Duff Review: Various Artists: "Staring at the Rude Boys: The British Ska Revival (1979-1989)"

Pressure Drop/Cherry Red Records
3xCD
2021

(Review by Steve Shafer)

Named after one of the greatest non-ska tributes to the scene (by The Ruts, of course, who also appear on this comp backing Laurel Aitken), Pressure Drop/Cherry Red's Staring at the Rude Boys: The British Ska Revival (1979-1989) does a superb job of documenting the UK ska scene from the rise of 2 Tone through the "New Ska" scene that emerged in its wake in the latter half of the 1980s and was promoted by Unicorn Records (which coined the "New Ska" moniker), Staccato, and Gaz's Rockin' Records. This compilation presents 69 tracks over three CDs--with mostly excellent liner notes on each song/band (though there's a cringeworthy error in the Laurel Aitken/Potato 5 entry)--and while the 2 Tone and New Ska cuts are terrific (if not already featured on many other likeminded comps), the real treasure here are the dozens upon dozens of cuts from lesser-known, obscure, and even one-off novelty tracks that capitalized on/took a bit of the piss out of 2 Tone (see The Charlie Parkas' "Ballad of Robin Hood" and Max Headroom & the Car "Parks'" "Don't Panic"). Some of these non-2 Tone songs are more rough than ready, but the majority are good to great, and many of the original records now nearly impossible to find or quite pricey. Even though I'm a long-time fan/collector of UK ska from this decade, a surprising number of these songs are new to me, and this compilation fills in a big gap in my knowledge and collection (and may do the same for you, too). 

With its quality control so high, it's hard to go wrong when selecting 2 Tone tracks for inclusion, and the songs collected here are mostly deeper cuts (such as The Specials' "Little Bitch," Madness' "Bed and Breakfast Man," Bad Manners' "Inner London Violence"; and I'm particularly pleased with the choices of The Selecter's "Street Feeling" and The Beat's "Whine & Grine/Stand Down Margaret"). JA ska legends Rico, Desmond Dekker, and Laurel Aitken who were involved with or active during the 2 Tone-era are well-represented (with "Sea Cruise," "Rude Boy Train," and "Big Fat Man" respectively), as are Judge Dread (with the atypically non-slack "Ska Fever," where he's backed by The Cimarons) and Arthur Kay (an original '60s-era mod and musician who recorded with Rico and appeared on many Trojan releases; his "Play My Record" is included here). 

Among the lesser-known 2 Tone-era cuts are real gems from Ded Byrds ("Rich and Nasty"), Rockers Express ("Phoenix City"), new wavers Graduate (many know that this band featured future Tears for Fears-ers Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith, and their Elvis Costello/Madness pastiche "Elvis Should Play Ska" is irresistible), The Akrylykz ("Spiderman," with future Fine Young Cannibal Roland Gift, of course), The A.T.'s ("One More for the Road"), The AK Band ("Pink Slippers"), the pre-Ska-dows Sax Maniax ("Never Gonna Lose Me"), Case ("Oh"--this act featured Neil Pyzer, who would go on to Spear of Destiny, and more recently serve as producer, songwriter, and member of Pauline Black and Gaps Hendrickson-led version of The Selecter), Plastic Gangsters AKA oi band the 4-Skins ("Plastic Gangsters ("I Could Be So Good for You)"), new waver Kim Wilde ("2-6-5-8-0"), the Dublin-based Resistors ("Jeanie"), and The Ska-dows ("Ska'd for Life"--for some reason, back in the late '80s I failed to pick up the 1988 reissue of their only LP, but like them so much that I just tracked a copy down now on Discogs). Interestingly, some of the best tracks also come from moonlighting mod bands--The Merton Parkas ("Give It To Me Now") and The Lambrettas ("Poison Ivy"). 

The last two-thirds of disc three spotlight many of the incredible mid-to-late '80s New Ska bands, including Laurel Aitken & the Potato 5 ("Mad About You"), Burial ("Sheila"), Buster's Allstars ("Skinhead Luv-A-Fair"), King Hammond ("King Hammond Shuffle"), Mark Foggo's Skasters ("Skadansk"), The Hotknives ("Dave and Mary"), Maroon Town ("Pound to the Dollar"), The Loafers ("The Undertaker"--their keyboardist Sean Flowerdew would go on to organize dozen of London International Ska Festivals, play in Special Beat, form Pama International, and create Happy People Records), The Deltones ("Stay Where You Are"), The Riffs ("Blind Date"), and others (what, no Trojans?). If you're not already familiar with these New Ska acts, get ready to track down many more releases--they issued a ton of essential records within the span of a few years.

Overall, you'd be hard pressed to find a better compilation that attempts to represent this key decade in British ska than Staring at the Rude Boys.

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I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Kevin Flowerdew's recently released The Ska Librarian's 2 Tone Time Machine, which makes a stellar companion piece to Staring at the Rude Boys. Flowerdew's first skazine Rude began publishing in 1989, right at the tail end of the New Ska period, and ran through 1996, when he switched its name to Do the Dog Skazine to match the record label he launched (both continue to this day). With The Ska Librarian's 2 Tone Time Machine, Flowerdew covers the UK and international ska scenes as if he had been producing Rude from 1979 through 1988. Unsurprisingly, there's a fair amount of overlap between the bands featured on Staring at the Rude Boys and those that Flowerdew writes about in The Ska Librarian's 2 Tone Time Machine--and he provides some really helpful context and history that will only deepen your enjoyment and appreciation of this comp. 

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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.

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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.

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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!"

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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

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Duff Guide to Ska Fast Takes: The Toasters "Skaboom!" Reissue

The "Skaboom" LP and cassette covers with the re-worked
original art by Bob Fingerman.

(Review by Steve Shafer)

The Toasters Skaboom! (blue heavyweight vinyl/cassette, Jump Up Records/Megalith Records, 2016 reissue; originally released in the USA in 1987 on Moving Target/Celluloid and in a slightly altered form in the UK on Unicorn as Pool Shark): While The Toasters' 1987 debut LP wasn't the first American ska album out of the gate (bands like Chicago's Heavy Manners, Berkeley's The Uptones, and Boston's Bim Skala Bim beat them to the punch), Skaboom! was arguably the most influential record in the development/history of American ska--not only on its many musical merits, but because The Toasters' efforts to promote it helped lay the DIY foundation for the massive ska revival that hit the USA less than a decade later.

