Born Roger Charlery on February 21, 1963 in Birmingham, he's most well known for fronting the 1980s two-tone band the Beat (known as the English Beat in North America) and was also the vocalist for General Public. He formed the latter with Beat guitarist and vocalist David Wakeling following the former band's split in 1983, though the original members did reunite in 2003 for a one-off London show and Roger went on to champion a new line up.
The Beat broke the news late last night via social media, confirming that Roger had passed away in the early evening of March 26, "peacefully at his home surrounded by family." In January it was revealed that the singer had undergone surgery for brain tumours and was also receiving treatment for lung cancer. However, a cause of death has not currently been confirmed.
Ranking Roger had a prolific career, recording multiple albums with the Beat — appearing on their first three LPs in the '80s: 'I Just Can't Stop It', 'Wha'ppen?', and 'Special Beat Service', as well as later releases such as 2016's 'Bounce' — and General Public, as well as pursuing numerous collaboration projects, including Special Beat with the Specials.
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