With the recent return of 2 Tone contemporaries The Specials and Madness, not to mention the band’s inclusion in the soundtrack to one of this spring’s surprise hit films Hot Tub Time Machine, it’s an ideal time for The English Beat to get to work.

That’s just what the band is doing, according to Spinner; The English Beat has not released an album since Special Beat Service in 1982, but frontman Dave Wakeling has demoed 17 new tracks and they’re all ready. He just hasn’t decided whether or not to release them through a label.

“I’ve been talking with some record companies,” he told Billboard.com, “trying to compare that to going about it independently by ourselves — and I’m sort of heading in the second direction, I think.”

He added, “It seems like the paradigm is in transition. The [labels] don’t have the money to let you make a record anymore, but they still want all the rights that were theirs a decade ago. We’ve had a few offers to produce the record without the record companies involved, so that may be the best way to go.”

Wise you are, Mr. Wakeling. You can always do what Radiohead did, too — release it independently, and then if you change your mind you can call up your favorite label later and release it again.

Since he’s in the middle of the tour with his current U.S. version of The English Beat (some former bandmates tour with their own version in England, called The Beat), Wakeling is likely making this album only with his band — not reuniting with Ranking Roger, etc.

The English Beat 2010 Tour Dates:
05/15 – Ottawa, ON @ Shenkman Arts Centre
05/16 – Waterloo, ON @ Starlight Room
05/17 – Waterloo, ON @ Starlight Room
05/18 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
05/20 – Ferndale, MI @ The Magic Bag
05/21 – Indianapolis, IN @ Radio Radio
05/22 – Saint Louis, MO @ Blueberry Hill
05/24 – Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad
05/25 – Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress
05/28 – Inglewood, CA @ Hollywood Park Racetrack
05/29 – San Luis Obispo, CA @ Downtown Brewing Company
06/04 – Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up
06/05 – Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up
06/06 – Malibu, CA (Private)
06/11 – Malibu, CA (Private)
06/17 – Evanston, IL @ SPACE
06/19 – Manitowoc, WI @ Washington Park
06/23 – Seattle, WA @ Westlake Park
06/25 – Caspar, CA @ Caspar Inn
06/26 – Caspar, CA @ Caspar Inn
07/01 – San Jose, CA @ Plaza de Cesar Chavez
07/03 – Truckee, CA @ Truckee Regional Park Amphitheater
07/09 – Amagansett, NY @ Stephen Talkhouse
07/16 – Riverside, CA @ Romano’s Concert Lounge
07/17 – Irvine, CA @ Orange County Great Park
07/21 – Milwaukee, WI @ Pabst Theater *
07/22 – Apple Valley, MN @ Minnesota Zoo Amphitheater *
07/24 – Temecula, CA @ Wiens Family Cellars
07/25 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre *
07/27 – Las Vegas, NV @ Crown Nightclub at The Rio *
07/28 – Los Angeles, CA @ Gibson Amphitheatre *
07/30 – Saratoga, CA @ Mountain Winery *
07/31 – Napa, CA @ Uptown Theatre *
08/01 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore *
10/16 – Malibu, CA (Private)
12/30 – Malibu, CA (Private)

* = w/ Squeeze