Duff Guide to Ska Fast Takes: Perkie and The Co-operators "Concrete, Steel and Stone"

Happy People Records
Black or grey vinyl single/digital
2020

(Review by Steve Shafer)

Perkie and The Co-operators' phenomenal trad ska single "Concrete, Steel, and Stone" is being released as a preview of their forthcoming second album Beating the Doldrums, which is due for release in early 2021 on producer/musician Eeyun Purkins' Waggle Dance Records. 

According to the band, the record this cut comes from is, "a concept album of sorts discussing the turmoil and struggles of life under the current system and the journey to escape its confinements." In this regard, "Concrete, Steel, and Stone" seems to be a great choice of a single, as it sharply illustrates The Co-operators' thesis. 

"Concrete, Steel, and Stone" is a song of great beauty and sadness; an earworm that you'll welcome taking up residence in your brain. Perkie's gorgeous vocals (delivered quite gently, as she's bearing bad tidings that we know in our hearts are true) float over a brisk ska beat and express profound sorrow and regret that we live the way we do--out of synch with nature and the world around us, in a prison of our own making (that may be turning into a tomb).

The song's lyrics are worth quoting in full, as one may not be able to make out the verses--and they're worth noting:

"Cars cross fibres, thread veins, sew layers, vessels of busy brains
We don't always notice our chains
So, we don't make change
We stick to the root we feel most comfortable in
But is this your skin?

They built a body out of concrete, steel, and stone
And then they called it our home
They built a body out of concrete, steel, and stone
But now I wanna go home

Noise and lights
Make noise and fight
Who chooses who's worthy or scorned?
Who chooses to be born
Into a life of mourning?
Who's willing to climb the hill to see the morning sun rise
Open your eyes

They built a body out of concrete, steel, and stone
And then they called it our home
They built a body out of concrete, steel, and stone
But now I wanna go home"

Anyone paying close attention will have noticed that another recent Happy People Records 45 came from Eeyun Purkins and The Co-operators--Joe Yorke and The Eastonian Singers' sensational roots reggae single "Judgement Tree" (which I reviewed here). If you like top-notch ska and reggae sounds, they've got the goods!

Duff Review: The Dreamlets "Sunny" b/w "My Heart is Crying"!

Happy People Records
Pink or black vinyl single/digital
2020

(Review by Steve Shafer)

I've been hearing about the brilliant Japanese rocksteady female vocal trio The Dreamlets for ages, but have found it quite difficult to acquire any of their music, even though they've been releasing singles and EPs since 1996. Either the record is out of print or commanding astronomical prices on Discogs. And, apart from their 2001 Ready Rocksteady Go EP on Germany's Brutus Records and  2003 "My Boy Lollipop" single on Gaz's Rockin' Records, The Dreamlets haven't released anything else outside of Japan--until now. Sean Flowerdew's Happy People Records is issuing a limited-edition single featuring two choice cuts from The Dreamlet's back catalogue: "Sunny," which appeared on their 2004 Moon Beat 45 and "My Heart is Crying," the B-side to their "Destiny" 2004 Moon Beat single. "Sunny" is a gorgeously sad version of Bobby Hebb's 1966 soul-jazz hit, written in response to both national and personal tragedy--JFK's assassination and the fatal stabbing of Hebb's older brother Harold. Yet, instead of being knee-capped by loss and grief, Hebb finds strength and inspiration in their memory: "Sunny, yesterday, oh, my life was filled with rain/Sunny, you smiled at me and really, really eased the pain/Now the dark days are done, and the bright days are here/My Sunny, one shines so sincere/Sunny one so true, I love you." "My Heart Is Crying" is (from what I can tell) an incredible original vintage-style rocksteady track full of intense longing and desire. This one's a bit pricey if you're outside of the UK, but worth every cent and more.

Also of note, Happy People Records is issuing two other very intriguing singles--The Loving Paupers' "And the Piano's Playing" b/w "Enemy of History" (both from their superb debut LP Lines) and Capitol 1212 featuring Earl 16 covering Joy Division's "Love with Tear Us Apart" b/w "Dub Will Tear Us Apart" (the incredible vocal cut is from the 2018 Scotch Bonnet comp Puffer's Choice, Volume 2, while the dub is exclusive to this single). All of these singles will go quickly.

+ + + +

Duff Review: "Memoirs of a Ska Librarian: The History of Rude Skazine"

(Review by Steve Shafer)

From our vantage point in time, it's kind of quaint to imagine/remember a time before the internet and social media, when information about non-mainstream bands was sometimes nearly impossible to come by. But, thanks to the late '70s punk DIY ethos that helped spawn zine culture (see Punk, Sniffin' Glue, Jamming, etc.), fans of underground sounds and scenes from the mid-'70s on strived to remedy that dilemma by creating their own means of disseminating band news, interviews, and reviews, filling a void that the establishment music press likely didn't know existed (or didn't deem profitable enough to cover or care about).

For the late '80s/early '90s ska scene, skazines were crucial lifelines to what was going on outside one's own limited sphere of experience and knowledge. Apart from a printed catalogue from an indie label, a flyer for a show on a telephone pole or in a record store window, or second-hand info via a ska-obsessed friend, there was virtually no other source of ska info than a zine (I first became involved in the ska scene by writing reviews for the Bakersfield, CA-based skazine Roughneck Business back in 1990). Since the mid-to-late '80s British ska scene (The Loafers, Potato 5, Laurel Aitken, Deltones, Trojans, Maroon Town, Hotknives, Riffs, Capone and the Bullets, King Hammond, Bad Manners, etc.) had a big jump on its American counterpart (which didn't really get its act together nationally until 1993-1994; earlier in the 1980s, ska flourished in a few US cities, but these scenes were largely parochial and isolated), the UK skazines cropped up a bit earlier. In addition to George Marshall's fantastic, but much shorter-lived, Zoot!, the other absolutely essential UK skazine of this period was Kevin Flowerdew's Rude. While most skazines reported on a local or regional scene, Rude endeavored to cover it all--and was by far the greatest source of international ska news, bar none.

Originally written on a typewriter, then cut and pasted, and xeroxed, each issue of Rude offered dozens upon dozens of short paragraphs conveying the latest news relating to ska bands' tours and goings on, and/or brief reviews of new releases. It was a wealth of precious ska info contained on two (or more) folded and stapled A4 sheets of paper that tipped you off to your next favorite band or album (from the next town over or the other side of the world) that you never knew existed.

Kevin Flowerdew's Memoirs of a Ska Librarian: The History of Rude Skazine (5 zines printed on glossy paper, Do The Dog Music, 2019) celebrates the best of Rude, which was published between 1989 and 1996 (when Flowerdew changed the name of the zine to Do The Dog, to match the ska label that he had launched). Memoirs focuses on Flowerdew's intro to ska (via 2 Tone, of course), the origins and history of Rude, as well as his front row experience witnessing the rise of The Loafers (his brother Sean's first band--he'd later be in Special Beat and Pama International, and created the London International Ska Festival in 1988, which continues to this day). Flowerdew wasn't just documenting and promoting the scene, he was urged to form his own group by the "Godfather of Ska" himself, Laurel Aitken (his sage advice: "If you love ska, you should start your own band")--and quickly followed Aitken's directive by founding Bakesys Midday Joggers (later shortened to The Bakesys), whose history and exploits are also recounted here. Memoirs of a Ska Librarian is accompanied by four special issues of Rude--each covering two-year periods from 1989-1990, 1991-1992, 1993-1994, and 1995-1996--and reprinting the best bits from those respective years. In particular, it's fascinating to watch the American ska scene explode as you turn these pages.

Rude had an astonishingly broad reach and was incredibly influential--so much so, that back when I was doing promotions for Moon Ska Records, Rude was always amongst the first batch of promo copies of a new release that I'd mail out (in the early years, these were cassettes!). At a time when people either had to (proactively) mail-order an album or head out to their local record shop to buy it, Rude's review was vital to getting the word out to ska fans (who would hopefully support our bands with their hard-earned cash!). What was particularly impressive was how Flowerdew gave everyone a fair shake--if a band took the time to send him a letter or package, he'd write about them in the next issue. It was a very democratic approach; new bands on the block received the same coverage as established ones and made Rude's scope all the more comprehensive. And that's what makes the librarian comparison in the title so apt--with Rude, Flowerdew was cataloging that era of ska like no one else on the planet.

