Suggs Autobiography "That Close" Now Available!

Today marks the publication of the much anticipated autobiography of Madness front man Suggs. The 400 pager takes readers on a journey form Suggs's early life growing up on a North London council estate, through the early days of Punk and 2-Tone, to the eighties, when Madness became the biggest selling singles band of the decade. Along the way he shares what it's like to go globetrotting with your best friends, to sign away your entire song rights 'in perpetuity' and cause an earthquake in Finsbury Park.

Below is a clip from the audio book on Suggs’ school years.



"That Close" is available via Amazon (hardcover and Kindle versions) in the U.S. and the U.K.  Suggs will be doing a number of events to promote the book including in-store book signings in the U.K. His one one-man show comes to London in December:  More information available here.

Suggs' publisher has been kind enough to make extracts of the book available for perusing here.  Definitely a great teaser that will no doubt lure you into purchasing the tome!

Roddy Radiation & Lynval Golding Announce California Tour Dates!

Brothers in arms from The Specials, Roddy "Radiation" Byers and Lynval Golding have just announced they are playing a west coast tour of the U.S. during the month of November! If you missed The Specials on their most recent North American tour this past summer, then you now have a chance to catch the two as they play stripped down versions of the band's best known songs.

Not sure what to expect? Check out video from earlier this summer when Roddy and Lynval played an intimate solo show here in New York City that my ska blogging partner Steve Shafer (Duff Guide To Ska) and I organized as part of our Electric Avenue ska showcases.







According to Lynval, this was the very first time that he and Roddy had ever performed together like this, and while Roddy joked that it should be the last time! "Hey Little Rich Girl," and "Rat Race" which were penned by Byers, and particularly "Doesn't Make It Alright" (which Lynval sent out to George Zimmerman) took on a haunting and emotional quality. The fact that the band's U.S. tour is very likely it's last and that the overall future of the band who have been playing together since reuniting nearly 4 years ago is uncertain, added to the poignancy and power of these versions of the songs.

The Selecter To Perform 'Too Much Pressure" 2014 UK Tour To Celebrate 35th Anniversary Of Album Release

The Selecter (who are currently on tour with PIL in the U.K.) have just announced a 35th Anniversary "Too Much Pressure" UK tour next spring to celebrate the release of the seminal 2-Tone album in 1979.

The band will perform all the songs from the album, followed by an extended encore of classic and contemporary songs. Since the band have re-formed, they have never played the album in its entirety, so this is being billed as a special gift to the band's fans, who’ve supported them over the past three years. Tickets for the tour are now on sale. Here's to hoping that the band decides to bring this tour back to North America at some point.

TOO MUCH PRESSURE 2014 UK Tour dates

FEBRUARY:
27 - Guildhall, Gloucester
28 - Princess Pavilion, Falmouth

MARCH:
1 - O2 Academy 2, Liverpool
2 - O2 Academy 2, Sheffield
6 - Komedia, Bath
7 - Pavilion, Exmouth
8 - Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth
9 - O2 Academy 2, Oxford
13 - O2 Academy 2, Birmingham
14 - 229, London
15 - The Globe, Cardiff
16 - Old Firestation, Bournemouth
20 - Assembly, Leamington Spa
21 - Rock City, Nottingham
22 - Brudenell, Leeds
23 - Sub 89, Reading
28 - Brickyard, Carlisle
29 – Scotland TBC
30 - Scotland TBC

APRIL:
3 - The Square, Harlow
4 - Open, Norwich
5 - Concorde 2, Brighton
11 - Band On The Wall, Manchester
12 - The Grand, Clitheroe
13 - O2 Academy 2, Newcastle

The Next Electric Avenue Show: The Scofflaws, Across The Aisle and Rude Boy George on Saturday, October 19, 2013

The next Electric Avenue show will kick off on Saturday, October 19, 2013 at Characters NYC in the heart of midtown Manhattan with a headlining set by NYC ska icons The Scofflaws, pop/punk/ska upstarts Across The Aisle and the return of Rude Boy George, which is a new musical project that I am part of with other members of my band Bigger Thomas, The Toasters and Across The Aisle, that performs ska, reggae and rocksteady versions of 80's new wave songs. Doors are at 9 pm and the cover is a super low $10!