By 1987, The Toasters' brand of ska had evolved from the quirky, heavily New Wave-influenced ska of 1985's Recriminations EP to the brash and gritty, New York-centric in your face/"I'm walking here!" modern ska of Skaboom! that became their enduring, signature sound. And the band had metastasized into a "Warriors"-size gang; the only holdovers from the Recriminations era were Robert "Bucket" Hingley on guitar (the British expat zealously determined to popularize ska in America), Steve "Hex" LaForge on keys, and Gary Eye on percussion--augmented by The Unity Two, Sean "Cavo" Dinsmore and Lionel "Nene" Bernard sharing vocals with Bucket, Brian Emerich on bass, Jonathan McCain on drums, Marcel Reginato on alto sax, John Dugan on tenor sax, Greg Grinnell on cornet, and Anne Hellandsjo on trombone. The Toasters' (in)famous residency at CBGBs (the hardcore scene spilled over into the ska scene and with it came a fair amount of violence that led Hilly Kristal to ban ska from CBs for a time) and their non-stop gigging at other renown NYC clubs like Danceteria helped whip the band into a formidable live act (amongst the best I've ever seen).

Not only did The Toasters have the live chops (and then some), they had the tunes, too--written by Bucket, Dinsmore, and LaForge. Skaboom! is a brilliant collection of songs from start to finish--"Talk is Cheap," "Pool Shark," "Weekend in LA," "Shocker," "East Side Beat," "ABCs," "Manipulator," "Mr. Trouble," "Now or Never," and more--most of which are still included in The Toasters' live set 30 years later (you can read our in-depth look at some of these tracks here). Indeed, hearing this album for the first time in 1987, I remember being struck how original and fully-formed it all was--Skaboom! wasn't a 2 Tone clone, but its very own amazing thing.

Since Bucket's still fledgling Moon Records wasn't in a position to press and distribute Skaboom! (which they had produced themselves--hence, the fairly rudimentary recording), they struck up a deal with the French/American NYC-based independent label Celluloid to have the album released on their rock/reggae imprint Moving Target (which had issued records from Sly and Robbie, Yellowman, Dennis Bovell, and The Fleshtones). As a result, Skaboom! was distributed far and wide across the USA (and Unicorn did a decent job with Pool Shark in England, with some copies making their way over to the continent via mail order), so The Toasters decided to go for broke, quit their day jobs, and devote themselves to the band full-time--embarking on their first national tour in support of the album (the "Toast on the Coast" tour, naturally).

In the late 80s, ska music pretty much was limited to parochial underground scenes in major cities like NYC, Boston, DC, Chicago, San Francisco, and LA, which were fairly isolated from each other in those pre-internet days (I had no idea that there were any other ska bands from California apart from Fishbone and The Untouchables until hearing Moon Records' Ska Face: An All American Ska Compilation in 1988). Notably, The Toasters' "Toast on the Coast" tour helped forge the first ska touring network (which many bands would later follow); started to connect all of the disjointed regional ska scenes; and inspired numerous ska bands to form in their wake (which would reach critical mass in the mid-to-late 1990s with the so-called Third Wave of ska).

American fans converted to ska through 2 Tone (which many people here discovered long after it was over in the UK) and/or Fishbone's EP and The UTs' Wild Child apparently were primed and ravenous for more new, homegrown ska music. As a result, Moving Target/Celluloid sold upwards of 25,000 copies of the Skaboom! LP, CD, and cassette (though royalties on Skaboom! were never paid to the band before Celluloid went bankrupt right after the release of Thrill Me Up on Celluloid's new ska imprint for The Toasters, Skaloid)--and the album made it to a very respectable #54 spot on the CMJ college radio charts. In addition, Skaboom!/Pool Shark was well-received by the post-2 Tone UK scene that had emerged in the mid-to-late 80s around such extraordinary acts as Laurel Aitken, Derrick Morgan, The Trojans, Potato 5, The Deltones, The Hotknives, The Loafers, Maroon Town, The Riffs, Bad Manners, Judge Dread, and others. Scotland's phenomenal Zoot skazine declared The Toasters' Skaboom! to be "the best thing to come out of America since sliced bread" (a compliment) and the band eventually made it over to tour the UK in 1989 (where they recorded the live album Frankenska for Unicorn).

Three decades later, it's easy to take Skaboom! for granted (particularly in light of all of the great Toasters records that followed it), but one cannot overstate the significance of this release. In many ways, Skaboom! was the catalyst for much, if not all, of what transpired in American ska for years to come. Without it, the burgeoning U.S. ska scene might have gone bust a decade sooner...

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To read more about The Toasters' history and their Thrill Me Up, This Gun for Hire, and New York Fever albums, click here.

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Duff Review: Arthur Kay and The Originals "Rare 'N' Tasty" Reissue!

(By Steve Shafer)

Arthur Kay and The Originals Rare 'N' Tasty (LP, Mad Butcher/Black Butcher Classics, 2016 re-issue--available in the US through Jump Up Records): Back in 2008, MOJO Magazine dubbed Arthur Kay (nee Kitchener) as "the unsung hero of ska" and included one of his tracks in their Dawning of a New Era compilation CD, alongside The Specials, Desmond Dekker, Toots and the Maytals, Rico, Bob Marley, Laurel Aitken, Dandy Livingstone, and others. But his inclusion with such illustrious company surely left many casual ska fans scratching their heads. While he had built a considerable following of die-hard ska fans during 2 Tone and the late 80s/early 90s British/Euro ska revival, Arthur Kay never quite achieved the level of popularity and recognition that was his due, despite being a UK ska pioneer who had been in the right place at the right time with great and undeniably catchy material.

A first-generation South London mod in 1965, Kay had played bass in The Next Collection, which performed a mix of Tamla and Stax soul covers as well as their own songs at venues like the famed Ram Jam Club (where they played a week after Jimi Hendrix's debut there). Like many other mods, Kay also had caught the ska bug via the Prince Buster singles that were seemingly ever-present on the sound systems of all the clubs he frequented that year. In a development that further galvanized Kay's interest in ska, The Next Collection had the great fortune to back the great JA ska trombonist Rico Rodriguez and jazz trumpeter Harry Beckett during their first-ever recording session. But by 1966, Kay had left the band to become a session bass player at Chalk Farm Recording Studios in Camden (owned by The Next Collection's manager Vic Keary and Blue Beat Records/Melodisc owner Emil Shalit), where Kay appeared on many reggae recordings released on Trojan Records.

Just before 2 Tone hit in 1979, when there was no galvanized ska scene in the UK to speak of, Kay released his "Ska Wars" b/w "Warska" single for a local indie Red Admiral Records, which seemed to anticipate the looming ska craze (though Kay's ska sound had little in common with what The Specials, Selecter, and Madness were about to unleash--it was more of a stripped-down, often minor-key affair, devoid of any punk rock influences or hint of its origins in rhythm and blues). With only limited radio play and no major label backing, all 10,000 copies of the single still managed to sell out quickly, yet it never charted. The even stronger follow-up 45 on Red Admiral "Play My Record" (by Arthur Kay and the Originals), about how radio playlists are largely pay-to-play and dominated by the deep-pocketed major labels, was released during the fever pitch of 2 Tone in 1980, but failed to attract any significant national attention (and a potentially momentous tour with The Bodysnatchers had to be turned down due to scheduling conflicts with various members of The Originals). Two other excellent singles--"No One But You" b/w "High Flyer" (by The Originals) and "Watching the Rich Kids" b/w "Doctor Bird" (by Arthur Kay and The Originators)--were recorded during the 2 Tone era, but not issued.