Whether you lived through this time as a ska fan or missed out on it due to the timing of your birth or other circumstances, you'll find Memoirs of a Ska Librarian and the special editions of Rude a truly great read that will likely spur you to dig out albums from this period to play or track down copies of records you definitely now need on Discogs. But they also help document this pre-digital era in ska, so much of which only remains in fans' memories, record collections, and in shoeboxes in closets--and remind one of how the 1990s ska scene would have been significantly diminished/hampered had this amazing skazine not existed.

+ + + +

Duff Guide to Ska Fast Takes: K-Man and The 45s and Pama International!

(Reviews by Steve Shafer)

I've been hearing really good things about Montreal's K-Man and The 45s for several years now (mostly in relation to the annual Montreal Ska Festival), so it's great to finally have a chance to review a new record from these ska/rock 'n' rollers (who veer into reggae, punk, even '80s hardcore--see the excellent, fiercely anti-heroin track "Don't Touch It"). Stand with the Youth (CD/digital/LP, Stomp Records, 2019) is K-Man and The 45s' dynamite fourth album (if you include their CD of ska covers of Ramones tunes) and its title track was written and recorded in response to the activism of the student survivors of the horrific Parkland school shooting and their allied peers who are organizing and advocating for sensible gun control laws in the US to help prevent future mass shootings, which continue to occur with alarming (yet increasingly numbing) frequency. K-Man and The 45s firmly side with the kids in this righteous cause: "We got a bullied young boy who wants to shoot it up/Then we watch it on the news how he went and lit it up/And now the youth of the nation ain’t giving it up/Because they’re fighting for their freedom and ain’t never going to stop." "Hooligans" pushes back against the gentrifying real estate developers ("goons with clipboards") who destroy vital and funky neighborhoods/communities for greed; the hard rocking "Paranoid Panic" is about succumbing to the fear created by the never-ending barrage of sensationalized crime stories in the media ("Another drive by on the news tonight/Seems like the neighborhood is one big fight/It’s a revved up panic that’s pushing her through the night"); and "Free to Go" encourages a woman to leave her physically abusive partner. But it's not all grim. The ridiculously catchy--and best cut on the album--"I've Got a Minute" ("...I want to waste it with you") is about working up the nerve to ask her out. "Hero with a Death Ray" is an homage to Cold War-era TV sci-fi characters like Flash Gordon or Captain Kirk ("Flying around going to slingshot in deep space/Hyper drive winning at the space race/Pick up the trophy, kiss the girl/Then he sets off to save the world." And the reggae track "Cooking Out the Pans" is concerned with nothing but the simple pleasures of hanging out on a beach, eating fish, smoking weed, and listening to live music. Anyone itching for a new Toasters record should absolutely grab this--most of the fantastic horn lines and arrangements sound like they could have been written by Bucket himself (and both bands share an admiration for '60s ska influencer Chuck Berry; on this record, K-Man and The 45s deliver a cool ska cover of "Never Can Tell"...).

Temporarily shedding their ska and reggae to fully explore the "altruistic soul" aspect of their sound, Pama International's Stop the War on the Poor (CD/digital/LP, Happy People Records, 2019) is a spectacular concept album of sorts, full of Motown and Stax-like songs by Sean Flowerdew and Lenny Bignell about love in all its forms--romantic love between people; the spiritual/moral love in forgiveness and redemption; and the love expressed through compassion and empathy for your fellow human being. Cara Jane Murphy and Jewels Vass split the vocal duties here (sides A and B, respectively) and both are are nothing short of amazing. Top cuts here include the Birmingham gospel/soul of "Get Up Off Your Knees" ("Lord he dared me/Raised my heart and compared me/To something he had trod in/Spreading disease/To my shame/I played him at his own game/Lord, get me off my knees"); the Detroit soul of the wonderfully named "Sure You Know the Price (But Do You Know the Cost)," which asks if you're willing to go all in--being vulnerable and risking hurt and more--for who you love ("I put myself in your heart/For all the good it did/Failed to understand/All that you kept hid/What's the use in worrying/If you never doubt/You get all that you give out"); the magnificent "Stop the War on the Poor" pleads for our collective focus to turn towards the corruption and criminality of the rich and powerful (who have rigged the system in their favor at the expense of everyone else) that is largely being ignored while the indigent are blamed for society's ills and punished/humiliated for their own supposed moral failings for not being materially successful; a great Temptations-like cover of Billy Preston's "You Are So Beautiful To Me"; and "I Love You (Wake Up)," which conveys sweetly intense longing and loneliness ("Four o'clock/Still awake/Waiting for/the day to break/Where are you?/Lying in silence/Deafened still/Don't want to spend/Another night/without you"). I'm not an expert on soul, but--damn--I know brilliant music when I hear it and Pama International's Stop the War on the Poor is it! All CDs and LPs come with an additional, free CD to share the musical love with friends, family, or strangers on the street!

+ + + +

Duff Review: Phoenix City All-stars "Clash Version Rockers"

Happy People Records
CD/digital/LP
2018

(Review by Steve Shafer)

Given the depth and variety of The Clash's formidable catalogue, it was probably a shrewd move for the Phoenix City All-stars (led by Pama International/London International Ska Festival's Sean Flowerdew) to crowdsource the selection of tracks they'd cover for their fourth album, Clash Version Rockers (winnowing the choice of all of those magnificent Clash songs down to a manageable number is no easy task). So, they informally polled their followers on Facebook to sort out what the people wanted and simply gave it to them. The resulting album is comprised of bulletproof fan favorites ("White Riot," "Career Opportunities," "White Man in Hammersmith Palais," "Guns of Brixton," etc.), which definitely guarantees the album wide appeal. But if this seems like it was a safe move, the Phoenix City All-stars pulled out all the stops and delivered some fantastic re-imaginings of these Clash cuts, and their versions of the non-reggae originals, in particular, are spectacular. The Clash's beloved, almost sacred songs couldn't be in better hands.

Breaking away a bit from Phoenix City All-stars' previous mission of re-working 2 Tone, Rolling Stones, and Dexy's Midnight Runners tracks as vintage '60s ska songs, these are stripped down, '70s rockers style dub takes on Clash classics--just vocals, keys, bass, and drums (by Jewels Vass, Sean Flowerdew, Ryan Windross, and Bullit, respectively), not one note on guitar is heard on this record!--all of which were deconstructed and reassembled (with all sorts of incredible audio effects liberally applied) by ace dub mixer Al Breadwinner in his analogue studio. Their collective work makes Clash Version Rockers sound very much like it was released in the wake of Sandinista and not a new album that was recorded almost four decades on.

"Tommy Gun Dub" (the original decried terrorism and the killing of innocents, while coming dangerously close to mythologizing the perpetrators) opens just like the original with bursts of machine gun-like drumming (in this case by Bullit!) that quickly shifts into skittering and slippery Jungle-like percussion, as the bass plays the vocal line and the listener forgets the original's rockist trappings. Mick Jones' guitar solo is repurposed here by the keys and used as a marvelously triumphant (and martial-like) means to close the song. Shedding the source's fury, Phoenix City All-stars' haunted and dread-filled version of "London Calling" gives the impression that Vass is broadcasting her illicit message of resistance from a cupboard in the ruins of a building (her vocals fade in and out as if we're losing her signal--or is it being jammed by the authorities?) and drives home how the imagined dystopian/fascist/post-apocalyptic future of the original is closer to being realized than ever before.

I've never felt that "This Is Radio Clash" received as much love and respect as it's due, so it's a real treat to find it included here (its superb Don Letts directed music video--shot in the Big Apple during The Clash's famed 1981 Bond's 17-date residency for the never realized "The Clash on Broadway" documentary--features boomboxes, graffiti, breakdancing, police surveillance, "Live at Five" coverage of their Bond's shows, decaying NYC subways and neighborhoods and beautifully captures a unique time in the city when The Bronx music scene/culture intersected with The Bowery's). In contrast with The Clash's bold funk rock, Phoenix City All-stars' sensational version of "This Is Radio Clash" is more slinky funky reggae and Vass' somewhat muted/restrained vocals (she's an unauthorized voice on pirate satellite, after all) serve to further emphasize the enormous danger that comes from losing our collective hold on the truth without alternatives to the official line (insanely relevant in a time when the White House spews out lies and propaganda on a daily basis; this track was written during the Reagan years, but they have nothing on what's happening with Trump). For all his sometimes strident sloganeering, Joe Strummer knew that freedom of speech is a potent check on authoritarianism. These "Radio Clash" lyrics are particularly striking today:

"Forces have been looting
My humanity
Curfews have been curbing
The end of liberty

Hands of law have sorted through
My identity
Now this sound is brave
And wants to be free"

Towards the end of the track, Vass repeatedly sings the phrase, "Can we get the world to listen?" The answer--as ever--is far from clear ("everybody hold on tight!").

