#26: Tenderness by General Public
City: Regina, SK
Radio Station: CJME
Peak Month: January-February 1985
Peak Position in Regina ~ #3
Peak Position in Vancouver ~ #14
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #27
YouTube: “Tenderness”
Lyrics: “Tenderness”
General Public was a new wave band formed in 1983 in Birmingham, UK. It was co-founded by Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger. Wakeling was born in Birmingham in 1956. He learned how to play guitar and formed a second-wave ska band in Birmingham in 1978 called The Beat. They successfully covered Smokey Robinson & The Miracles 1970 hit “Tears of A Clown” which reached #6 on the UK singles chart in 1979. In 1980, “Hands Off…She’s Mine” topped the pop chart in Ireland. This was followed by “Mirror In the Bathroom” which was a Top Ten hit in both Ireland and the UK. In 1983, The Beat covered Andy Williams 1963 hit “Can’t Get Used To Losing You”. It became a Top Ten hit in Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands and the UK.