During the UK ska revival of the late 80s (which featured such extraordinary acts as the Potato 5, The Trojans, Laurel Aitken, Loafers, Bad Manners, Judge Dread, The Deltones, Maroon Town, The Hotknives, etc.), Skank Records, as part of their Invisible Ska Years series, collected all of Arthur Kay and The Originals' released and unreleased 2 Tone-era recordings and issued Rare 'N' Tasty in 1988. At the time of its release, all of the 1979/1980 cuts on Rare and Tasty were right in synch with the contemporary UK ska scene, which must have been particularly satisfying to Kay--even if he had been ignored by the music industry and press, the kids had paid attention. Arthur Kay and the Originals clearly had influenced many of the late 80s UK ska acts (all of which were all decidedly non-2 Tone in sound); you could hear it in The Loafers, The Hotknives, The Riffs, and others. Kay's music had helped spawn the next UK ska scene and, in doing so, revitalized his career.

Interest in the band surged after the release of the Skank comp and Arthur Kay's Originals went on to record and release three albums (Sparkes of Inspiration in 1989, The Count of Clerkenwell in 1995, and Live in Berlin in 1996) with yet another iteration of the band (who also sometimes served as Judge Dread's backing band until his death in 1998).

As I was writing this post, I remembered that the reviewers in George Marshall's amazing late 80s Scottish skazine Zoot! had been huge fans of Arthur Kay. So, I dug my treasured copies out of my closet and found the review of Rare 'N' Tasty in Zoot! #9 (all of Zoot's reviews were always spot-on and brilliantly succinct). The rave write-up, which notes the injustice of Arthur Kay's exclusion from the history of UK ska/2 Tone, concludes with this line: "If I was a millionaire, I'd make sure everyone had a copy."

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Duff Review: Sammy Buzz "The Buzzman Cometh"

Self-released
CD
2016

(Review by Steve Shafer)

King Hammond musical collaborator Sammy Buzz (nee Wilson), who should be familiar to devoted readers of The Duff Guide to Ska (I reviewed his I'm Buzzin' EP in late 2012--and two of those tracks, "Cigarettes" and "I'm Buzzin'" are reprised here), has just released his truly marvelous debut album, The Buzzman Cometh, which features some seriously fun and memorable tracks about himself, women, ska-related matters, and just trying to make your way through life with your body and spirit intact.

Buzz's modern ska reminds this reviewer of the brilliant sounds created in the late 80s UK ska scene (Laurel Aitken, Bad Manners, The Trojans, Potato 5, Maroon Town, The Loafers, King Hammond, The Riffs, The Deltones, etc.)--definitely post-2 Tone and greatly influenced by those bands (particularly The Beat and--even though they weren't 2 Tone--The Equators), but not quite classifiably Third Wave (or whatever has come to pass in the years since). However you categorize his ska, Sammy Buzz writes some exceptionally good tunes (which are expertly produced by Steve Crittal) that should not be missed.

The album begins ominously (a bell tolls for you) with the excellent, melodramatic, spaghetti Western-flavored "The Buzzman Cometh." "Maaga Gal" (maaga is Jamaican patois for skinny--I had to look it up) is the catchiest ska song you've ever heard about a singer's concern and love for his underweight (anorexic?) girlfriend ("She may be skin and bone/but she's my very own...She may be lacking in flesh/But she's the very best!"). "Ruff Ride Ruff" borrows Prince Buster's instantly recognizable "Rough Rider" bass line, but isn't the expected lewd track--it's about a good-for-nothing being thrown out of the house by his strict mom ("She's rougher that the carpet in me room/Tougher than the bristles pon the broom/She's rougher than my pet hedgehog/Rough like a flea-bitten dog...").

"Rude Boys and Rude Girls" is a fantastic earworm of ska tune that essentially asks that the ongoing battle of the sexes be left at the door--the gig is all about dancing and pleasure. "We 'ave Fe Flex" is another lovely catchy track that reiterates the perennial plea for love, peace, and understanding: "Love thy neighbor/And love thy enemy/Give thanks and blessings/that we were born free/Keep out of trouble/and live healthy/Just look at the world and see that/Time so hard/We have Fe Flex..." The gentle and hilarious tweak of the nose of ska record collectors who like to boast that, whatever the title, "I Got It On Vinyl" hits this vinyl-obsessive reviewer close to home, but it makes me love it all the more, since it's so on the money (the taunting "la, la, la, la, las" between all of the "I got it on vinyl" refrains is a nice touch!).

The singer is almost mowed down while trying to cross the street by a driver being chased by the police in the dubby "Mad Traffick." "I Need a Holiday," a frantic dancehall cut, describes the singer trying to soak up as much relaxation as possible on vacation, only to find it immediately dissipate upon return to reality. "Cigarettes" is a public service announcement with a ska beat, coughs, and cheesy, 70s-sounding keyboard lines, urging listeners to quit this pernicious, addictive habit before it's too late ("Cigarette, cigarette/It can cause your death"), and Sammy offers a few hair-raising examples of why one should quit: "I had a friend called Bernadette/who was addicted to a cigarette/She smoked all day/and in bed at night/until her bedroom, it catch alight/She's not with us anymore/Now's she's knocking on Heaven's door/A big fat lesson to all of you/give up the cigarette, it's overdue!"

"Boss Skinhead" is another great self-referential song in a musical genre full of them (Laurel Aitken, amongst others, is name-checked here), while "I'm Buzzin'" spells out Sammy Buzz's let-the-good-times-roll, can't-change-fate approach to life ("I'm buzzing'/but I'm not out of my mind/Don't need no complication/An easy life for me/Don't work, no botheration/Yeah, what will be will be"). It's a very nice slice of upbeat ska for when your troubles might be grinding you down. The future's not so bright in the cold, New Wave-ish, "1984"-type tale "Urban Citizen," which denounces governmental surveillance of its people.

In addition to the 12 songs on the album, there are two cool bonus tracks, the lost and broken-hearted "Standing Here Alone" (which says it all, really) and a sunny, unnamed instrumental track ("Nice It Up"?) that's guaranteed to improve your outlook, even on the darkest of days.

Sammy Buzz's The Buzzman Cometh is one of the best new ska albums I've listened to and enjoyed this year. You should make sure to hear it, too!