Despite its winning, ballsy punk bravado, I've always thought the self-mythologizing "Clash City Rockers" was sort of a throwaway track (and unnecessary Who rip-off)--but it's brilliant in this interpretation. As with most of the dubs on this album, the bass takes the vocal line for the verses (you'll find yourself singing along in your head, if not out loud) and gives it a seriously heavy, danceable groove. It's completely stellar!

Even if you're a vinyl purist, spring for the CD in addition to the LP, as the bonus cuts are essential! The killer dub of "This is Radio Clash" has more bite and menace (and sounds like it could have come from Massive Attack vs. Mad Professor's No Protection; check out that viscera rattling atomic blast effect). Vass makes a very persuasive case for forgiving her father's non-violent crimes in "Bankrobber" (no jury would convict). And even though I desperately want to hear her sing the entirety of "White Man in Hammersmith Palais," it's a really interesting choice to have Vass stop her vocals after the "...and if they've got anything to say, there's many black ears here to listen" lyric. In depriving the rest of the song of all of Joe Strummer's pointed commentary about the '78 reggae and punk rock scenes, lack of unity between black and white youth, and soullessness of our fame-obsessed culture, it casts the track in a new light--changing its meaning to make it about black music fans enjoying the performance of and message in reggae music, and then focusing the listener's attention solely on Phoenix City All-stars' deft versioning of Strummer's remarkable music.

Anyone who still fervently holds the belief that The Clash are "the only band that matters" will definitely need--and completely love--this record.

+ + + +

To read more about Phoenix City All-stars, check out The Duff Guide to Ska reviews of their Two Tone Gone Ska, Skatisfaction, and Searching for the Young Ska Rebels albums.

+ + + +

Duff Review: Various Artists "Rudies All Around, Volume 1"

Happy People Records
CD/digital/LP
2018

(Review by Steve Shafer)

While Sean Flowerdew compiled Rudies All Around, Volume 1--a truly ace survey of current international ska acts--as a means to help promote and support his very worthy ongoing enterprise/labor of ska love, the London International Ska Festival (2019's edition is slated to feature Georgie Fame, Misty in Roots, Keith and Tex, Rudy Mills, The Steady 45s, Chris Murray, King Zepha, Masons Arms, Le Birrette, Erin Bardwell Collective, The Indecision, and many more to be announced over the coming months)--ska fans have the added benefit of encountering/being turned onto a host of incredible bands with minimal effort.

As with most carefully selected comps (and Flowerdew is particularly plugged into the global scene), there's a pretty wide variety of ska styles represented on Rudies All Around, Volume 1, which ensures that most listeners will find something to please them (though there's not much ska-punk--which is okay by me). On the traditional ska tip, things kick off with New Zealand's Atushi and The Moisties' "A Sound Of The Ska," which seems like it's been delivered to us in the present via a time machine from JA in 1964. Italy's all-female Le Birrette showcase their fantastic Deltones-y ska on "Mr A." Channeling Dr. Ring Ding, Masons Arms' "Von Vorn" is an incredible, amped-up Spirit of '69 skinhead reggae track in German. Mexico's Travelers Allstars' "Learned Lesson" is a great Jackie Mittoo-like instrumental, while Argentinians Los Aggrotones tread on great Western reggae territory with "Riding to Sonora." Italy's Uppertones joined by American Aggrolite Jesse Wagner do a fun rendition of the 1950's novelty song "El Cumpari," and the legendary and late Rico Rodriquez is featured on Pama International meets Manasseh's excellent futuristic sci-fi (via the 1970s) "Disobedient Dub" (from their Trojan Sessions in Dub album).

For those looking for 2 Tone/modern ska sounds, there's loads to like here. Ireland's Bionic Rats' phenomenally catchy "No Bottles No Milk" is about trying to get by in life with what (little) you've got (had to look up a lot of Irish slang to completely understand this one). Phoenix City All-stars' extraordinary dubby and haunted version of The Clash's "London Calling" drives home how the imagined dystopian/fascist/post-apocalyptic future of the original is closer to being realized than ever (I can't wait to hear the rest of the album this comes from, Clash Version Rockers!). "When It Rains" from the amazing Lions (whose members include Alex Desert and Deston Berry of Hepcat) is about how America's legacy of slavery continues to play out in all sorts of horrifically racist ways (and comes from their superb Soul Riot album--read our review of it). South Korea's The Rulerz's "Angels With Dirty Faces" may remind one of Euro-ska of the early 1990s. Capone and the Bullets (Scotland) turn in a great, deranged ska cover of Kraftwerk's "Das Model" (and emphasize the predatory creepiness of its lyrics), while The Scotch Bonnets (USA) transform The Ramones' punk anthem "Sheena is a Punk Rocker" into a mellow(er), but still very spirited rocksteady track. Dan P and The Bricks (USA) raucous and infectious "The Show" is about becoming an obsessive ska fan/musician. Italy's Miserable Man's broken-hearted acoustic-y/campfire ska song  "Heart in a Fire" is offbeat and completely winning. One of our favorite earworm cuts on the comp comes from Canada: King Kong 4's phenomenal "Profile of a New Elite" (think late '70s Elvis Costello meets The Specials), a cheery, but dark tale that points out how racists/fascists aren't born but raised.

Really, every song on Rudies All Around, Volume 1 is top-quality and I was introduced to a slew of bands that I had never heard from before. So, mission accomplished!

+ + + +

Help Save the London International Ska Festival!

Sean Flowerdew, organizer of the long-running London International Ska Festival (and member of such illustrious bands as The Loafers, Pama International, and Phoenix City All-Stars), has launched a crowdfunder to help keep the festival (whose very existence is being threatened by its debt burden).

I'll let Sean make his pitch below (do read it, please), but I do want to let you know that there are all sorts of simple and rewarding ways for you--ska fans worldwide--to help Save the London International Ska Festival. You could do this by donating £5 for a raffle to take place this October (with prizes ranging from a £250 voucher to Merc clothing, a 250 voucher to Modfather clothing, a Trojan Records bundle, a Greensleeves Records bundle, a Cherry Red Red Records ska bundle, tickets to LISF Clash tribute or 2 Tone Thames cruises, signed LPs from Lynval Golding, Toots Hibbert, Mad Professor, and others, a subscription to Do The Dog Skazine, and much more!); pre-ordering the fantastic new Rudies All Around 18-track international ska compilation (CD, LP, digital) or the much-antipated Clash Version Rockers by the Phoenix City All-Stars (both albums start shipping out around September 21, 2018); or if you're planning to be in London or live there, consider buying advance tickets for one of the LISF club nights or river cruises this fall!

I've already pre-ordered the Rudies All Around and Clash Version Rockers albums and am about to pick up one of those raffle tickets (since you've got to be in it to win it). The Save the London International Ska Festival crowdfunder campaign only lasts until September 18, 2018, so if you want to do your part, you really do need to act now.

+ + + +

Sean Flowerdew: "I founded The London Intl Ska Festival in 1988. Since then we've celebrated all things ska, from its roots in mento, calypso and rhythm & blues and onward through its evolution into rocksteady, reggae, dub, 2 Tone, skapunk and beyond.

Since 2011 the festival has been operating with substantial debts, which despite some great support and fundraising still total over £50,000. In the last 8 years, although I haven't ever taken a penny from the festival or been paid for any of the work, I have been able to keep the festival going year to year and paying off debts as I go. This unfortunately has taken its toll and I can no longer afford to fund the festival by myself.

So I'm reaching out to ska lovers around the world, to people who see the importance of our historic festival and to all the people who have enjoyed the shows over the last 30 years.

The aim of this crowdfunder is to try and #SaveTheSkaFest and clear the historic debts once and for all. Then The London Intl Ska Festival can move forward and continue to programme world-class and world-exclusive shows. You can help in a number of ways.

You can donate using this campaign, or purchase any one of our rewards which include badges, our compilation CD & LP Rudies All Around (featuring 18 fantastic bands from 13 countries), or tickets for any one of our events (all listed in the rewards). I will also be adding some more rewards next week.

