Ska News From Around the Globe: The Specials, LGB, Bad Manners, and Derrick Morgan

Editor's note: this here is a round-up of recent articles generally from the mainstream press that relate to ska music. Read on, rudies!

A posting on Virtual Festivals wonders whether the original line-up of The Specials will perform as the surprise act at Bestival on the Isle of Wight on September 6th (Madness filled this slot last year and Terry Hall is likely to perform with the Dub Pistols, so he'll be there anyway... ). I guess we'll soon find out. (Also, when is that new Madness album being released? I can't seem to find much about it on-line...)

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The Fresno Bee reports that Let's Go Bowling will be playing a show this weekend in celebration of their 22 years together. The article also notes that the band is considering entering the studio to lay down new tracks.

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The Essex Echo (UK) has a great feature on Buster Bloodvessel, who is turning 50 on September 6 (Happy Birthday Fatty!); recently dropped a mess of pounds (via gastric bypass surgery--they cut out 2/3 of his stomach!); and, as the accompanying photo proves, he sports the, ahem, longest tongue in show business (suck on that Gene Simmons!).

There is a similar article on Fatty in the Manchester Evening News.

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The Boston Globe recently published an article about ska DJ Generoso Fierro who is producing a documentary on ska/rocksteady great Derrick Morgan. Over the summer, Fierro arranged to fly in Morgan to perform at the Middle East in Cambridge, MA (backed by Void Union) in order to capture him in action and interview him afterwards. Fierro previously has made a doc about the rocksteady guitarist Lynn Taitt, which was screened in Jamaica at the first Reggae Film Festival in February.