Who were the most important band of the 2-Tone ska revival era?
The English Beat mixed in the American R & B, Madness added that carnival sound, The Selecter (and the short-lived Bodysnatchers) brought some female representation and Bad Manners injected a shot of that inimitable British Silliness but The Specials led the way. It was the roster of their label (2-Tone launched the careers of ALL of the above), their Rude Boy image and their refusal to stand still musically that defined that hugely-influential period.
Of course, there doesn't have to be a Most Important band of this or any other era. It's possible to simply stand in awe of just how concentrated the creativity of the super-brief flash that we now call the Two-Tone Era really was. To help remind you of the brilliance of the era in general and The Specials in particular let us consider the long out-of-print BBC Sessions CD.
BBC Sessions link is in the comments
Speaking of comments, tell us who your fave 2-Tone band is!
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It would behoove you to leave a comment!!
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?torw0g61mgq8c9b
Love the Specials! I also really enjoyed your (English) Beat posts!
ReplyDeleteI'd have to say my fave Two-Tone band was/is Madness, although they only graced Two-Tone for a single before jumping ship. But the Specials are a very close second!
Favorite 2-tone band? The Beat are one of my favorite bands of all time, so i'd have to say them. You gave plenty of good reasons for the Specials as the most important. Nobody has more great songs than Madness. And Bad Manners and the Selecter had the decency to come to my side of the pond when i was able to see them (and they were great).
ReplyDeleteDo i really have to choose?
I would say Specials just edge Madness for me, with The Beat close third, special mention for Selecter,the atmosphere at those gigs were parallel with the punk gigs 77-78 superb top posts jeffen
ReplyDeleteThanks very much, always love BBC Sessions!
ReplyDeleteI would have to say the Beat are great, also like the Specials. Any chance these ca be posted?
The Specials - Stereo Typical A`s, B`s & Rarities
The Selecter - The Best Of Selector
Great post never heard these BBC Sessions before. I'd say Specials and early Madness are my faves.
ReplyDeleteI'm more of a Beat fan, but these tracks are quite nice. Praise Jah
ReplyDeletefor John Peel and BBC Sessions!
Jalammen
Definitely the Specials.
ReplyDeleteMadness have long been my favorites, though the Specials are a close second. Pretty impressive that Madness produced one of their best albums nearly 30 years after their heyday. Would be great if either toured the US.
ReplyDeleteLittle Bitch is my mischievous favorite. BTW-- I am the last person on the internet to discover your blog. You have done your job-- you can let go now.
ReplyDeleteBTW-- It's the Specials-- "little bitch" is just a song by them
ReplyDeleteThis will be nice. Thanks for sharing. First Specials album holds up better than anything else from the 2nd wave of ska.
ReplyDeleteThe Specials live up to their name!
ReplyDelete1st. Madness. Super close 2nd. Specials.
ReplyDeleteThe Specials- and it ain't even close.
ReplyDeleteNite Club is the truest song ever.
"I won't dance in a club like this/ where the girls are sluts and the beer tastes just like piss"!
The Specials have always been my favorites, and this collection is just ridiculously great. Can't thank you enough!
ReplyDeleteThe Selecter probably
ReplyDeleteHey Jeffen
ReplyDeleteMadness - very good
The Selecter - very good
The Beat - very good
The Specials - very very very very good!
The albums from these bands definitely stand the test of time.Actually The Selecter's albums sound even better.
A big agreement with Nazz Nomad ... 'Nite Club'.
I saw all these bands live and The Specials were astounding.They opened for The Police in 1979.Kinda blew the stodgy Sting boys off the PNE Gardens stage.The Specials then did a meet and greet at a local record shop(Quintessence Records) and did their own show a few days later at The Commodore Ballroom.A wild dancin' bouncy floor scene.
I hear(without Jerry)the live show is still great.
Cheers
Doug
The Specials and The English Beat are where my love of ska began. Unfortunatly years of "Meh." to "What the fuck?!" ska punk (no Rancid, I don't mean you) and a terrible bout of Why-do-all-the-songs-kinda-sound-the-same-to-me?-itis have left me, ahem, un-ska'd for life...well, for now anyway.
ReplyDeleteAs I approach a half-century spent consuming pop music, anything I clearly remember must be considered indelible.
ReplyDeleteAnd on that basis, it has to be the Beat, followed by the Specials.
COMMENTERS
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the 'Special' words!
Thank you so much!
ReplyDeleteYeah for the BBC live sessions! Yeah for John Peel! Yeah for this blog!
ReplyDeleteHi! Well, you asked, so here's my minority/unpopular opinion on More Specials. IMO, it's a VASTLY superior album to the first one. The first album could have been made by any of a hundred British bands with a Jamaican ska fixation. More Specials is the sound of a band that has taken those influences and done something of their own with them.
ReplyDeleteOh, and I think The Beat were the best of the 2 Tone bands. Madness soon turned into a pop band, nothing more, and The Selecter and The Specials burned brightly but too briefly.
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