Over 30 years we have hosted some of the greatest names in the genre including 2 Tone members from The Specials and Madness, plus The Selecter, The Beat, Jerry Dammers and Rhoda Dakar. We've had Jamaican legends: Prince Buster, Alton Ellis, Delroy Wilson, U-Roy, The Skatalites (starring Tommy McCook, Roland Alphonso, Lloyd Knibb, Lloyd Brevett, Dizzy Moore and Lester Sterling), Lee Perry, Horace Andy, Desmond Dekker, Ken Boothe, Doreen Shaffer, Derrick Morgan, Laurel Aitken, Keith & Tex, Ken Parker, Rico Rodriguez, Derrick Harriott, Bob Andy, Marcia Griffiths, Dennis Alcapone, Dave & Ansel Collins, The Pioneers, The Clarendonians, Otis Gayle, Owen Gray, Freddie Notes, Stranger Cole, Ranking Joe, BB Seaton (Gaylads), Twinkle Brothers, Clive Chin (Randys), Gladdy Wax sound system, Vin Gordon and Channel One sound system.

And 100s more including; Steel Pulse, Misty In Roots, Judge Dread, Bitty McLean, Caroll Thompson, Christopher Ellis, Dreadzone, Zion Train, The Skints, Pama International, Don Letts, David Rodigan, James Hunter, The Pietasters, The Toasters, African Head Charge, Dennis Bovell, Gentlemans Dub Club, Babylon Circus, Dub Pistols, Brinsley Forde (Aswad), The Hempolics, Jazz Jamaica, Mad Professor, The Loafers, Potato 5, Hotknives, Ska Cubano, Wrongtom, Manasseh, Sonic Boom Six, Chris Murray, to name a very few.

We have hosted shows in iconic London venues including; the Victoria & Albert Museum, The Forum, 100 Club, The Astoria, The Brixton Fridge (now the Electric), O2 Academy Islington, Islington Assembly Hall, Dixie Queen paddle steamer, Camden's Dublin Castle, Jazz Cafe, Dingwalls, Electric Ballroom and Barfly.

I would love to continue the festival. The next one is in the diary for 18-21 April 2019. If you'd like to see The London Intl Ska Festival continue please support if you can afford to and share this campaign with anyone you know who loves ska!"

+ + + + 

Duff Review: Pama International "Love and Austerity"

Heavyweight LP, CD, digital download (the album is also being released as a series of four singles via Record Kicks)
Happy People Records
2017

(Review by Steve Shafer)

I've been listening to Pama International's ninth album for weeks now, ruminating about whether or not this is a political concept record of sorts (read on to find out!). However, during that time, what's never been in question is the sheer excellence of all of the ska-reggae-soul songs contained on Pama International's Love and Austerity. The LP is anchored by two incredible covers that kick off each side: Martha and the Vandellas' "Heatwave" and John Holt's "Man Next Door." The former could be read as a metaphor for climate change, while the latter might be interpreted as being about societal breakdown ("I've got to get away from here/This is not a place for me to stay/I've got to take my family/And find a quiet place"). Even the one catchy instrumental on the album is named "Gasoline" (the literal fuel of our planet's destruction and a prime example of humankind's extreme folly). To this mix, add their original "Austerity Skank," which tries to shake off the gray of the punishing Cameron--and now Theresa May/Brexit--years through PMA: "Hard times have come/Now, hard times be gone/No more illusions/System delusions/Our hard times are done...I'm stepping out to a better place/Tired of all of the lies getting in the way/I just want to be free/With no austerity..."

Even most of the lush love songs on this album (with the exception of "Skies Are Blue"--for now!) are filled with friction, dysfunction, and entropy. Life is passing by a man sleepwalking through his relationship in "Wake Up" ("We spend hours/Worrying about the business/Just to go and miss the sunset...Wake up, my darling/For you are the reason why/I celebrate life every time you smile"). Another couple is on the verge of breaking up in "I Cried Until I Stopped"--she's heartbroken over what must happen (but even her tears have limits)--though by the end of the song she defiantly sings that she'll "never stop loving you." The last track on the LP is a soulful cover of John Loudermilk's 1962 tune "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye," which on its face is hopeful about a couple's future together, but can't quite push away the reality that not everything lasts ("Kiss me each morning for a million years/Hold me each evening by your side/Tell me you'll love me for a million years/Then if it don't work out/Then if it don't work out/Then you can tell me goodbye").

On Love and Austerity, Pama International's lyrics may be downbeat, but the exquisite music and wonderful performances pack a staggering emotional wollop. This is the music to help get you through the rough days that most likely lay ahead...

+ + + +

Help Save the London International Ska Festival!

Here's a guest post from Sean Flowerdew of Pama International and the London International Ska Festival. Please consider becoming a patron of this amazing and venerable ska festival (I have!)...

Save The London Intl Ska Festival - Become a patron today!

My name is Sean Flowerdew. I founded and run The London Int’l Ska Festival. Since it's launch in 1988, I have strived to create an unique and world class event, that does justice to the world of ska, rocksteady, reggae, 2 Tone and beyond. I’m honoured to have hosted hundreds of bands and DJs at some of the best venues London has to offer for 29 years!

Year on year, the festival grows and attracts more people from all over the world. It has always astonished me that someone would fly from another continent for a weekend. It is truly fantastic to see so many international friendships, relationships, marriages and even families be born out of our festival.

Sadly, it has become increasingly difficult to single handedly maintain the festival. A couple of bad financial years for the festival in 2011 and 2012 set me back personally by tens of thousands of pounds. Since then any profit just pays off past years debts. To make matters worse, what is a full time job can never provide a wage.

I love the festival. I love programming it. More then anything I want to keep the festival going and want it to grow in the way I know it can, but personally carrying debts year to year, which are now in excess of £79,000, has taken it’s toll. It has become impossible to fund the festival solely by myself.

To keep the London Intl Ska Festival not only alive, but continuing to thrive, I need to clear the debts. I have thought long and hard about seeking companies to invest or getting sponsorship but I know this would change the nature and integrity of what is a truly independent festival.

So, I’m reaching out to you, friends of the festival and fans of all things ska. I need your help. Today I am launching a patron scheme, whereby you can support the festival and ensure it’s survival and growth.

I'm not asking for donations (although anything helps). I'm asking you to become part of the festival and invest in it. For now, we’ve come up with four ways of supporting our festival, all based around becoming a patron.

Not only do your your money, but you can sleep happy in the knowledge that you've become part of, and supported what is a vital and historical festival.

Become a patron of The London Intl Ska Festival

Become of patron for as little as £3 
Every little bit helps--a this level you will receive the newly launched Help Save LISF pin badge. Price includes postage anywhere in the world.

Become a patron for £25
For this your name will be listed in the 2018/30th Anniversary Ska Festival book & you will receive a set of our 6 exclusive football team postcards.

Become a patron for £40
For this your name will be listed in the 2018/30th Anniversary Ska Festival book. You will also recieve a set of our 6 football team postcards and an exclusive screen printed t-shirt, designed by Peter O’Toole.

Become a patron for £147.50 (ska festival wristband ticket option)
For this your name will be listed in the 2018/30th Anniversary Ska Festival book. You will also recieve a set of our 6 football team postcards and an exclusive screen printed t-shirt, designed by Peter O’Toole. AND a wristband ticket to The London International Ska Festival 2018. The wristband ticket will get you into all the 2018 festival events.

The London Int’l Ska Festival 2018 will take place next Easter (29th March-1st April). If you can, please help us to celebrate our 30th Anniversary in the style we’ve all become accustomed to.

Thank you for reading and thank you for supporting!

Sean Flowerdew
The London Int’l Ska Festival

+ + + + 

Duff Guide to Ska Fast Takes: Hollie Cook's "Superstar," Pama International's "Man Next Door" b/w "Austerity Skank," and Neville Staple's "Return of Judge Roughneck"

(Reviews by Steve Shafer)

Hollie Cook "Superstar" b/w "Superdub" (free Record Store Day 7"/digital download, Merge Records, 2017): The physical release of this single was a last minute addition to the 2017 Record Store Day line-up and was said to given out for free at select indie shops in celebration of Cook's joining the Merge Records line-up in the USA (did anyone receive one?). The choice of cover here--The Carpenters' AM pop staple "Superstar"--is definitely inspired, continues to fulfill Cook's mission to create "tropical pop," and is well matched to her wonderfully pure voice. And while this is no slight to producer/drummer Ben Mckone (who does a very fine job here), I have to admit to kind of missing the Prince Fatty touch. No word on the new album yet, but it bodes well, based on this teaser...