In Remembrance: John "Brad" Bradbury of The Specials

(By Steve Shafer)

Since he appeared on both the label's first (The Special AKA "Gangsters" b/w The Selecter "The Selecter" in 1979) and last singles (the J.B's Allstars socialist view of/support for teachers and uniformly effective public education, "The Alphabet Army" in 1986), ska drummer, songwriter, and producer extraordinaire John "Prince Rimshot" Bradbury could be considered as the alpha and omega of 2 Tone--and he went on to keep the faith with ska music up to his very end, many decades after 2 Tone had closed up shop.

In the late 70s (read about his pre-Specials life in the Guardian's excellent obituary; take note that his mother was fiercely anti-racist and pro-immigrant), Bradbury traveled in the Coventry music circles of both Neol Davies and Jerry Dammers--he was the drummer for Davies' The Transposed Men (which contained another future Selecter, Desmond Brown) and was a housemate of Dammers'. When The Specials' first drummer Silverton Hutchinson quit the band, Dammers (who had some reservations that were overridden by Specials' rhythm guitarist Lynval Golding) recruited Bradbury to The Specials and they soon recorded their first song "Gangsters" with Bradbury behind the kit (along with early versions of "Nite Klub" and "Too Much Too Young" that the band didn't think were in any shape to be released). With their borrowed recording funds exhausted and without a flip side for "Gangsters," Dammers approached friend Neol Davies, who--months earlier--had recorded a demo instrumental track he had written with Bradbury (initially titled "Kingston Affair"), which had been produced by Roger Lomas with Bradbury on drums and Barry Jones on trombone. The track was renamed "The Selecter" (by a then non-existent band called The Selecter) and pressed up as part of the first double A-sided split single from the pre-Chrysalis 2 Tone Records--which ignited the feverish late 70s ska craze in the UK (and forced Davies to quickly assemble his new band).

Bradbury, of course, quickly settled in and served as the brilliant, crisply precise, and wonderfully versatile propulsive force--the heartbeat--that gave life to all of The Specials' incredible songs (for reminders of Bradbury's fantastic drumming skills, check out "Too Much Too Young," "Nite Klub," "Blank Expression," or "Man at C and A") on their two albums, related singles, and two EPs, which continue to captivate and inspire legions of ska fans and musicians worldwide to this very day. According to Specials' bassist Horace Panter in his book "Ska'd for Life," "Brad had the reggae groove down. With the exception of Jim Brown from UB40, I don't know of any other white drummer who could get that authentic feel. He didn't just play reggae, he could change tempo seamlessly from a 'one-drop' reggae beat to a 'four-on-the-floor' rock section, as can be heard on 'It's Up to You'..." (which Bradbury helped co-write, along with "Nite Klub" and "Blank Expression.") He set the bar very high for all 2 Tone-influenced drummers to come...

After The Specials disintegrated in 1981, Bradbury followed Dammers into the next iteration of the band--The Special AKA--and co-wrote several songs ("Bright Lights," "Housebound," and "Break Down the Door") on their amazing reggae/no-wave jazz/soul-filled In the Studio LP. During this period, Bradbury also explored his love of Northern Soul (previously revealed via The Specials' cover of "Sock It To 'Em, J.B!" on More Specials, which he produced) by forming his own soul group, J.B's Allstars that signed with RCA Victor and released four singles on that label--the final, fifth one on 2 Tone.

(In the early 80s, Bradbury also founded his own short-lived label, Race Records, which released five reggae and soul singles, including one from The People, which featured a post-Selecter Charley Anderson and Desmond Brown.)

As the first (white hot) post-2 Tone UK ska scene (The Trojans, Potato 5, Laurel Aitken, Bad Manners, The Deltones, The Hotknives, The Riffs, The Forest Hillbillies, etc.) emerged in the late 80s, Bradbury was drafted to produce key albums for The Loafers (Contagious) and Maroon Town (High and Dry).

In the early 90s, Bradbury was presuaded to assemble an all-star 2 Tone road band after an encounter with Ian Copeland (brother of Stewart of The Police and Miles of IRS Records), owner of Frontier Booking International. Copeland had told Bradbury how the US ska scene (particularly in Southern California) was on the verge of (finally) breaking big and that a touring 2 Tone act would be very enthusiastically received (much more than any of these bands had experienced during their challenging visits to the USA in the early 80s). The result was The Special Beat (comprised, at various points, of Bradbury, Horace Panter, Lynval Golding, Neville Staple, Ranking Roger, Saxa, The Loafers' Sean Flowerdew, and others), which performed--obviously--Specials and Beat hits and embarked on several massively successful tours of the US (including the groundbreaking 1993 Skavoovee Tour with The Skatalites, The Selecter, and The Toasters) and Japan. When the Special Beat had run its course, Bradbury drummed for a few years for a version of The Selecter (with Pauline Black, Arthur "Gaps" Hendrickson, and Nick Welsh of Bad Manners and King Hammond fame), as well as Welsh's and Jennie (Belle Stars) Matthais's Big 5.

During the late 1990s and much of the 2000s--up until The Specials reformed with all members except Jerry Dammers in 2008 to perform at Bestival (billed as Terry Hall and Friends)--Bradbury worked on computers as an information technology (IT) specialist. The Bestival appearance (and their reception from the fans) convinced all involved to make a go of it again for a series of sold-out 30th anniversary reunion dates in 2009 in the UK, Japan, and Australia. Bradbury eagerly participated in every highly successful Specials reunion tour (that followed in 2011, 2013, and 2015), which brought the band to venues and festivals in the UK, US, Europe, Japan, Mexico, and Chile. At a recent BBC 6 Music songwriter's panel in Birmingham on December 7, 2016, Terry Hall was quoted as stating that The Specials were planning to tour the US and UK in 2016 with new material.

John Bradbury died of undisclosed causes on December 28, 2016.

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My sincere condolences go out to Bradbury's family, friends, and fans.

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(This post was greatly informed by selections from Paul "Willo" Williams' biography of The Specials, "You're Wondering Now: The Specials from Conception to Reunion." Thanks to the author for this invaluable resource on the band.)

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The Toasters in 2013: Touring USA, Europe, Russia; London Intl Ska Festival; New CD and Vinyl Releases

As always, there is lots going in The Toasters' camp. They're just about to launch their 2013 winter tour of the the USA this January and February (see dates below), to be followed by a European tour in April and May, and then Russia in June.

Other big Toasters news is that the band is one of the featured performers on day four of The 2013 London International Ska Festival on March 31 at Dingwalls, Camden Lock, London. Other performers on this bill ("The Great British Ska Explosion") include Maroon Town (featuring their original singer, Stevie Bee, plus specials guests from The Loafers and Hotknives), 100 Men, and a DJ set by members of the great Potato 5.