Check out videos of each band below including The Scofflaws performing "Nude Beach," Across The Aisle performing "Better Off" and Rude Boy George performing a soulful rocksteady version of "Tempted" by Squeeze.








Electric Avenue is a partnership between myself and my fellow New York City ska blogging pal Steve Shafer (Duff Guide To Ska who also happens to be a member of Rude Boy George). We have teamed up to present monthly ska and reggae shows at Characters NYC, a midtown Manhattan Irish pub (243 West 54th Street, between Broadway and 8th Avenue in Manhattan) with a big back room ideally suited for live music.

Since last fall, we've been undertaking this labor of love--doing it for free (the bands split 100% of the cover, nobody else takes a cut)--to support ska bands and their fans, and have some fun in the process. Electric Avenue shows already have featured some of the best acts on the Northeastern U.S. ska scene, including King Django (NJ), The Snails (Philadelphia), The Frightnrs (Brooklyn), Destroy Babylon (Massachusetts), Bigger Thomas (NY/NJ), Beat Brigade (NY), Doomsday! (NY), Los Skarronerros (Brooklyn), The Pandemics (Long Island), The Scofflaws (Long Island), The Bullbuckers (Wilmington, DE), The Reggay Lords (Brooklyn), The Copacetics (Providence, RI) and The Rudie Crew (NY) and The Royal Swindle (New Haven, CT). This summer we were blessed to have Roddy Radiation and Lynval Golding of The Specials perform a solo show for us.

The Facebook Electric Avenue event page can be found here. And take a moment to "like" the Electric Avenue FB page, so you keep up on our shows.

Pauline Black: The Queen Of Ska Interviewed On WNYC Radio

While in New York late last month, Pauline Black of The Selecter stopped by the venerable New York radio station WNYC for an interview with Sound Check host John Schaefer. The interview was posted late last week a few days after the bands triumphant show at the Grammercy Theatre.

Black is in fine form during the nearly 20 minute interview touching on her experiences being adopted, the appeal of Motown music on her as a teen and her life and times in one of 2 Tone's leading band.

Have a listen to the interview below and read excerpts below:



Interview Highlights

Pauline Black, on how being adopted shaped her:

I do still consider myself, to a certain extent, to be an outsider. I'm mixed-race. My father was Nigerian, my mother was Jewish. I was adopted by working-class white parents in London. By the time I was four years old I was ready to go to school so they had to tell me something because, you know, kids always point out the elephant in the room. I was definitely the elephant in the room in the school I went to. It didn't come as a a shock necessarily. It did make me think. Obviously, it gives you identity issues I suppose as you grow into teenage years. Everybody has identity problems at that time. Not knowing your mother or your father - your real mother or father- it does tend to make you a little more insecure than you would normally be.

On how Motown appealed to her as a teenager:

It was like the information was coming from America about what it meant to be Black. I mean, James Brown named the nation Black and I thought, 'Yep, that's for me.' .... The video of [Aretha Franklin] strutting down the street singing ["Respect"] at full voice to a little Black kid in Britain, that meant a lot.

On The Selecter's new album String Theory:

On Made In Britain [we were] saying 'whatever color you are, we're here. Somehow we have to deal with each other, and that is the future, and what comes out of that.' String Theory is really just taking it on and thinking about my scientific background. String Theory would suggest that we're all made of the same stuff, these little vibrating strings are all the way through the universe. That's what connects us. It seemed to be this lovely connect with our past, this string that we were following from 1979 to present day. Really saying, that we are all the same. All we have to do is embrace the fact that at the end of the day we all are human beings and the best thing we can do is stop ourselves from messing this planet up more than we have already.

Elvis Costello & The Roots Cover The Specials "Ghost Town"

Earlier this week Elvis Costello and the Roots celebrated the release of their new album "Wise Up Ghost" with a one-off, sold out concert at Brooklyn Bowl in Williamsburg. Along with performing tracks from the new album and takes on some iconic Costello songs (“Watching The Detectives,” “Shabby Doll,” an extended “I Want You”), the group played an amazing version of "Ghost Town" by the Specials. Check it out!