Pama International "Man Next Door" b/w "Austerity Skank" (clear vinyl 7" single/digital download, Record Kicks, 2017): Following their fantastic cover of Martha and the Vandellas' "Heatwave" comes Pama International's second single off their forthcoming Love and Austerity album (to be released any time now via Record Kicks and featuring the amazing co-lead vocals of Jewels Vass and Anna Uhuru). John Holt's rocksteady urban living lament (most memorably versioned/deconstructed by The Slits) is beautifully rendered here. Even better is Pama International's original tune "Austerity Skank," which tries to shake off the gray of the punishing Cameron (now May/Brexit) years through PMA: "Hard times have come/Now, hard times be gone/No more illusions/System delusions/Our hard times are done...I'm stepping out to a better place/Tired of all of the lies getting in the way/I just want to be free/With no austerity..."

Neville Staple Return of Judge Roughneck (CD/2 x LP, Cleopatra Records, 2017): When I first put on Neville Staple's new record (after first seeing it on Chuck Wren's FB feed) and heard the opening notes of "Gangsters"/"Al Capone" in "Return of Judge Roughneck" (referencing his "Stupid Marriage" persona, natch), I braced myself for an album trading heavily on 2 Tone/Specials nostalgia (even note the use of The Specials' font on the back cover). After having listened to the LP several times through now, my initial impressions haven't been dispelled, but it's all done so winningly and well that any cynicism melts away at the sheer joy of it all. About half the tracks are safe but good covers (Stranger Cole's "Bangarang," Peter Tosh's "Maga Dog," The Melodians' "Sweet Sensation," and Sigman and Magidson's via Prince Buster/The Specials "Enjoy Yourself," among them)--though, the "Ghost Town"-like version of his own Fun Boy Three's "The Lunatics Have Taken Over the Asylum," an apt tune for the times if there ever was one, and gleeful rendition of Jimmy Soul's "If You Want to Be Happy" are truly ace; but think of them as warming you up for the really good stuff. Just about all of the new tracks--the Toasters-like modern ska of "Down My Street," the rocksteady rude boy anthem "Crime Don't Pay," the Madness-y sing-along music hall ska of "Gang Fever" ("Every time you read The Mirror or Star/Kids shot dead, rumours of war/It's a fever"), and "Politician Man"--are really good in their own right (more of these, please!). Oh, and there's a full album of inventive dubs included on the second LP or extended CD ("Crime Dub," Roadblock," "Dub Fever," "Bang Bang," "Dub Crazy," and "Legal Dub" in particular are fantastic!). This one is very much worth picking up.

+ + + +

Pama International's "Love and Austerity" Vinyl PledgeMusic Campaign!

Pama International recently launched a new PledgeMusic campaign for the vinyl versions of their upcoming Love and Austerity album, which are slated to be sent out in February 2017 (the album also will be released on CD/digital by Cherry Red/Happy People in January 2017). As always with this type of fan crowdfunding, there are signed copies of the album available, as well as a very limited edition boxset (only 100 will be made) of the album's tracks released as a series of eight 7" singles. My pledge made today for the Love and Austerity LP just put them at exactly 50% of their project goal! (The campaign has 79 days left, but act now!)

Sadly, I won't be able to take advantage of a special offer currently extended to Pama pledgers this week--a free ticket to experience Pama International support Misty In Roots on November 26, 2016 at The Garage in London (dub legend Dennis "Blackbeard" Bovell will be mixing Pama live that night)! Now, if only I could score some free airline tix to the UK...

The digital version of the band's first single off the album, their reggae cover of Martha and Vandella's "Heatwave," will be available from iTunes and other digital retailers tomorrow, Friday, October 14 (and you can pre-order a "Heatwave" 7" through the PledgeMusic campaign now).

Here are Pama International's upcoming tour dates:

26.11.16 London: Garage - w/Misty In Roots and Dennis Bovell
09.12.16 London: Garage - w/King Prawn & Don Letts
06.04.17 Glasgow: O2 Academy 2 supporting The Dead 60s
07.04.17 Sheffield :O2 Academy 2 supporting The Dead 60s
08.04.17 Birmingham: Institute 2 supporting The Dead 60s
09.04.17 Brighton: Concorde 2 supporting The Dead 60s
13.04.17 London: Electric Ballroom supporting The Dead 60s (part of The London Intl Ska Festival)
14.04.17 Liverpool: O2 Academy supporting The Dead 60s

+ + + +

Pama International Returns with New Single, Upcoming Album, Shows, and UK Tour with Dead 60s!

After taking a seven-year break to work on other projects, Pama International is back on the beat with a new single (a fantastic, grooving reggae cover of Martha and the Vandella's "Heatwave" featuring Pama Intl's extraordinary vocalists Jewels Vass and Anna Uhuru, to be released digitally on October 14, 2016), a new album (Love and Austerity on Cherry Red Records/Happy People, to be released digitally and on vinyl in January of 2017--all tracks produced by Pama Intl songwriter/founder Sean Flowerdew and guitarist Lenny Bignell), and are playing upcoming shows with Zion Train, King Prawn, Dennis Bovell (!), Don Letts (!), Misty In Roots (!), and a UK tour with a recently reanimated punky-ska'n'reggae The Dead 60s (see "Ghostfaced Killer")!

Based on what I'm hearing on "Heatwave," we're in for lots more incredible music from Pama Intl in the months ahead. If you're in the UK, make sure to catch one of their upcoming shows...

Pama International Gig Dates
23.09.16 London: Trojan Thames cruise (sold-out!)
24.09.16 London: Garage w/Zion Train, General Roots & Solution Sound System
07.10.16 Swindon: The Vic w/Destination Anywhere & Shocks of Mighty DJs
08.10.16 London: Trojan - Trojan Records official club night - Heatwave launch party
26.11.16 London: Garage - w/Misty In Roots and Dennis Bovell
09.12.16 London: Garage - w/King Prawn & Don Letts
06.04.17 Glasgow: O2 Academy 2 supporting The Dead 60s
07.04.17 Sheffield :O2 Academy 2 supporting The Dead 60s
08.04.17 Birmingham: Institute 2 supporting The Dead 60s
09.04.17 Brighton: Concorde 2 supporting The Dead 60s
13.04.17 London: Electric Ballroom supporting The Dead 60s (part of The London Intl Ska Festival)
14.04.17 Liverpool: O2 Academy supporting The Dead 60s

+ + + +

Cherry Red/Phoenix City Records Picks Up "Rhoda Dakar Sings The Bodysnatchers" for November 2015 Release!

If you missed out on the PledgeMusic crowdfunding campaign for Rhoda Dakar Sings The Bodysnatchers, you now have a second chance to obtain what is an essential album for any self-respecting 2 Tone fan's collection! Cherry Red Records imprint Phoenix City Records is releasing the Rhoda Dakar Sings The Bodysnatchers CD on November 6, 2015--and the first 50 pre-orders will be signed by Rhoda Dakar.

As you probably already know, I'm crazy about this album (which features Ms. Dakar singing both previously recorded and unrecorded Bodysnatchers tunes and she's backed by two Specials, Lynval Golding on guitar and Horace Panter on bass; Sean Flowerdew of Pama Intl/Phoenix City All-stars on keys and co-producing; Mark Claydon of The Get Up on drums; Lenny Bignell of the Sidewalk Doctors and Phoenix City All-stars on guitar and co-producing; and Karl Wirrmann from Intensified on sax)--read my Duff Guide to Ska review of "Rhoda Sings The Bodysnatchers" album here. I strongly urge you buy it if you don't already have it!

New Phoenix City All-stars Album--Plus the 2015 London International Ska Festival Line-Up!

This year's annual London International Ska Festival is fast approaching (it's shaping up to be one of the best--see the incredible band list below), which means there's a new album forthcoming from the Phoenix City All-stars. For their third release--Searching for the Young Ska Rebels (a nice play on a certain band's 1980 debut record)--they're covering the Stax/Motown-influenced soul music of Dexy's Midnight Runners, and the album is timed to be released at the LISF in April (you can pre-order the limited-edition LP or CD now). Dexy's ska-related factiod: Jerry Dammers tried to sign them to 2 Tone.