On the recorded music front, Phoenix City Records recently released two fantastic Toasters CDs: the 20-track career retrospective 30th Anniversary; and Pool Shark, the 1987 Unicorn Records release of the same name (many of these cuts went on to form Skaboom in the USA), plus bonus tracks comprised of two other '87 UK-released Toasters EPs, East Side Beat (Ska/Oi Records) and Recriminations (Unicorn). Jump Up Records will soon be issuing one of my favorite Toasters albums on vinyl, New York Fever (there was never a domestic vinyl release of this record--only a limited pressing by Pork Pie in Germany). I'll be posting a long write-up of this record soon. And lastly, Buck tells me the long, long-awaited "House of Soul" single is being pressed now--I can't wait to get a copy of this one.

The Toasters' 2013 Winter Tour of the USA

Jan 18 The Met Cafe, Pawtucket, RI
Jan 19 Fury's Publick House, Dover, NH
Jan 20 Revolution Bar & Music Hall (Formerly Ollie's Point), Amityville, NY
Jan 21 Dub Land Underground, Rochester, NY
Jan 22 Club Cafe, Pittsburgh, PA
Jan 23 Mickey Finns, Toledo, OH
Jan 24 The Frequency, Madison, WI
Jan 25 Triple Rock Social Club, Minneapolis, MN
Jan 26 Knickerbockers, Lincoln, NE
Jan 27 Marquis Theater, Denver, CO
Jan 28 Black Sheep, Colorado Springs, CO
Jan 29 Atlas Theater, Cheyenne, WY
Jan 30 Bar Deluxe, Salt Lake City, UT
Jan 31 Shredder Boise, ID
Feb 01 El Corazon, Seattle, WA
Feb 02 Ash Street Saloon, Portland, OR
Feb 04 Jambalaya, Arcata, CA
Feb 05 Catalyst, Santa Cruz, CA
Feb 06 The Parkside, San Francisco, CA
Feb 07 The Alley, Sparks, NV
Feb 08 Hard Rock Cafe on the Strip, Las Vegas, NV
Feb 09 WCLAC, Los Angeles, CA
Feb 10 San Diego/San Francisco, CA: TBA
Feb 11 Slidebar, Fullerton, CA
Feb 12 Strummer's Village Tavern, Yuma, AZ
Feb 13 Crescent Ballroom Phoenix, AZ
Feb 14 The Orpheum Theater, Flagstaff, AZ
Feb 15 The Launchpad, Albuquerque, NM
Feb 16 Gallery 127, El Paso, TX
Feb 17 Antone's, Austin, TX
Feb 18 Fatty Arbuckle's, Shreveport, LA
Feb 19 Maxine's Pub Hot Springs, AR
Feb 20 Grant Street Lafayette, LA
Feb 21 Handle Bar, Pensacola, FL
Feb 22 High Dive, Gainesville, FL
Feb 23 Cocoa Beach Scooter Rally, Cocoa Beach, FL
Feb 24 Masquerade, Atlanta, GA
Feb 25 Soapbox Laundro-Lounge, Wilmington, NC
Feb 26 Cat's Cradle, Carrboro, NC
Feb 27 Jewish Mother Backstage, Norfolk, VA
Feb 28 Stanhope House Stanhope, NJ
Mar 01 T.T. The Bear's, Cambridge, MA

2011 London International Ska Festival: A Yank's Perspective

While I was bummed that I wasn't able to attend the 2011 London International Ska Festival (for a whole host of reasons), I am really happy to be able to include this review from an American ska fan who made the journey. NYC ska fan Andrew Rundle, a regular Duff Guide to Ska reader, was kind enough to write up his impressions of the festival and share them via this blog.

All in all, the London International Ska Festival was a huge success--hats off to the organizers. For me the high point was The Trojans’ performance during which they brought out Rico to lead the band for about two-thirds of their set (see them all in action above), and had Lynval [Golding of The Specials] out singing and dancing for part of the set. Another personal high point was seeing Bim Skala Bim performing again; the last time was as one of the opening acts for The Bosstones’ Hometown Throwdown. The announcement that Bim was going to be on the bill basically sealed the deal that I was going to fly to London for the festival. For the audience in general, I think Dave Wakeling’s version of The English Beat was the most eagerly anticipated act--in the pubs around the venue the buzz was all about Dave. He performed a killer set, much better than recent outings in New York City, and stuck to The English Beat material rather than doing The English Beat/General Public mash-up I have seen several times in the US. He also had Rhoda Dakar and Jennie Bellestar as backup singers and my only critique of the set would be that they were under-utilized. It was also a thrill to see Ken Boothe, whom--up until the Festival was announced--I had given up hopes on seeing; great voice, great performance.

Probably the weakest act at the festival was Dave and Ansel Collins backed by The Caroloregians. It took them several songs to get in sync, with all Caroloregian eyes focused on Ansel, who sort of conducted the band. There also seemed to be some tension as to when Dave was actually going to take the stage--"Monkey Man" came and went before the vocalist actually appeared. It didn’t help that they were preceded by The Hotknives and The Loafers, who had both reformed for the show and turned in excellent sets to large fan bases. In many ways Friday night peaked with The Loafers. James Hunter on Thursday gave a strong performance, but his soul sound seemed like an odd choice for the festival. One hiccup was a misprint in the show schedule, which, combined with my decision to see the Chelsea game, caused me to miss The Amphetameanies.

The Clapham Grand is an old theater/dance hall with great sound and sight lines--and handy proximity to several pubs, a Cornish pastie store, and a kebab shop claiming to have “probably the best kebabs in London.” The crowd was there to dance and enjoy the music; there was one minor scuffle on the dance floor that was quickly shut down by the staff. A large portion of the audience had clearly been fans of skinhead reggae and 2 Tone back in the day when they were teens. Usually in NYC, I am one of the older people in the crowd, but at the Clapham Grand I was on the younger side of the age spectrum. It was cool to meet fans from across the world and hear about various ska scenes--people were there from Japan, the US, Australia, and South America. Also on Thursday night, Buster Bloodvessel was in the audience enjoying the music and dispensing hugs to fans.

I hope the festival proved to be as big a success for the organizers as it was for the audience. I would love to see this become a continuing festival.

Thanks, again, to Andrew for the LISF report!

