was the drummer of a punk band called the Dum Dum Boys. He was very much a punk, but had also gained a reputation for his toasting. The Beat's performance went over very well with the crowd and impressed Roger. He made a point of attending whatever Beat gigs that he could upon the insistance of Dave. It was not long before Roger began to join the band on stage to add some of his toasting to the mix (Halasa). Roger eventually just became absorbed into the group. At the age of sixteen, he was by far the youngest. His toasting added a unique element to the Beat's sound that audiences couldn't get enough of. However his vocals would regularly become the subject of conflict between the band and Arista as they fought to preserve his song on the recordings. Roger Charlery reportedly got his nickname from "some sweet, white girl at school whom he loved dearly, but who had refused his advances, calling him "Ranking" instead" (Halasa). Upon parting with the Beat, he and Dave founded the highly successful pop band General Public, which broke up in 1986. Two years later, Roger released a solo album entitled Radical Departure. It was still a pop album, but went back to some of his roots. He then formed the outfit the Special Beat. It would not be until 2001 when Roger joined back up with Everett and Saxa to perfom under the name Twist and Crawl (now known as the New Beat) (twistandcrawl.com). |
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