My Favorite 2-Tone Era Album Of All Time: The Selecter's Celebrate The Bullet

In honor of The Selecter's visit to New York City to perform at the Gramercy Theatre tonight, I wanted to re-post something I wrote about the band's second album "Celebrate The Bullet." Written nearly five years ago, before Pauline Black rebooted the band with her co-front man Gaps Hendricksen, the album remains a personal favorite that defined the hope and promise of 2-Tone. Though recorded as the band and the 2-Tone movement were moving out of fashion in the U.K., it still stands the test of time, exploring dark themes of violence, racism, isolation and decline that resonate three decades later.

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If pressed to name my favorite album of the entire 2-Tone era I would have to say "Celebrate The Bullet" by The Selecter. Surprised? You shouldn't be. Now don't get me wrong. I love The Specials first album and I am always moved by the near perfect majesty of 'Ghost Town' and the straight forward and soulful lament of 'Why'. The first album by The Beat was the soundtrack to my youth and I love the way I can track different times and places in my life by each Madness album. Indeed, 'Victoria Gardens' and 'The Sun and The Rain' are among my top 10 favorite songs of all time.

However, in my humble opinion "Celebrate The Bullet" broke the mold and remains the most creative and unique collection of songs to come out of the whole 2-Tone era. I wouldn't even call it a ska album necessarily. This is a dark, haunting, bluesy iteration of ska that to my knowledge has never been attempted before or since. This is very intense and emotional music. For that reason, it is a very unique record and it goes against the grain of what fans of 2-Tone probably expected when it was released.

At times the songs have a new wave feel via synthesized keyboard melodies that buzz over Neol Davies' blistering, bluesy and soulful guitar solos and riffs. Other times its almost undefinable as the songs are driven by a seamless melting pot of rock, reggae and new wave via memorable melodies that stick in your head. In fact, I would argue that 'Celebrate The Bullet' is on par with 'Ghost Town" as one of the best songs of the 2-Tone era. And personally, its the very end of 'Bristol and Miami' when there is an acapella chant taken from The Beatles 'Black Bird' that seals the artistic and emotional quality of the record for me.


When the album was released it took a beating from the critics. That's especially depressing given the rave reviews for "Too Much Pressure", which, while a great record, was almost a by the books ska revival recording. Songs like "Celebrate The Bullet", "Deep Water", "Washed Up And Left For Dead" and "Red Reflections" still give me the chills every time I hear them and demonstrate the huge steps the band had taken since their first LP. Under different circumstance this record could have really opened up a new path for ska, which has essentially remained fixed in time and space, except for this album. Some bands have moved beyond ska, but only The Selecter dared to expand and evolve the genre. It's too bad they were punished for it, when they should have been richly rewarded.

While the music is a step above, what stands out above all though is some absolutely great vocal work from Pauline Black who channels her own musical heroes (Billie Holiday, Nina Simone) and their presence can be felt in the music. Unlike The Specials ironic take on British society and Madness's nutty view of English life, The Selecter's second album come across like a very dark and serious news report with Pauline and Arthur "Gaps" Hendrickson reporting from the front lines of an early 80's Britain straining under the reduced expectations of Thatcherism. Indeed the songs and their subject matter seem spookily relevant for those of us in the U.S. who have barely survived 8 years of George Bush, the Iraq War, Hurricane Katrina, mortgage foreclosures and a financial meltdown that threatens to devour the life savings and job security of all of us.


Here is promo video of the band performing "Celebrate The Bullet":



I had the honor and pleasure to meet Pauline Black and Neol Davies when my band supported The Selecter when they reformed and toured the US in 1991. I most recently saw her when she and Lynval Golding of The Specials sat in with The English Beat in 2006. The highlight of those shows was when Pauline came out mid-set to perform 4 songs by The Selecter. She has always been very kind and accessible and remains a true artist to this day having acted in a number of UK TV shows and stage productions in addition to her singing with The Selecter and as a solo artist exploring soul.