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General Public

A little something about General Public
I can't exactly forgive Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger for breaking up the English Beat, in my humble opinion the premier ska act of all time. But at least the two bands that came out of the split produced excellent music of their own. When Wakeling and Ranking Roger left the English Beat the band was going through something of a slump in sales. Lured away from the struggling Beat by their record label, the two put together General Public with musicians Stoker, Micky Billingham, Horace Panter and Kevin White. A year after leaving the Beat the promises of pop success were realized with their debut album, "All the Rage." While more of a pop band then the Beat, the music of General Public was a logical next step for Roger and Wakeling. The infectious ska beats of their earlier days as the Beat had already been toned down significantly on the Beat's 1982 album "Special Beat Service," and the slicker sound had fared well in the US. From "All the Rage" came hits "Never You Done That," "Hot You're Cool," and one of the most memorable singles of the '80s, "Tenderness." The band continued to record, though they could never repeat the huge success of their debut. By the late '80s they were eclipsed on the pop charts by another Beat spinoff, Fine Young Cannibals.
Tenderness 

I don't know when to start or when to stop
My luck's like a button
I can't stop pushing it
My head feels light
But I'm still in the dark
Seems like without tenderness there's something missing 

Tenderness
Where is the 
Tenderness
Where is it? 

I don't know where I am but I know I don't like it
Open my mouth and out pops something spiteful
Words are so cheap, but they can turn out expensive
Words like conviction can turn into a sentence 

I held your hand
Rings but none on your fingers
We danced and danced
but I was scared to go much further with it
Just half a chance
Make sure that one night you're here, but
Next night you're not
It always leaves me searching for a little 

Tenderness
Where is the 
Tenderness
Where is it? 

Whistling in the graveyard
Calling up your girlfriend
Just trying to make you understand
You're squeezing the telephone like it was her hand
No questions (so many questions)
She's gonna catch you out boy
It all seems so underhand
Now hat she's the only thing that ever made you feel like a man, man
Madman madman
Tenderness
Where is the 
Tenderness
Where is it?