Duff Review: Maroon Town Urban Myths

Rockers Revolt
2011
CD

If they haven't ever been on your radar, you should know that Maroon Town's genesis was in the late 80s UK ska scene that spawned the likes of The Trojans, Potato 5, and The Loafers--and rejuvenated the careers of Bad Manners and Laurel Aitken. What made Maroon Town unique was their mix of vintage ska, reggae, hip hop and soul (with socially conscious lyrics often from the perspective of the common person), as exemplified on 80s/90s hits like the cover of Prince Buster's "City Riot," "Pound to the Dollar," "Prince of Peace," and "Average Man" (several of which were produced by The Specials' John Bradbury). While Maroon Town (the core of which is Deuan German and Rajan Datar) has been active on and off over the past 20 years--often collaborating with a rotating cast of musicians from all over the globe--Urban Myths is their first album since 1997's Don Drummond. And even though about half of the songs on this album are new versions of old songs or have previously appeared on other Maroon Town records, this is still a powerful and compelling return to action.

On Urban Myths, Maroon Town successfully ventures into such non-ska genres as salsa ("Latin Moshpit"), jazz (a groovy reading of Herbie Hancock's perennial "Watermelon Man," which appeared on New Dimensions), and soul ("Innocent Mind" and "Clarendon Calling," with the fantastic Jenny Stanford on vocals; both of these songs appeared in different versions on Don Drummond)--but it's the ska and reggae tracks that play to the band's greatest strengths and catch them at their most appealing.

"Ya Ya (Lemme Tell Dem)," with its immensely catchy sing-along chorus, is a hard-driving, raucous ska cut about hitting the town (MC Sirreal toasts, "I got up in the morning and went to the bar/When I came out all I saw was the stars"), acting up, coming on to, and mouthing off to anyone within striking distance. While there's gonna be hell to pay--not to mention one hell of a hangover--the sound and heat generated makes it all worth it. It's then quite a contrast from the yobbish chorus of the ugly 24-hour bender to the lush and polished ska-pop of "Lion" (which even includes the sounds of plucking violin strings), though its sheen can't mask the something's-gotta-give desperation (and, ultimately, the hope) in its lyrics. Andrew Tumi sings, "I'm tired of feeling gray/How I pray it'll go away/Saving happiness for rainy days/One life and the price you'll pay/Can't keep it up this way/My deep heart's in a shallow grave/Once it's full, it's all you got/Cause something's not right and I gotta move on...I want to run like a lion in the sun..."

You'll long for a lyrics sheet when you hear "Wreckless"--the pace of the rapping by The Wreckless Crew is so freakin' frenetic and urgent that you can barely make out every other word (it still sounds great, though). "Bella Cosa" ("beautiful thing") is Latin-tinged roots reggae with excellent LKJ-like toasting by Rubi Dan; the encouraging chorus urges us to hang on and "realize, realize/hope is just a shot away." "Bullit," perhaps inspired by the Steve McQueen film of the same name (which is actually spelled "Bullitt") is an crisp Skatalites-flavored instrumental (though it's considerably less revved up than that film's car chase through the streets of San Francisco).

The seductive "Are You Ready" (which also appeared on the Don Drummond album) wants to lure the listener on a mystical musical journey. The superb Mikey Roots toasts: "All generation love the musical spring/The African man a instruct you again/In a traditional style for real a god send/Vibes to conquer duppy vibes to make us boom beng/Rootical flavor well and nice and ting/Crowd a people just a bubble crowd a people just a sing/No say them love the old school feeling/Cause the people bawl yes every time a sing a sing/Are you ready?/Tell me are you ready?/Are you ready?/Then follow me now!" After hearing this, there won't be any question in your mind about what you're gonna do.

Die hard Maroon Towners may be a bit put off that there's only an EP's worth of new material on Urban Myths after so long a wait, but the new stuff is stellar--and the album serves as a terrific primer on the band for newcomers.



Duff Guide to Ska Grade: A-

Reviews of the 2011 London International Ska Festival

For we poor bastards that were unable to make it to the 2011 London International Ska Festival for lack of money and/or time, there are reviews in The Music Fix (accompanied by fantastic photos!), The Standard London Evening, and The Other Side to give us a little taste of what we missed. Plus, Kevin Flowerdew's Ska Vids Facebook page has a few live videos up right now.

Here's the money quote from the intro paragraph of The Standard London Evening review:

In a room full of Doc Martens, tartan-lined Harrington jackets, pork-pie hats, braces and buttoned up Fred Perrys one would be forgiven for thinking they had done a Doctor Who and ended up in 1979 Coventry at the heart of the English 2 Tone ska revival.

Hope to see many more LISF reviews and videos up on the internet soon! (I'm waiting for Jason Lawless' report in particular!)

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(Update)

Reggaeville has an excellent write up of LISF--plus a twenty minute video of Ken Boothe's performance.

Duff Review: V/A Live in London (The London International Ska Festival)

Blue Beat Records
1989
LP/CS

With the forthcoming 2011 London International Ska Festival in mind, I thought it might be timely to turn back the clock about 23 years to check out Live in London, the record that documented the very first ska fest Sean Flowerdew organized back in 1988, when he was still a teenager (seventeen, to be exact!).

Apart from the 1988 Bad Manners fan-club only Eat the Beat LP, Live in London was the auspicious debut commercial release from Buster Bloodvessel's then newly revived Blue Beat Records--he licensed the name and logo, and then proceeded to issue a string of top-notch records, including Bad Manners' Return of the Ugly, Buster's All-Stars' Skinhead Luv-A-Fair, and Napoleon Solo's Shot! before the label folded in 1990. As an historic recording, Live in London captured 12 phenomenal bands (with lots of spirited noise and chanting from the crowd) at the height of the late 80s Euro ska scene (England, in particular, was a hotbed of post-2 Tone activity); and as for its merits as a ska record, you'll be hard-pressed to find a collection of tunes and live performances as consistently good as this.

Night one, December 20, 1988 at The Sir George Robey (an elegant name for a shambles of a venue), featured Capone and the Bullets (UK), The Braces (West Germany--this was before the fall of the Berlin Wall!), Bim Skala Bim (USA), Skaos (West Germany), and Prince Buster (JA) backed by The Trojans (UK). Night two, December 21, 1988 at the larger and more glam Brixton Fridge, included Napoleon Solo (Denmark), The Deltones (UK), The Loafers (UK), The Potato 5 (UK), Laurel Aitken (UK), and Bad Manners (UK).

Glasgow's Capone and the Bullets open side one with their light-hearted "Paranoid Zone," offering up a great example of why they were wildly popular throughout the British Isles (as an intro to this tune, the singer deadpans that he gets paranoid "whenever we do a gig, I get this sort of feeling that everyone is looking at me"). The Braces' demonstrate why they were one of the top German acts at the time with a boisterous rendition of their signature tune "Julie Julie". On every live recording I've ever heard them do, Boston's Bim Skala Bim always sound incredible--they were simply a powerhouse live act, a key ingredient of which was the fantastic vocal interplay between Dan Vitale and Jackie Starr (certainly rivaling the spot-on vocal stylings of a Recriminations-era Bucket and Vicky Rose). "Jah Laundromat" is Bim's amusingly surreal take on Rastafarianism immersed in Christian baptism ("We'll wash all our sins away/down at Jah laundromat today"). Skaos exhumes and re-animates an appropriately sinister, revved-up ska-billy version of "The Munsters" TV theme song (with a nice thermin-sounding guitar effect)--and, like several other songs during the 80s (such as "Baby Elephant Walk"), it was covered by more than one ska band: The Forest Hillbillies recorded it for Gaz in 1986, swapping out the guitar for a violin on the melody for a touch of that hoedown-ska sound.

