Beat Union was a pop-punk band from Birmingham, Bromsgrove and Redditch, United Kingdom. They were formerly known as Shortcut to Newark. The group has garnered comparisons to Elvis Costello and The Jam, as well as pop punk groups like Green Day.
In 2006 the band toured the UK with Bedouin Soundclash and Zox.
Their debut full-length album, Disconnected, was released on Science Records in April 2008. It was produced with the help of John Feldmann, producer and frontman of Goldfinger.Rolling Stone named their song "She Is the Gun" Song of the Day on July 17, 2008. The song also received rotation on BBC Radio 1, where it rose to #5 on the station's airplay charts.
After releasing the album, the group toured with Goldfinger and then played the 2008 Warped Tour in the U.S. A U.S. fall tour has been announced with Flogging Molly, followed by UK dates with Less Than Jake.
As of August 2009, Luke Johnson has been officially announced as Lostprophets new drummer, as a permanent member providing "it all works out". Beat Union have now officially split after being dropped by their record label due to the failure of their debut album. Bar Luke Johnson, none of the former members are currently signed to any record label and are gigging small venues within the West Midlands area in local bands. Dave Warsop is currently in a band called Suedehead, whom have opened up for acts like Social Distortion.

Lineup:
Dave Warsop - Lead Vocals, Guitar (Suedehead / Shooter McGavin / Shortcut To Newark),
Luke Johnson (aka Jocko Johnson) - Drums (Shooter McGavin / Shortcut To Newark / Amen / Lostprophets),
Dean Ashton - Guitar, Backup Vocals (Shooter McGavin / Shortcut To Newark /Farse / The King Blues),
Ade Preston - Bass, Backup Vocals (Farse / The High Society / The King Blues)