Paul Collins first garnered attention as a member of the short-lived L.A. power-pop "supergroup" the Nerves in the 1970s. After the band split, he formed the Beat, who were the reason the similarly named British band had to change their name to the English Beat, but eventually the former became Paul Collins' Beat. The band went through numerous lineup changes and changed home base from L.A. to San Francisco to Europe, but remained active from the late '70s to the late '80s. After that, Collins began working as a solo artist, but in 2006 he formed a new Beat with musicians from Spain. In 2009 Collins undertook a tour with young U.S. powerpoppers Gentleman Jesse & His Men.