The Beat were in many ways embedded within the Ska revival of Two-Tone Records but were always a little bit different, with maybe a slightly harder edge to them.
Wha'ppen was their second album, released in 1981. It lacked some of the energy of their first offering, I Just Can't Stop It, but it was a far more solid affair, with their politics more centre-stage (which makes it a great album to post on the day a general election is called).
The album on spotify kicks off with a track that wasn't on the album (Too Nice To Talk To). It was probably their strongest ever single (how I wish I could find the 12" version of it!) but never really belonged on this album.
In terms of the album's themes, they're maybe best expressed on the song Cheated - an almost prophetic portrayal of Thatcherite Britain, years ahead of its time. If the album was looking to portray the darkness descending, they would surely want to say that the gloom had yet to reach its deepest.
It isn't just politics, it's relationships and their rocky ground (no wonder the album fuses so many musical styles). It could easily have been an incoherent mess and, whilst not every track works, they largely succeed.
It's one of the great by-passed albums of all time.
