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I Just Can't Stop It

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I Just Can't Stop It
Studio album by
Released23 May 1980 (1980-05-23)
Genre
Length36:24
Label
ProducerBob Sargeant
The Beat chronology
I Just Can't Stop It
(1980)
Wha'ppen?
(1981)
Singles from I Just Can't Stop It
  1. "Tears of a Clown"/"Ranking Full Stop"
    Released: 30 November 1979
  2. "Hands Off...She's Mine"/"Twist and Crawl"
    Released: 14 February 1980
  3. "Mirror in the Bathroom"
    Released: 25 April 1980
  4. "Best Friend"/"Stand Down Margaret"
    Released: 8 August 1980

I Just Can't Stop It is the debut studio album by British two-tone band the Beat, released on 23 May 1980 by Go-Feet Records in the United Kingdom. It was released the same year in the United States on Sire Records, with the band credited as "The English Beat"; in Australia, it was released on Go-Feet under the band name "The British Beat".

The album was well-received; Rolling Stone raved that the music was "wild and threatening, sexy and sharp,"[1] while AllMusic later wrote it "was a stunning achievement" which had not been diminished by time.[2]

The album was reissued on CD in 1990 by I.R.S. Records in the U.S, and in 2012 by Edsel Records in the UK and Shout! Factory in the U.S.[3]

Artwork

[edit]

The "Beat Girl" icon seen on the cover and used on the band's merchandising was designed by Birmingham-based cartoonist Hunt Emerson.[4]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Christgau's Record GuideA−[5]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[6]
Record Mirror[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[8]
Smash Hits9/10[9]
Sounds[10]
Spin Alternative Record Guide10/10[11]
Tom Hull – on the WebA−[12]

At the end of 1980, I Just Can't Stop It appeared in numerous lists of the best albums of the year: NME ranked it third,[13] Sounds ranked it 13th,[citation needed] The Village Voice ranked it 21st[citation needed] and OOR ranked it 41st.[citation needed] In 1995, Spin ranked the album at No. 94 in its list of the "Top 100 Alternative Albums".[14] Fast 'n' Bulbous ranked the album at number 283 in its list of "The 500 Best Albums Since 1965".[15] A 2002 poll of KCPR DJs ranked it at No. 40 in a list of the "Top 100 Records of the 80s".[citation needed] Les Inrockuptibles included it in its list of "50 Years of Rock 'n' Roll."[citation needed] Music journalist Simon Reynolds lists it as one of the five most important albums of "2-Tone and the Ska Resurrection" in his 2005 book Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984.[16] In 2016, Paste ranked I Just Can't Stop It at No. 48 on its list of the 50 best new wave albums.[17]

"Mirror in the Bathroom" was ranked at No. 3 in the NME "Singles of the Year" list[citation needed] and at No. 24 in Sounds' "Singles of the Year" list.[citation needed] In 2003, Q ranked the song at No. 517 in its list of the "1001 Best Songs Ever".[18] In 2002, Gary Mulholland included the song in his list This Is Uncool: The 500 Best Singles Since Punk Rock.[citation needed] In 2001, Michaelangelo Matos included it in his list of "The Top 100 Singles of the 80s."[citation needed] In 2006, 97x ranked it at No. 186 in its list of "The 500 Best Modern Rock Songs of All Time."[citation needed] In 1990, Robert Christgau ranked "Twist & Crawl" at No. 10 in his list of the best songs of the 1980s.[19]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by The Beat (as per ASCAP: Roger Charlery, Andy Cox, Everett Morton, David Steele and Dave Wakeling),[20] except where noted. Note that despite the group author credits on the label, Saxa is not listed as a co-author of any song according to ASCAP.

Original UK release
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Mirror in the Bathroom" 3:10
2."Hands Off...She's Mine" 3:01
3."Two Swords" 2:19
4."Twist & Crawl"2:35
5."Rough Rider" (originally performed by Prince Buster & the All Stars)
  • Eddy Grant
  • Patrick Grant
  • Dervan Gordon
  • Lincoln Gordon
4:53
6."Click Click" 1:28
7."Big Shot" 2:34
8."Whine & Grine/Stand Down Margaret" ("Whine & Grine" originally performed by Prince Buster & the All Stars)
  • The Beat
  • Prince Buster
3:51
9."Noise in This World" 2:19
10."Can't Get Used to Losing You" (originally performed by Andy Williams)3:04
11."Best Friend" 3:01
12."Jackpot" (originally performed by the Pioneers)4:19