If happen to come across a vinyl copy of this album, check out the significant number of vinyl grooves allotted to Prince Buster's "Dance Cleopatra" (it's practically a third of side one!). While I have major respect for The Prince--and The Trojans are truly nothing short of stellar as his backing band here--this strikes me a bit of an odd choice for showcasing Buster's talents. As The Trojans perform a deadly cool extended take on this instrumental cut, Prince Buster spends most of the track shouting out the titles of his hit songs or signature lyrics like "Al Capone's guns don't argue!" and "This is a punch designed by Cassius Clay to cripple every fighter living today!" A minor quibble, but it would have been nice to actually hear him sing a tune like "Take it Easy" or "Shaking Up Orange Street."

On side two, Napoleon Solo practically burst out of the speakers on their burningly lusty and almost cinematic soul-ska romp, "Drive Me Wild" ("It's kind of strange what a woman can do to a man/Break me down and build me up now/Don't you understand?/She drives me wild!"). Criminally unknown in the States (imagine a 60s girl group like The Angels or Ronnettes transported to JA to exclusively perform ska and rocksteady tunes), The Deltones' breezy warning "Don't Fall in Love" (...with me) wasn't enough to keep the UK rude boys away (and this sweet cut lets you know why). Sean Flowerdew's own much beloved band The Loafers turn in a blistering performance of their frantic "Too Late Rudy". The premier instrumental ska act in the UK of that time, The Potato 5 play a rollicking cover of The Skatalites' foundational rhythm track "Shockers Rock" (which in itself is a version of Roland Alphonso's "Cleopatra"). Laurel Aitken, one of the most natural and gifted performers I've ever seen, is backed by the Pressure Tenants on this jaunty reading of his 1980 hit "Rudi Got Married." While they were poised to release Return of the Ugly, one of the finest records of their career (largely due to the superb songwriting of King Hammond himself, Nick Welsh), Bad Manners relive the glory days with their sanguine 1981 top 10 hit "Walking in the Sunshine".

Back in the day, the readers of George Marshall's amazing "Zoot" skazine (he's written some of the most accurately succinct ska reviews I've ever had the pleasure to read) voted the London International Ska Fest the #1 ska event of 1988--and Live in London as the #2 live record in 1989. How's that for an endorsement? (George also provides boosterish liner notes on the back of the LP sleeve.)

No doubt there are pirated copies of Live in London orbiting in cyberspace, but of the many out-of-print treasures from the late 80s ska scene deserving a proper "real world" re-release, this is an absolute must.

Duff Guide to Ska Grade: A

Bob and Marcia Added to 2011 London International Ska Festival!

It just keeps on getting better:

Following the announcement of Ken Boothe, we are honoured to announce the next acts added to The London International Ska Festival are two more Jamaican legends. One of reggae's most influential songwriters and singers, Bob Andy and the 'Queen of Reggae' Marcia Griffiths will be reuniting for a very special evening, and once again performing together again as Bob & Marcia.

The duo met whilst recording for Jamaica's premier label of the day Studio One, but it was on the move to the Harry J Label that their international recognition came. In 1970 and 71 they hit the British, as well as the International charts with their version of Nina Simone's 'Young, Gifted and Black', which peaked at No.5 and 'The Pied Piper' (reaching No.11).

Bob Andy was one of the founding members of The Paragons, along with Tyrone Evans and Howard Barrett, and later joined by John Holt. As one of Studio One's leading lights, Bob worked closely with Jackie Mittoo on many of the label's seminal sounds. Besides writing songs for himself which have become reggae standards 'Feeling Soul', 'My Time', 'Going Home' and 'Too Experienced', to name just a few, Bob contributed hits for many of the other artists there. His album 'Songbook' is quite rightly referred to as "a masterpiece".

Marcia Griffiths, discovered by Philip “Boasie” James lead singer of the Blues Busters, started her singing career performing with Byron Lee & The Dragonaires. Her recording years started soon after, at Coxsone Dodd's Studio One where she recorded her first hit, the Bob Andy composition 'Feel Like Jumping'. Upon Bob & Marcia's split in 1974, Marcia united with Judy Mowatt and Rita Marley to form the I-Threes, Bob Marley's sublime vocal trio.

For over 40 years Bob Andy and Marcia Griffiths have continued to record and tour all over the world, establishing themselves as true legends of Jamaica’s musical history. In recent years the Jamaican government conferred the Order of Distinction on both of them. We are delighted to have Bob and Marcia performing not only their timeless duets but also their classic solo hits at The London Intl Ska Festival.

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Also, the schedule of appearances is starting to firm up:

Thursday 21 April 2011
Ken Boothe and James Hunter

Friday 22 April 2011
The Loafers and Hotknives

Saturday 23 April 2011
The English Beat starring Dave Wakeling and The Caroloregians

Sunday 24 April 2011
Bob & Marcia

Duff Review: Laurel Aitken - Everybody Ska! Rudi Got Married, 1980 to 1992

Pressure Drop/Cherry Red Records
CD
2010

Presumably the last in what has been a series of astounding re-issues from Laurel Aitken’s extensive back catalogue, Everybody Ska! Rudi Got Married, 1980-1992 documents a momentous chapter in Laurel's career, when he transitioned from highly revered--but semi-retired--musical forefather to the 2 Tone revivalists, to a vital force on the global ska scene for the next two and a half decades. As bands like The Specials (with Rico Rodriguez) and The Beat (with Saxa) drew UK-based 60s era Jamaican stars into their orbit (Laurel had enjoyed great popularity in the UK during the sixties--particularly in '69 and '70 when he had a string of skinhead reggae "hits"), it was only a matter of time before Laurel was asked to dust off his pork pie hat, shades, and bluebeat suit. His debut for the young 2 Tone audience came courtesy of The Beat, who in February 1980 had invited him to join them on stage and sing at the Lyceum in London to great acclaim. (It should also be noted that The Beat re-worked Laurel's 1969 rude reggae hit "Pussy Price" as "Ranking Full Stop" on I Just Can't Stop It.)

