2019-07-01_Uncut_UK

JULY 2019 • UNCUT• 109

IJUSTCAN’T

STOPIT

RankingRogerwith

DanielRachel

OmNibUs,£16.99

7/10

THENIT FELLAPART

moby

FabeR& FabeR, £14.99

8/10

J

erryDammerswasapttoremind
“ranking”rogerCharlerythatthe
firsttimethe2-Tonekingpinsaw
him,the16-year-oldwastoasting
gamelyovertheAngelicUpstarts
Oi!anthem“I’mAnUpstart”.It is an
imagethatsumsupthehave-a-gospiritof
TheBeat’semcee,whodiedofcancerin
March,a fewweeksaftercompletinghis
autobiography,IJustCan’tStopIt.
OneofBirmingham’sfewblackpunks,
heimpressedTheBeatwithhisU-roy-
savvystagepatois(despitebeingofSt
LucianratherthanJamaicanextraction)
whileplayingfora rivalband;singer
DaveWakelingdraftedhiminandgave
hima homeata timewhenrogerwas
livingina bailhostel.
Accordingtorankingroger,TheBeat
were“sped-upreggae”ratherthanska,
buttheythrivedinTheSpecials’wake
regardless.Their2-Tonedebutsingle
“TearsOfA Clown”wentTop10,and
earnedthema congratulatorytelegram
fromSmokeyrobinson.However,The
Beat’soffbeatlook– enhancedbyancient
JamaicansaxophonistSaxa– andsmart,
sensitivesongsgavethemsomewhereto
gooncetheskarevivalsputteredout.
Theirambitionwasnotjustmusical
either.WhileTheSpecialsandMadness
focusedontheUK,“TheenglishBeat”
weredeterminedtobreakAmerica,
bondingwithTheClashandliftingthe
highlifetintsintheir 1981 hit“TooNice
ToTalkTo”fromanothersetoftouring
partners,TalkingHeads.TheBeat’s
multiraciallineupdrewpuzzledlooks
intheDeepSouth– atonetruckstop,
bemusedhayseedsaskedrankingroger
if theywerea tabletennisteam– but
theycameclosetoproperstardombefore
hubrisgotthem.Seekinga biggershareof
thepie,Wakelingandrogerpeeledoffin
1984 toforma newband,GeneralPublic.
AbandonedsidemenAndyCoxand
David“Shuffle”Steelegotoverit quickly,
andpromptlysoldseveralmillionrecords
withtheFineyoungCannibals.However,
if rankingrogeris remorsefulabout
thatbetrayalanddismissiveofWakeling
(“hethoughthewasSting”),hehas
plentyofhappierthingstofocusonin
I JustCan’tStopIt, notleasthookingup
withMadonnaandTheBangles’Susanna
Hoffs,andsamplingCongoCedric
Myton’scookery(“someofthebestfood
I haveevertastedinmylife”).Healso
witnessedanirateSaxamistakingDavid
Bowiefora waiterwhentheheadliner
cametovisitTheBeat’sdressingroom
duringa runofMiltonKeynesBowldates
inJuly1983.“WheremeredStripe?”
bellowedthehornsman.Bowiedutifully
returnedwiththebeera fewminuteslater.
Co-writerDanielrachel’shastilywritten
postscriptemphasisesjusthowabruptly
theendcameforrankingroger,whowas
only 56 atthetimeofhisdeath,butIJust
Can’t StopIt at least captures something of

hisspirit.“I’moneofthoseblackpeople

whocan’tdance,”hewrites.“IJustjump

around.”Suchenergyaboundshere;not

alwayselegant,butwellintentioned.

TheunexpectedsuccessofMoby’s 1999

albumPlayseemedtocatchitscreatoroff-

guard.Hefelttherecordwaspoorlymixed

andold-fashioned,whilethemoneyand

famethatcamewithit ledhimtoa seriesof

verydarkplaces.In2006,theelectronica

boffinfoundhimselflaughinghysterically

whilesufferinga boutofdiarrhoeaina

TimesSquareclipjoint,momentsafter

havingrelieveda stripperofherdismal

stashofcocaine.“Iwasworthless,”

hewritesinthesecondvolumeofhis

memoirs,ThenIt FellApart.“Thiswas

mytruth,andthetruthhadsetmefree.”

Thesequelto2016’sPorcelainstarts

withMobyplayingtoanaudienceof 30 in

a record-shopbasement;withinmonths

the33-year-oldwasa globalmulti-million

seller,datingNataliePortmanand

carousinghiswayaroundMelbourne

wearingonlya towel,withewanMcGregor

andtheactorwhoplayedStarWars’ Jar

JarBinks.AnincoherentrussellCrowe

bawledhimoutinthetoiletsatonebar.“I

wouldn’tworry,”shruggedMcGregor.“He

yellsateveryone.”

Asthegolddiscsstartedpilingup,the

vegancrusadergottosingwithNew

Order and received a backstage visit from

anotherchildhoodhero,Morrissey.David

Bowie,meanwhile,invitedhimoverfor

dinnerathisNewyorkapartment,giving

MobyoneofhismanyStylophonesasa

partinggift,theThinWhiteDukehaving

apparentlyspentmuchoftheearly2000s

snafflingthemuponeBay.

A punkatheart,Mobytookthechance

tosurreptitiouslybrushhispenisagainst

DonaldTrumpatoneglitzyparty,but

accesstotheworldbeyondthevelvetrope

alsoamplifiedchildhoodinsecurities.

raisedonfoodstampsbya frazzledhippie

motherinWASPyConnecticutafterhis

fatherhadkilledhimself,Mobywrites

thathisfrighteningappetitefordrink,

drugsandsexfilleda voidwithin,but

evenexcessgotboringintheend.Offered

a threesomebya ParkLanedivorceeand

a wide-eyedshowgirlatonepointinthe

blurrymid-2000s,Mobyfellasleep.“Itfelt

rote,”heexplainssheepishly.

Ashismaniapeaked,Mobybrought

uptownanddowntownlowlifestogether

fora grotesque 2007 Christmasbacchanal

athis$7mapartmentoverlooking

CentralPark.“youarechaos,”oneof

hisdwindlingbandofgenuinefriends

toldhimasallhellbrokeloose.“It’snot

a compliment.”Thefollowingyear,a

desperateMobytriedtosuffocatehimself

witha binlinerbeforefinallyseeking

help.Bethankfulthathelivedtotell

this painfully graphic tale. JIM WIRTH

“I’moneof

thoseblack

peoplewho

can’tdance,”

writesRoger.

“I justjump

a rou nd...”

REvIEwEd

THIS mONTH

bailhostelto

bigtime:

Ranking

Ro g e r,

London, 1981

adrian boot/urbanimage.tv