I Just Can't Stop It
Studio album by
the Beat
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 ska 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 under the band name The English Beat". In Australia, it was released on Go-Feet under the band name The British Beat.

Well received from the start, Rolling Stone raved that the music was "wild and threatening, sexy and sharp."[1] AllMusic later wrote it "was a stunning achievement", which has 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

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

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, The Village Voice ranked it 21st and OOR ranked it 41st. In 1995, Spin ranked the album at No. 94 in its list of the top "100 Alternative Albums". Fast 'n' Bulbous ranked the album at number 283 in its list of "The 500 Best Albums Since 1965".[14] A 2002 poll of KCPR DJs ranked it at No. 40 in a list of the "Top 100 Records of the 80s". Les Inrockuptibles included it in its list of "50 Years of Rock 'n' Roll." 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.[15] In 2016, Paste ranked I Just Can't Stop It at No. 48 on its list of the 50 best new wave albums.[16]

"Mirror in the Bathroom" was ranked at No. 3 in the NME "Singles of the Year" list and at No. 24 in Sounds' "Singles of the Year" list. In 2003, Q ranked the song at No. 517 in its list of the "1001 Best Songs Ever".[17] In 2002, Gary Mulholland included the song in his list This Is Uncool: The 500 Best Singles Since Punk Rock. In 2001, Michaelangelo Matos included it in his list of "The Top 100 Singles of the 80s." In 2006, 97x ranked it at No. 186 in its list of "The 500 Best Modern Rock Songs of All Time." In 1990, Robert Christgau ranked "Twist & Crawl" at No. 10 in his list of the best songs of the 1980s.[18]

Track listing

All tracks are written by The Beat (as per ASCAP: Roger Charlery, Andy Cox, Everett Morton, David Steele and Dave Wakeling),[19] 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).[19] These tracks remained on subsequent CD reissues of the album.[19]

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

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[20]

The Beat

Production and artwork

  • Bob Sargeant – record production
  • Alvin Clark – audio 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

Chart (1980–81) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[21] 66
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[22] 30
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[23] 30
UK Albums (OCC)[24] 3
US Billboard 200[25] 142

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[26] Gold 100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  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. 1 2 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. ↑ Best Albums Since 1965 | Fast 'n' Bulbous
  15. ↑ Reynolds, Simon (2005). Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984. Faber and Faber. ISBN 0-571-21569-6.
  16. ↑ "The 50 Best New Wave Albums". Paste. 8 September 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  17. ↑ Q - 1001 best songs ever (2003)
  18. ↑ Robert Christgau: Decade Personal Best: '80s
  19. 1 2 3 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)
  20. ↑ 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)
  21. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). Australian Chart Book. pp. 29, 46. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  22. ↑ "Charts.nz – The Beat – I Just Can't Stop It". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  23. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – The Beat – I Just Can't Stop It". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  24. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  25. ↑ "The English Beat Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  26. ↑ "British album certifications – Beat – I Just Can't Stop It". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
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