{"id":794200,"date":"2019-03-26T20:53:30","date_gmt":"2019-03-27T02:53:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/?p=813818"},"modified":"2019-03-26T20:53:30","modified_gmt":"2019-03-27T02:53:30","slug":"english-beat-general-publics-ranking-roger-dead-at-56","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/music-news\/english-beat-general-publics-ranking-roger-dead-at-56\/","title":{"rendered":"English Beat, General Public\u2019s Ranking Roger Dead at 56"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ranking Roger, lead vocalist for British ska punk band the Beat \u2013 known as the English Beat<\/a> in North America \u2013 and founding member of General Public, died on Tuesday. He was 56. The news was confirmed in a statement<\/a> on the Beat\u2019s official Facebook page. The cause of death has not been disclosed. In January, he revealed<\/a> that he had been diagnosed with brain tumors and lung cancer.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe fought & fought & fought, Roger was a fighter,\u201d the statement reads. \u201cSadly Roger past away a few hours ago peacefully at his home surrounded by family. Roger\u2019s family would like to thank everyone for their constant support during this time. More to follow in the coming days. RIP Roger!\u201d<\/p>\n

Born Roger Charlery in 1963 in Birmingham, England, Ranking Roger joined ska punk band the Beat as a teenager following a stint as a drummer in another band and became one of the Beat\u2019s lead vocalists and main toasters. He appeared on all three of the group\u2019s studio albums (1980\u2019s I Just Can\u2019t Stop It<\/em>, 1981\u2019s Wha\u2019ppen?<\/em> and 1982\u2019s Special Beat Service<\/em>).<\/p>\n