Yesterday (March 26) it was announced that The English Beat‘s Ranking Roger passed away after a battle with cancer, and today Sting has posted a tribute to the late musician on his website.
“The mid seventies was one of the most influential periods in the history of British pop music,” he wrote in a post titled “Thank You, Roger. You Will Be Missed.” “The merging of Caribbean rhythms and the tropes of the immigrant West Indian experience alongside young white bands struggling to find an identity in Thatcher’s disunited kingdom produced what would become the second wave of British dominance in popular music across the world.”
“My friend Roger, as a founding member of the English Beat was at the centre of this febrile and explosive clash of cultures, uniquely placed to document the excitement of those times, the heady joy of success, the political turmoil, the inherent racism at all levels of our society as well as the brotherly bond of musicians struggling to make themselves heard within it,” he continued. “Thank you, Roger. You will be missed.”
Read more on how Ranking Roger helped make The English Beat New Wave’s greatest fusion act here.