The U.S. release of the album on Sire Records added "Tears of a Clown" and "Ranking Full Stop", originally released as double A-sides of a single on 2 Tone Records in 1979 (TT 6).[20] These tracks remained on subsequent CD reissues of the album.[20]

US LP release and CD reissues
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Mirror in the Bathroom" 3:10
2."Hands Off...She's Mine" 3:01
3."Two Swords" 2:19
4."Twist & Crawl"
  • The Beat
  • Dick Bradsell
2:35
5."Tears of a Clown" (originally performed by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles)2:39
6."Rough Rider"
  • Eddy Grant
  • Patrick Grant
  • Dervan Gordon
  • Lincoln Gordon
4:53
7."Click Click" 1:28
8."Ranking Full Stop" 2:44
9."Big Shot" 2:34
10."Whine & Grine/Stand Down Margaret"
  • The Beat
  • Prince Buster
3:51
11."Noise in This World" 2:19
12."Can't Get Used to Losing You"
  • Doc Pomus
  • Mort Shuman
3:04
13."Best Friend" 3:01
14."Jackpot"
  • George Agard
  • Sydney Crooks
  • Jackie Robinson
4:19

Personnel

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Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[21]

The Beat

Production and artwork

  • Bob Sargeant – production
  • Alvin Clark – engineering
  • Mark Dearnley – engineering
  • Mike Dunne – engineering
  • Trevor Hallesy – engineering
  • Nick Rogers – engineering
  • Hunt Emerson – artwork

"Thanks to: John Peel, the Specials, Selecter, A/W Hunt Emerson"

Charts

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Chart (1980–81) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[22] 66
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[23] 30
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[24] 30
UK Albums (OCC)[25] 3
US Billboard 200[26] 142

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[27] Gold 100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ Rose, Frank (4 September 1980). "The English Beat: I Just Can't Stop It". Rolling Stone. No. 325. Archived from the original on 22 April 2008. Retrieved 12 August 2007.
  2. ^ a b Greene, Jo-Ann. "I Just Can't Stop It – The English Beat". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 May 2004.
  3. ^ "Discography". englishbeat.net. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  4. ^ "The Beat Girl – Noted Cartoonist Hunt Emerson Designs a 2-Tone Era Icon". Marco on the Bass. 16 December 2008. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
  5. ^ Christgau, Robert (1990). "The English Beat: I Just Can't Stop It". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-679-73015-X. Retrieved 4 May 2009.
  6. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press.
  7. ^ "Albums" (PDF). Record Mirror: 20. 24 May 1980. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  8. ^ Considine, J. D. (2004). "English Beat". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Fireside Books. pp. 277–278. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. Retrieved 17 March 2010.
  9. ^ Cranna, Ian (29 May – 11 June 1980). "The Beat: I Just Can't Stop It". Smash Hits. Vol. 2, no. 11. p. 30.
  10. ^ Silverton, Peter (24 May 1980). "The Beat: I Just Can't Stop It (Go Feet)". Sounds. Retrieved 19 November 2020 – via Rock's Backpages.
  11. ^ Hermes, Will (1995). "English Beat". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. p. 127. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  12. ^ Hull, Tom (26 April 2021). "Music Week". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  13. ^ "1980 Best Albums And Tracks Of The Year". NME. 10 October 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  14. ^ Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). "Top 100 Alternative Albums". Spin Alternative Record Guide. New York: Vintage Books. p. 454. ISBN 0679755748.
  15. ^ Best Albums Since 1965 | Fast 'n' Bulbous
  16. ^ Reynolds, Simon (2005). Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984. Faber and Faber. ISBN 0-571-21569-6.
  17. ^ "The 50 Best New Wave Albums". Paste. 8 September 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  18. ^ Q - 1001 best songs ever (2003)
  19. ^ Robert Christgau: Decade Personal Best: '80s
  20. ^ a b c I Just Can't Stop It (CD liner notes). The Beat. Los Angeles: Go-Feet Records/Shout! Factory. 2012. 826663-13177-B1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  21. ^ I Just Can't Stop It (liner notes). The Beat. Go-Feet Records. 1980. BEAT 1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  22. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). Australian Chart Book. pp. 29, 46. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  23. ^ "Charts.nz – The Beat – I Just Can't Stop It". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  24. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – The Beat – I Just Can't Stop It". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  25. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  26. ^ "The English Beat Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  27. ^ "British album certifications – Beat – I Just Can't Stop It". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
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