If you don't know the band, the Phoenix City All-stars are led by Sean Flowerdew (of Pama Int'l and the organizer of the London International Ska Festival) and Lenny Bignell (The Sidwalk Doctors)--and their two previous albums are stellar Studio One takes on 2 Tone classics and Rolling Stones hits. Read The Duff Guide to Ska reviews of the Phoenix City All-stars' Two Tone Gone Ska and Skatisfaction here and here.

+ + + +

The 2015 London International Ska Festival is taking place from April 2 through the 5th and will feature some of the best ska and reggae acts from the 60s, the 2 Tone era, the Third Wave 80s/90s, and today: Lee Scratch Perry, Steel Pulse (performing Handsworth Revolution), Derrick Harriott, Gentleman's Dub Club, Rico Rodriguez, Freddie Notes, Sir Horace Uptown Collective, Rhoda Dakar (Sings the Bodysnatchers), Vin Gordon and His Real Rock Band, Beat Goes Band (featuring Everett Morton), Dennis Bovell Dub Band, AJ Franklin, Dreadzone, Zion Train, Babylon Circus, Buster Shuffle, The Toasters, Two Tone Club (France), The Talks, Miserable Man (Italy), The Riffs (Malta), Beat Bahnhof (Japan), Paperboy, and Dojo. And don't forget all of the DJs lined up: Don Letts, Gladdy Wax, Ras Digby, Eddie Regal, Tighten Up Crew, Phil Nush Sounds and Pressure Lofi, Axis Sound System, Oxman, David Katz, Natty Bo, Fenomeno Show, Time Tunnel, Kuryakin - Apex Hi-Fi, and Skankin' Steve (sadly, that's not me!).

Wow! Anyone have free airplane tix to London and a place for me to stay?

Duff Review: "Rhoda Dakar Sings The Bodysnatchers"

Pledge Music
2014
CD/LP/digital download
(The CD is also available to purchase through the London International Ska Festival website.)

(Review by Steve Shafer)

Of all the 2 Tone-era bands, The Bodysnatchers (2 Tone's only all-female act--and the only women in the late 70s UK ska scene apart from Pauline Black) were the ones who were criminally under-documented on vinyl during their relatively brief--but brilliant--existence, from late 1979 to 1981. Apart from two fantastic singles (a cover of Dandy Livingstone's "Let's Do Rocksteady" b/w "Ruder Than You," co-written by The Bodysnatchers and the band's friend Gaz Mayall in 1980; and the band's "Easy Life" b/w a cover of Bob Andy's "Too Experienced," also released in 1980) and an amazing live version of "Easy Life" included on the Dance Craze soundtrack (1981), The Bodysnatchers weren't able to keep it together long enough to record their debut album before fragmenting over how to move forward. One faction of The Bodysnatchers wanted to go pop (the majority of the band): Sarah Jane Owen, Stella Barker, Penny Leyton, and Miranda Joyce formed The Belle Stars, releasing a pop version of The Bodysnatchers' original "Hiawatha" as their first single (later, they had a massive hit with their cover of The Dixie Cups' "Iko Iko"--the song was originally written by James "Sugar Boy Crawford"--when it was featured on the 1988 "Rain Man" film soundtrack); after The Belle Stars' demise, Owen and Layton then joined The Deltones, another amazing all female UK ska act, in 1984. The remainder of The Bodysnatchers wanted to be more political--Ms. Dakar and Nicky Summers went on to work with The Special AKA, releasing the first Bodysnatcher song the band ever wrote, "The Boiler" (an extremely disturbing story of date rape, only meant to be listened to once, according to Jerry Dammers); Dakar then joined The Special AKA, singing and co-writing songs on their sole studio album (read my thoughts on that record here).

After two long, challenging, and apparently very unpleasant years recording The Special AKA's extraordinary In the Studio (in a recent interview with Reggae Steady Ska, Ms. Dakar stated that she's never listened to the finished album), Ms. Dakar took a long break from the ska scene (though she did occasionally sing and record in the 80s and 90s with non-ska acts like Happy House, Palm Skin Productions, Dr. Robert of the Blow Monkeys, and Apollo 440). However, according to Paul Williams' book "You're Wondering Now: The Specials from Conception to Reunion," in 2002 Jennie Matthias (Belle Stars/Big 5) contacted Dakar to see if she was interested in touring with her and Pauline Black of The Selecter as part of a "Ska Divas" supergroup, performing Bodysnatchers, Selecter, and Belle Stars songs--all backed by a band that included Nick Welsh (who, at the time, was the songwriter and bassist of that iteration of The Selecter, and had been a member of Bad Manners, as well as the man behind King Hammond).

These shows rekindled Dakar's love of ska music and later led to a series of fruitful collaborations between her and Welsh (that apparently had been initiated at the suggestion of Ms. Black). In 2006, Welsh left The Selecter and formed Skaville UK--and arranged for Dakar to sing vocals on several tracks on each of that act's two albums (1973 in 2006 and Decadent! in 2008) and she performed gigs with them, as well. Welsh also co-wrote several songs and played all of the instruments on Dakar's 2007 solo record, Cleaning in Another Woman's Kitchen, and the two released the more rock-oriented Back to the Garage in 2009. Dakar also was a featured guest vocalist on Madness' "On the Town," from their stunningly good 2009 album, The Liberty of Norton Folgate (read my thoughts on that record here).

After having been approached by a seemingly never-ending stream of Bodysnatchers and 2 Tone fans over the span of several decades about the possibility of her releasing an album of unrecorded Bodysnatchers' tunes (a full-on reunion was never in the cards; the split in 1981 wasn't amicable)--coupled with the 35th anniversary of the band's formation and an opportunity to perform Bodysnatchers' songs on Halloween at the Jazz Cafe in Camden--led Dakar to get in touch with Sean Flowerdew (Pama Intl/Phoenix City All-stars/London International Ska Festival) to see if he thought it was feasible to put together some sort of recording. Of course, he did--and with Dakar's suggestion that they crowd fund the album through PledgeMusic (full disclosure: I financially supported this project in exchange for a CD and LP!), they assembled an all-star ska backing band (featuring two Specials, Lynval Golding on guitar and Horace Panter on bass; Sean Flowerdew on keys and co-producing; Mark Claydon of The Get Up on drums; Lenny Bignell of the Sidewalk Doctors and Phoenix City All-stars on guitar and co-producing; and Karl Wirrmann from Intensified on sax) and recorded 10 tracks live in the studio in one day (including five original and unrecorded Bodysnatchers songs).

While some DGTS readers of a certain age may have been fortunate enough to have seen The Bodysnatchers perform many of these tracks live, this record will be the very first opportunity for many a 2 Tone/Bodysnatchers fan to experience much of this music (it was mine!) and they won't be disappointed, as the songs and performances are nothing short of stellar (Ms. Dakar is in extremely fine form)!

[Some may grouse about the inclusion of the three previously recorded cuts here, plus another cover that was captured in Dance Craze--"Easy Life," Too Experienced," "Let's Do Rocksteady," and Desmond Dekker's "007"--but they likely would have appeared on The Bodysnatchers album, had that come to pass back in 1981. The versions here compare very favorably with the original arrangements (these aren't radical updates--they're true to The Bodysnatchers' 2 Tone sound--and they're terrific) and they deserve inclusion on Rhoda Dakar Sings The Bodysnatchers, since they are the band's signature tunes.]

Much like The Slits' "Typical Girls" (and keeping with 2 Tone's mission to address social, political, and economic injustice within undeniably catchy songs that make one want to dance), The Bodysnatchers' "Easy Life"--the first track on Rhoda Dakar Sings The Bodysnatchers and certainly one of the band's finest moments--challenged 1970 British society's prevailing and very much entrenched attitude regarding the role of women (something we're still grappling with today) and acknowledged how difficult it was/is to defy these imposed expectations and fight for real equality--particularly for young women just reaching adulthood. It was also revolutionary in that they were women singing ska songs--in a scene dominated by young men--from a woman's point of view:

"I've been waiting so long
For this here time to come
I've been waiting ever so long
For this here time to come
But now it's here, do I want it?
Now it's here, I'm not sure if I want it
Why don't I plump for the easy option?
Yes, I could go for the easy option

It could be so easy
Life could be so easy
It could be so easy
Life could be so easy

We are near to our equality
Girls and boys with pay parity
We are near to our equality
The law says there is equal opportunity
But still it's a struggle
Yes, life is still a struggle
I could stay home and play houses
Care for my man and press his trousers

It could be so easy...

