The Beat (American Band) - Early Development

Early Development

The roots of The Beat lie in The Nerves, a seminal power pop combo featuring Paul Collins (born 1956, New York City), Peter Case (the future frontman of The Plimsouls), and Jack Lee. Collins played the drums; all three members composed and sang. Collins contributed several songs to the band including "Walking Out On Love," "Let Me Into Your Life" and one song, "Working Too Hard", to the group's only release, a 1976 self-titled four-song EP distributed by independent Bomp! Records. The Nerves are most famous for Lee's "Hanging on the Telephone" later popularized by Blondie on their breakthrough album Parallel Lines. After The Nerves' demise Collins and Case formed The Breakaways which went through several guitarists until Case and Collins both moved to guitar and recruited Mike Ruiz (drums) and Steven Huff (bass and backing vocals). Case left the group after a few months of rehearsals to pursue a solo career which led to the eventual formation of The Plimsouls. Collins, Huff and Ruiz officially became "The Beat" when pressed for a group name prior to an interview to promote the release of The Breakaways recording of "Walking Out On Love" (credited as Paul Collins) on Bomp's Waves Vol. 1.