The Dead 60's - The Black Sessions Capture The Band At The Peak Of Their Powers

I periodically get requests for re-posts, but they are usually few and far between.  However, the recent and repeated clamor for a re-post of The Dead 60's 'Black Sessions' post from three years ago has become a bit of a roar! The band's inspired combination of dub and reggae infused with rockabilly and ska, plus their use of organ, bass and drums always hit a chord with me.  Apparently it did with a lot of you too! You have spoken and I have heard you!

I originally learned about the band when they were profiled back in 2005 in the free Am NewYork newspaper they used to hand out for free on the New York City Subway. The review compared them to the musical love child of The Clash and The Specials, two of my favorite groups of all time. I HAD to do some further investigation. I was not disappointed. Their most memorable track, "You're Not the Law" is like the best remix of The Specials' "Ghost Town" you never thought you'd ever hear. That alone sold me on the band during those years before The Specials re-formed. In fact, the band served as an excellent substitute for many of us pining away for The Specials during the mid-2000's.

The core of the band formed during their teens under the name Rest Home, a 5-piece pop-punk band which played cover versions alongside their own original material. Eventually stripping down to a 3-piece, they changed their name to Pinhole and their first release was the 4-track "122 Duke Street" EP (named after the address of Liverpool bar The Pit, where the band played many of its first shows). The Dead 60's eventually morphed out of this period and hit an incredibly creative period between 2005 to 2007 recording and promoting their self-titled album "The Dead 60's", a dub remix of their self-titled album and "Time To Take Sides" which was released shortly before they went their separate ways.

Even though the band is no longer with us, you can listen to an amazing bootleg of a live performance the band performed at the height of their powers in October 2005. The show was recorded as part of the Black Sessions, which are live performances broadcast on the French Radio station France Inter. The Black Sessions are the brainchild of the well known French radio DJ Bernard Lenoir (Lenoir means black in English). Lenoir is a radio pioneer (essentially the French John Peel), and the Black Sessions are high fidelity, live recordings for his show. Unlike the "Peel Sessions" the band's play live, in one take and in front of an audience of 200 people.

This 12-song recording of The Dead 60's live set gives you a sense of how tight and talented the band were and how they could have become the new face of ska in the 21st Century. Enjoy!

The Dead 60's - The Black Sessions
Recorded on October 3, 2005
Paris, France

01. just another love song
02. a different age
03. red light
04. tv and magazines
05. control this
06. train to nowhere
07. we get low
08. riot radio
09. intro song
10. the last resort
11. loaded gun
12. cold soul
13. you're not the law
14. intro reprise
15. riot radio

The Dead 60's - The Black Sessions