Hey girls, it's not too late
To stay home and vegetate
Just like mamma says you should do
Life society says you should do
Is this our natural fate?
I wasn't born to procreate
If I didn't have to use my brain
I know that I would go insane
I refuse, I want to say no
I don't care if it's hard, if it's slow

It could be so easy..."

(One much appreciated bonus to picking up this CD is that it contains song lyrics in the insert; before it arrived, I had been listening to the digital download tracks over and over in my attempt to discern the lyrics to the previously unreleased tracks! Note to bands: Please take the time, effort, and expense to print/post your lyrics somewhere so that fans can easily discern your songs' messages...)

"The Ghost of the Vox Continental" (the Vox Continental is a transistor-based combo organ that was used by Jerry Dammers and Madness' Mike Barson, amongst many other 2 Tone and new wave musicians) is an amusing ghost story about a keyboardist who is crushed by his organ during a load-in, but, even in death, is so devoted to the band that he continues to perform at gigs ("The ghostly keyboard player/Returned to haunt the band/The untouched keyboard moved to/The touch of a ghostly hand...They tried hard for a replacement/But no one stayed for very long/No need for them to learn the set/Vox Continental knew each song"). Of course, the song features a very prominent organ line that has slight echoes of Johann Sebastian Bach's "Toccata and Fugue in D minor" (which has been associated with horror movies since its use in films like "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" in 1931 and the 1962 Hammer Production of "The Phantom of the Opera"; many ska fans will recognize that The Toasters used its opening measures as the introduction to "Frankenska," on their 1988 Thrill Me Up album).

The carousel-like organ line that opens "Happy Time Tune" belies the suffering and want contained within its lyrics. While enduring the cold and wet London morning, Ms. Dakar recalls a seemingly idyllic family holiday to visit relatives in Jamaica ("We played cricket on the soft grass/Picked Julie mango from the trees"). But these pleasant memories are tempered by the grinding poverty in Jamaica and the song suggests that one should always be aware and appreciate that some people don't have it as good as you do and will never have the chance to go on holiday from the day-to-day lives: "There is another side to Jamaica/Far away from your Orange Street/Where poor people live in iron shacks/No work, no shoes on them feet/For them, there is no happy time/For them, no sun a shine/For them, no bird a sing/You should know everything."

The brilliantly evocative and cinematic "Private Eye"--think Humphrey Bogart as Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe in "The Big Sleep"--so deftly captures the essence and spirit of film noir. For portions of the song, Ms. Dakar is a femme fatale ("Said he liked my bleach job, used to be a brunette/I looked at him sideways, he lit my cigarette") who has a history with Marlowe ("He saved my life a few years back/Some crazy meathead was on my track"). One of the great things about this song is how its point of view shifts--at first, Ms. Dakar is the omniscient narrator describing Marlowe on a stakeout on Sunset Boulevard in LA ("Check the drugstore across the street/Saw his suspect come out to meet/Tall man in black, fedora hat/Hailed a cab/That was that"), then she's the femme fatale, followed by the aforementioned, stalking "meathead" encountering the PI ("Marlowe smashed through the door/Stuck a Lugar in my face!"), and finally she's Marlowe, with his lament about his destiny to live on the seamier side of life, but how his profession (and ingrained moral code) keeps him from succumbing to the plethora of sin around him.

"I don't know why I'm a PI, it just doesn't make sense
Every day's a parking lot, the crowd of losers is dense
Wheeling with wasters, dealing with drunks
Whiskey for breakfast, coffee for lunch
High-class fluff, low-class hotels
Drugstore cowboys, nights spent in cells
Got no family, I got no home
All my romance takes place on the phone
Don't work too much, it don't really matter
If I didn't exist like this
I'd be with the rest, in the gutter"

The immensely catchy "The Loser" finds the singer giving dating and sartorial advice to an uncool guy whose approach toward women is painfully wrong. He heeds all of it and transforms himself into a popular ladies' man. To the dismay of the singer, she finds herself falling for him, too, even though she knows his front is more of a put-on than real:

"Time when by and I noticed the change
Acting still, but the role was new
You tried less, achieved and enigmatic pose
Taken in, girls surrounded you
Suddenly, when next we met
I realized I'd fallen for this drip
On each arm clung adoring girls
"By the way, thank you for the tip""

The take-away of the incredible, but sorrowful, rocksteady-ish "Mixed Feelings" is that one shouldn't settle for relationships that are conflicted, compromised, or fake: "So many people spend their days/Wondering if they like or hate/Too many people waste their time/Telling, telling the truth and wish they were lying/They are laughing, but crying/Just crying inside/Knowing their heart was broken..."

Apart from the strange notion that had the native peoples of North America only shared their lands with the white European invaders and not fought "with national pride," they wouldn't have been almost completely wiped out, "Hiawatha" is a welcome plea for rejecting nationalism and embracing multiculturalism (two prominent issues that England was beginning to grapple with in the late 70s/early 80s), as well as keeping in mind that we're all descended from common ancestors, if you go back far enough: "Integration, social changes/Different customs, faces/Stops us from getting in a rut." (It should be noted that in the Belle Stars' music video for "Hiawatha," the awful "native" costume touches and set--with totem poles!--trade on stereotypes and almost negate the positive message of the song!)

Rhoda Dakar Sings The Bodysnatchers is The Duff Guide to Ska's pick for album of the year. It's a superb album in its own right and an incredibly momentous development for the global ska scene--a "lost" 2 Tone record has been recovered, finally rendering the 2 Tone label discography complete. Get Rhoda Dakar Sings The Bodysnatchers now!

Duff Review: 2012 LISF Singles from Neol Davies, The Dualers, Phoenix City All-Stars with Dave Barker

London International Ska Festival
2012
7" vinyl singles

(Review by Steve Shafer)

These two limited edition singles were released by the organizers of the 2012 London International Ska Festival (led by a certain ska musician/fanatic by the name of Sean Flowerdew) to help promote/commemorate this event, as well as celebrate several of the headlining artists who performed earlier this year. If you couldn't have been there (like poor old me!), they're at least a taste of all the ska and reggae goodness there was to be had...

Single 1: Neol Davies "Dolla Fe Dolla" b/w The Dualers "Nothing Takes the Place of You"

While Pauline Black will forever be known as the extraordinary voice of The Selecter (and is currently helming her own version of the band), Neol Davies, as all good students of 2 Tone know, is the songwriter (and guitarist) behind such fantastic Selecter cuts as "The Selecter," "Three Minute Hero," "Street Feeling,""Missing Words," "Too Much Pressure," "On My Radio," "Celebrate the Bullet," and more. Davies proves himself once again to be an ace ska composer with the hard-hitting and extremely (or it is eternally) topical anti-greed/corruption salvo "Dolla Fe Dolla": "You try and ask your MP/Where's all the security?/He's banking it all offshore/and he's coming right back for more...Another catastrophe/they want to blame it on you me/So long before things could change/You'd better stay out of range!" Essential listening (with a great, immediately identifiable Selecterized guitar bridge) for the people expected to pick up the tab for/suffer the consequences of the big banks' outrageously risky and often rigged--see Libor--schemes (and the politicians failure to uphold laws/adequately regulate the financial system). And a damned good ska song, to boot. I want much more of this, Mr. Davies (please!).

The Dualers' thoroughly heartfelt/melancholy cover of Prince Buster's cover of Toussaint McCall's 1967 hit soul ballad "Nothing Takes the Place of You" (from their fine Prince Buster Shakedown album--read The Duff Guide to Ska review here) is a spot-on tribute to The Prince--and if you get a chance to compare Buster's cover to the original recording, you'll find that PB's arrangement of the song is vastly superior to the source material.

Single 2: Phoenix City All-Stars featuring Dave Barker "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" b/w "The Selecter"

Dave Barker and the Phoenix City All-Stars' sweet vintage ska version of The Shirelles' pre-coital 1960 R&B hit "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" (penned by Gerry Goffin and Carole King) seems to have been transported straight from 1964 Kingston, JA. Even more striking is the Phoenix City All-Stars' version of Neol Davies' foundational cut "The Selecter," which was kind of a shock at first listen. I fully expected to hear an approximation of the hot summery insect buzz of the percussion, the crisp ska rhythm guitar, and then the lazy and haunting trombone line. Instead, one is hit with a very brisk, old-school Skatalites rendition of this track. Then you're immediately cognizant of the fact that it's a brave and brilliant re-imagining of a song that is deeply entrenched in the minds and beloved in the hearts of countless 2 Tone ska fans--and to not pull off a radical versioning of the song would have been disastrous (it should be very interesting to hear the other 2 Tone tracks that are re-created as 60s ska cuts on their upcoming Two Tone Gone Ska album).

