The Beat Singer Ranking Roger Passes Away

Legendary British musician and 2 Tone icon Roger Charlery, aka Ranking Roger, has passed away aged 56.

As Variety reports, the Beat singer passed away earlier this morning in his home, surrounded by family following a battle with cancer.

“He fought & fought & fought, Roger was a fighter,” reads a post on the band’s official Facebook page.

As the vocalist of The Beat, Charlery was at the forefront of the ska revival in the late ‘70s, before going on to start new wave outfit General Public in the ‘80s with Dave Wakeling and post-punk band Big Audio Dynamite alongside Mick Jones, Don Letts and more.

Charlery also performed in Special Beat, which was formed in the ‘90s and featured members of The Beat and The Specials, and collaborated with the likes of Smash Mouth, The Police and The Ordinary Boys over the years.

Charlery was last in Australia in 2018 promoting The Beat’s Bounce LP.