Laurel quickly followed-up by finding a more-than-competent backing band to record and tour with in the form of The Ruts, who were equally proficient at both punk and reggae, but had been sidelined by the nodes on singer Malcolm Owen’s vocal chords. Temporarily rebranded the Unitones, they joined Laurel and guest musician Rico Rodriguez to cut the “Rudi Got Married” b/w “Honey Come Back to Me” single, which was released on Ian Page’s (Secret Affair) I-Spy label in May 1980—and made it to #60 on the UK charts, his only certified pop hit. (Note how Laurel shrewdly incorporates elements of “A Message to You, Rudy” on both cuts to make his single immediately familiar to 2 Tone fans.) Laurel Aitken and the Unitones' subsequent 1980 single for I-Spy, "Big Fat Man," didn't chart, but finds Laurel in top form--and the re-working of his 1971 Trojan Records skinhead reggae hit single "It's Too Late," which I first heard on Unicorn Records' Rise & Fall/It's Too Late: The Legendary Godfather of Ska, Volumes One and Two CD, drops the Phil Spector-like pop string section in favor of a warmer and simpler sound to very good effect. (Check out the July 1980 feature in "Sounds" on Laurel by clicking on the image above. In it, Laurel seems pretty aggrieved that Prince Buster had received more acclaim and attention in the UK music press than he did; thanks to Johnny Reggae for a copy of the article!)

After 2 Tone imploded, Laurel's fortunes waned a bit (though the royalties from UB40's cover of "Guilty" on Labour of Love in 1983--which Laurel had originally written and recorded in 1971 under the name Tiger--certainly must have helped) until a chance encounter a few years later with Gaz Mayall (recounted in his recent book, "Gaz's Rockin' Blues: The First 30 Years," the review of which can be found here), who booked him to play numerous gigs at his "Gaz's Rockin' Blues" club night to a fresh crop of post-2 Tone ska fans. Gaz also had the brilliant idea of pairing Laurel up with an upstart traditional ska group, the Potato 5, who then released two phenomenal singles composed by Laurel on Gaz's Rockin' Records (distributed by Stiff Records): "Mad About You" and "Sahara" (both 1986). Indeed, Laurel's collaboration with the Potato 5 yielded some of his greatest songs, in terms of songwriting, performances, and studio production (read The Duff Guide to Ska review of the two albums Laurel cut with the Potato 5 here). Gaz claims to be the one who coined Laurel's "Godfather of Ska" moniker (and released a compilation of the same title of Laurel's early ska singles on Gaz's Rockin' Records).

(Laurel also had a few of his songs appear on the soundtracks to several major British films, including "Absolute Beginners" in 1986--Julien Temple selected "Landlords and Tenants"--and "Scandal" in 1989, which featured "Love Me Baby" on a soundtrack related to the film, Scandal Ska, compiled by Gaz himself for Mango Records.)

After Laurel and The Spuds parted ways (and the latter calling it quits after a brutal US tour), he hooked up with a new backing band in The Pressure Tenants and forged a very fruitful working relationship with Mark Johnson and Unicorn Records, releasing both new material as well as brilliant compilations of his sixties-era singles (see Unicorn's massive discography here, lovingly assembled by John at Hoi Polloi Skazine). Unicorn had managed to establish a considerable global reach through a series of international ska compilations, as well as licensing albums and EPs from top acts in the US (Toasters, Donkey Show), UK (Derrick Morgan, Potato 5, Deltones, Hotknives), Germany (No Sports, The Busters, Skaos, The Braces), France (Machtoc), Denmark (Napoleon Solo), Sweden (Baby Snakes), Netherlands (Mr. Review), Italy (Spy Eye, Casino Royale, Strange Fruit), and Australia (Late Notes, Just Kidding)--all of which provided Laurel with the means to convert an eager new generation of ska fans scattered across several continents.

While the "Everybody Ska" single (which must have been trading on the UK acid ska fad of 1989) is a bit cringe-inducing, its B side, "Skinhead" redeems things significantly ("When a skinhead walks down the street/every chick heart skips a beat!"--the man sure could turn a phrase). The four-track Sally Brown EP (1989), featured the title track (not quite as robust as the version he cut with the Potato 5, but spectacular nonetheless; Bad Manners also covered it on Return of the Ugly), "Hey Little Girl," "Since You Went Away," and the magnificent and heartbreaking "Rude Boy Dream," certainly amongst his greatest compositions ever ("I dreamt I was the President/Living in a tent/But when I woke up this morning/I was thrown out for not paying my rent/Everybody knows I'm a rude boy/Walking the streets of dreams..."). While not included here, Laurel also cut a live four-track EP with The Loafers titled Mad About Ska (Staccato Records, 1989) and the "Boogie with the Bartender" b/w "She was My Girl" single with The Busters (Weser Label, 1989).

Ringo the Gringo (1990), Laurel's first solo album in two decades (again backed by The Pressure Tenants), recorded when he was in his early 60s (!), is filled with a string of top-notch ska and skinhead reggae tracks, represented here by "I Love You, Yes I Do," "Looking in the Mirror," "Don't Turn Your Back," "Peggy Sue," "Hitch Hike," and the grin-inducing, over-the-top bravado of the spaghetti western-themed (and challenge to Prince Buster) "Ringo the Gringo" ("So you say you are the Cincinnati Kid/and you want me to leave town/Ringo won't leave town/until he gun you down!/Ringo the Gringo!/I kill Jesse James/I kill Billy the Kid/I kill Ned Kelly/and I shot J.R!"). The last track on this compilation, "Bartender," is an excellent version of this tune that I've never heard before, cut with The Pressure Tenants in 1992 that avoids some of the synthesized sound choices that slightly mar some of the Ringo the Gringo tracks.

During the remainder of the 1990s and well into the 2000s, Laurel went on to work with several other labels to release new material and re-issue his classics, including Moon (USA), Grover (Germany), Liquidator (Spain), and even Island Records (he recorded "Rudy Girl" backed by Freetown for Ska Island, the label's 40th anniversary ska comp that featured new recordings of classic 60s tracks covered by Fishbone, The Skatalites, Doreen Shaffer, Prince Buster, The Determinations, Dr. Ring Ding & The Senior All-Stars, The Ska Flames, The Toasters, Ocean 11, Ernest Ranglin, Jump with Joey, Rico Rodriguez, Hepcat, and The Trojans--and recorded and produced by Gaz Mayall). He made guest appearances on albums by groups like The Toasters and Ska Flames, and continued to play incredibly spirited live shows (most notably, several tours of the US during the height of the so-called Third Wave in the late '90s) until his death in 2005.

Laurel's exceptional gifts as a composer, musician, and performer were such that he was able to sustain a successful career for almost half a century, appealing to successive generations of ska and reggae fans world-wide. Anyone who discovered his records treasures them; everyone who saw him perform on stage became a devoted fan for life.

The Duff Guide to Ska Grade: A