2012 London International Ska Fest Dates Announced!

Sean Flowerdew has just announced that the 2012 London International Ska Festival will be held from May 3 through 6 with 30+ bands and DJs from all over the world! Many more details to be announced later on in the year...but you can buy your discounted early bird tickets here.

Duff Interview: Sean Flowerdew on the 2011 London International Ska Festival (Plus The Caroloregians Just Added to the Line-up)!

The Duff Guide to Ska is most grateful to Sean Flowerdew (Pama Intl, Rockers Revolt Records, The Loafers) for taking the time to do the following interview with us regarding the upcoming 2011 London International Ska Festival (LISF). At the time of this interview, he was in the midst of playing Pama Intl's last few shows (promoting their most recent album, Pama Intl meet Mad Professor-Rewired In Dub) before the band goes on extended hiatus--whilst simultaneously putting together the ska fest, and running his label (and you thought you had a lot on your plate!).


The Duff Guide to Ska: Why is this the most opportune time to re-launch the London International Ska Festival? What has happened on the ska scene (or in your life) to make this the right time to do it?

Sean Flowerdew: I'm not sure it's the most opportune time, but there certainly is a lot of interest. Obviously The Specials reforming, Madness releasing a fantastic new album, people like Lily Allen and Amy Winehouse championing the ska sounds, Soul Jazz reissuing Studio One comps with very nice packages over the last few years have all combined on a mainstream level to create more interest in ska. Soul Jazz particularly seemed it make it cool and hip again. And of course, there've been people working very hard on a grassroots level to keep things moving forward: Do The Dog (label and zine), The Brixton Hootananny (puts on free ska gigs every Friday to 400-500 people and has some bigger names on at low prices), Gaz's Rockin' Blues celebrating it's 30th anniversary (the longest running club night in London); plus loads of ska-inspired bands gigging: The Amphetameanies, Bombskare, Cartoon Violence, Dub Pistols, Babyhead, Jimmy The Squirrel, King Blues, Maroon Town, all the 2 Tone guys, Sidewalk Doctors, Intensified, Rasta4Eyes, Pama Intl, Splitters, Simmertones, Dirty Revolution...US touring bands like The Aggrolites, Slackers, Big D. And club nights/sound systems around the country like Pressure Drop, Funkdub, Reggae Train, Tighten Up Crew, Set The Tone, Downbeat Melody, Axis Sound System, Sounds & Pressure all regularly spinning ska sounds. I'm sure I've forgotten loads as well!

It's very healthy times for the ska scene again, but that wasn't the catalyst for me deciding to relaunch this though. All year I've been looking at my own work with Pama Intl and Rockers Revolt label and just trying to figure out what I want to be doing next year and further into the future. And for the first time in Pama Intl's 10 years...I didn't see anything, or rather I wasn't inspired to do anything. So, rather then do 100 Pama Intl shows throughout the year, I thought it be good to put all my energies into one event. I know the ska scene better than any other music scene, nostalgia's in fashion, so I thought I'd relaunch The London International Ska Festival. For once, my hunch that others would be interested certainly seems to be accurate, judging by the feedback.


DGTS: Apart from ska stars like The Specials and Madness appearing at mega music festivals in the UK like Glastonbury, have there been any large ska festivals there in recent years?

SF: One reason I'm putting this on is I don't believe there's been a ska festival in the UK that has done the genre justice, for years. I include some of my own nights when I say there's been a lot of sub-par promotions in the name of ska. The first ones I was involved with were very good. I programmed and promoted the first LISF at The Brixton Fridge, a 1,400 capacity venue in south London on 21st December 1988. We followed that up with nights at London's infamous, but sadly now demolished, Astoria Theatre. We got TV coverage for those events, mainstream press coverage, and nothing like that has happened on that level since. Except for The Specials and Madness reformations, which of course eclipsed what we did.

I truly believe the line-up we're putting together for next year and the attention to detail we're putting into every aspect of the event will set it on a world-class level, the likes of which the UK and abroad hasn't seen. A long-term goal is to establish the genre on a mainstream level across the world. High hopes, I know, but you've got to aim high, and there is the talent in the world of ska and all its offshoots to be able to do it.


DGTS: How many fans to you anticipate showing up for the entire three-day London International Ska Festival?

SF: It's actually four days long and the way it's selling, I can see all days will be sold out before Christmas! So, 1,100-1,400 people across the weekend. We're mainly only selling weekend tickets for all four days, but there will also be 200-300 day tickets issued. The venue is only 1,250 capacity, and I'll be allocating 150 tickets for radio, press, and promoters. One of the main goals of the fest is to establish it as an annual event akin to the Soho Jazz Festival or WOMAD. An event that is respected the world over. An event that sells out before any of the line up is announced. An event that showcases and shows off how far this amazing genre has traveled and how good it can be.


DGTS: Are you the sole person selecting the acts--and what are the criteria for a band to be selected? Were any of the bands that were suggested by fans (on sites like The Specials' Fan site) chosen to appear?

SF: Yes, I'm the sole person, although I have asked many people's opinions (DJs I respect, my brother [Do the Dog Music's Kevin Flowerdew], other bands) and put out on the Facebook page asking people who they'd like to see. It was great to see I was pretty much on the right track. Many of the bands people were asking to see we've got. We're also going to blow people away with some of the things we're managing to get together for this.

The basic criteria is I've got to like the band. They've got to have a story, be it a legendary one or a new band one. I've got to be able to sell them to the press and radio, and ultimately sell tickets off the back of their name. There is a huge financial risk to this. The bill currently stands at £100,000, so I need bands that will pull people.


DGTS: Your old band The Loafers are reuniting for the occasion. What's the biggest challenge to preparing for your performance?

SF: It's actually really nice to be doing a band for the shear enjoyment of it. Unlike the last 10 years with Pama Intl, there is no major challenge. We'll rehearse, Nas (drums) and Trev (bass) play regularly as Big Boss Man and The Bongolian, and Finny and I have of course been doing Pama Intl, so we should be able to knock it into shape. I suppose one challenge is The Loafers always got by on youthful enthusiasm, which I don't think any of us have now! It's 21 years since we played together!





DGTS: If The Loafers' appearance exceeds your expectations, is there the possibility of doing more reunion gigs?

SF: No, it's an exclusive for the festival. I wanted to have a few things happening at the LISF that won't happen anywhere else, and set it apart from what anyone else is doing. The Loafers is one of those exclusives. Another one is getting the original Hotknives line-up to reform for a one-off.

Continuing with The Loafers isn't something I'd want to pursue. And I'm sure the same can be said for other members in the band. We've all got big fish to fry.


DGTS: What are your favorite moments from the first London International Ska Festival that you organized back in 1988?

SF: Seeing a queue stretching up the road and out of sight before doors was pretty incredible. Having all my favourite bands under one roof was great...Hotknives, Potato 5, Capone & The Bullets, Laurel Aitken, Napoleon Solo were pick of the bunch for me. I had Gaz Mayall MCing the night and he brought Prince Buster down with him. I was 17 when I started putting it together, so it was a pretty incredible feeling to realise I'd managed to get it to work.


DGTS: When do you expect that the entire bill with be finalized (and are there any new additions to the festival that you'd like to announce here)?

SF: We go on general sale with tickets early November '10, and I'm hoping to have most of the line-up finalised by then. We nearly have all the bands agreed, we're just working through contracts and waiting to fill two of the headline slots. We have offers in with five great acts for the two places, so it'll be the first ones to decide get it. We'll definitely have it all set by December '10.

The latest additions to the festival are...the Grammy-nominated singer James Hunter, whose sound is more of a soul and R'n'B style, akin to the sounds the Jamaican originators were tuning into. He's amazing. Van Morrison describes James as "the best soul voice to come out of Britain," and there a lovely ska lilt to a lot of his music. We've also got The Caroloregians from Belgium. I love these guys. They've got a great raw skinhead reggae meets the Meters funk thing going on. More to be announced start of November!

[Below, please find a live video I shot of The Caroloregians performing The Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" and their own "Karlking City Boogaloo" at The Knitting Factory in Brooklyn, NY on 6/5/10.]