While The English Beat still defies description, after more than three decades they also still connect.

While what seems to be just a white guy fronting a reggae band to many observers, what emerges upon closer scrutiny of David Wakeling’s long-term band The English Beat is much more than that.

“Back in the day, we thought we had something all brand new – mixing the raw energy of punk with the sinewy backbeat of reggae,” Wakeling says. “But that all but evaporated when we heard of the band The Specials in Melody Maker and we thought, ‘drat, somebody’s already done it.’”

Still, they forged on, although Wakeling admits, “We nearly gave up, but we thought we’d give it a go and here I am, still doing it 35 years later.”

When reggae came to Britain it morphed into ska, an even more highly syncopated, up-tempo version of the more mellow island classic beat. But Wakeling eschews such categorization.

“It’s not reggae, not ska, not rock, not mod,” he observes. “This band is the result of all of us pooling our respective musical influences into a dance band. That’s the only genre definition that fits. It’s dance band pop.”

Granted, the playlist is diverse, including a rollicking up-tempo repurposing of Smokey Robinson and The Miracles’ Motown classic “Tears of a Clown,” and a saxed-up remake of the Andy Williams standard “Can’t Get Used To Losing You.”

All of this is peppered with Wakeling’s own originals and his unique perspective on songwriting.

“If you are going to go after the writing thing, don’t even bother unless it makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck and you’ve cried a bit while writing it,” he says. “If it didn’t affect you that way, then you really didn’t mean it. If you listen back to it and it doesn’t affect you, then it’s not going to affect anyone else. Anybody can write a song nowadays, but it doesn’t mean that anyone should.”

Wakeling’s position on lyrics remains iconoclastic. “I like sardonic lyrics that sound simple from a distance,” he says, “but that make people say, ‘Did he really just say that?’”

The longevity of The English Beat is due to the band’s unwavering ability to connect with highly diverse audiences.

“It’s been a gritty, edgy journey from reggae and ska to dance pop and back again,” Wakeling says. “Come with us.”

THE ENGLISH BEAT 8pm Saturday, Jan. 25. Golden State Theatre, 417 Alvarado St., Monterey. $47-$98. 649-1070, goldenstatetheatre.com.