Kid British: A New Hope For Ska In The 21st Century?

While I join other old school ska fans in looking forward to new releases from Madness and The Specials in 2011, and I am heartened that the bands of my youth (The Beat, The Selecter, UB40) continue to record, tour and play, I have to confess that I often wonder when a new, next generation version of these bands will emerge to carry on the legacy that they created thirty odd years ago. One band that is making a case to carry the torch, albeit with a new and more modern take on the ska genre, is Manchester-based Kid British.

For the uninitiated, Kid British play a mix of ska meets indie pop with strong hints of pop/hip-hop and soul. Visually, this multi-cultural band look exactly like what you would expect the off-spring of 2-Tone to look like. Hyped as the next big thing by the UK mainstream music media two years ago, the band may finally be hitting their stride. With support slots for The Enemy, The Specials and now UB40 under their belts, the band that released an EP titled 'It Was This Or Football First Half' in 2009 to mixed reviews (here's a good one and here's a bad one), may finally be poised to live up to the hype. How have they done that you may ask? By willing to go back to the past to create new ska-flavored sounds (their use of a sample from the Madness song 'Our House' for their song 'Our House Is Dadless' was pure genuis) and by playing great live shows for the fans of bands old enough to be their parents in an attempt to turn them (and their kids) on to their 21st century take on ska. When Lynval Golding comes to one of your shows to personally invite you from the stage to open for shows for the reformed version of The Specials, then you must be doing something right.

Kid British who are currently on a U.K. tour with UB40 are garnering rave reviews for their live show and UB40 saxophonist Brain Travers (who like Golding from The Specials saw the band's potential in revving up their long-time fans) has been tweeting about how much he likes them. And that, I would argue is where Kid British need to focus their attention - on honing their live show. Unlike some of the British music media, I think they have more than a handful of great songs, which speak to what life is like for twenty-somethings in a UK of downsized expectations. For those among you who have not seen the band perform live, have a look at video from a live TV session they recorded. The band are tight, the musicianship is strong, they are visually appealing and their sound is diverse -- just what they need to capture the iPod generation. The songs (all from their debut album) include 'Elizabeth', 'Sunny Days', 'Lets Have A Party' (as great an outtake from The Specials as you are likely to hear) and the Northerner's lament 'Lost In London'.

I have also been struck by the band's creativity and their love of older music. Here are great ska/reggae covers of Thin Lizzy's 'Boys Are Back In Town' and New Order's 'Blue Monday' that the band recorded to honor musicians from their hometown for BBC Manchester. Both are single worthy in my book. Have a look/listen.





You can pick-up a copy of the band's debut album 'It Was This Or Football First Half' on Amazon.com in the U.S. and Amazon.com in the U.K. The band is currently on tour in the U.K. with UB40. If you have seen them, please share your thoughts.

You can listen to and download a track from the new Kid British release 'Winner' from Amazon.com:

Marco On The Bass Live review: The Toasters Live At BB King's in New York City

I regularly attended NYC ska shows held at CBGB's, the Cat Club and The Continental in 1987-1988 and that time period is owned by The Toasters, who were just about to rocket out of the New York scene to begin touring and preaching the gospel of ska around the U.S. The band and its impact and influence on ska in the U.S. can't be emphasized enough. So it was with great excitement and affection that I hopped the New York City subway a few stops to BB King's in Times Square last night to pay my respects to English guitarist/vocalist Robert 'Bucket' Hingley. Bucket is responsible more than any other musician for ska’s popularity in America, and for keeping faith in the genre through its many ups and downs. Hingley and The Toasters tour relentlessly and he has become a familiar face to ska fans all over the world.

Whenever The Toasters return to New York City to play, its always like one big ska family reunion and last night was no different. The bill included The Pietasters, Hub City Stompers and Royal City Riot, who like The Toasters are all touring and working hard to play and promote ska and the bill drew a very respectable sized crowd. I attended with my friend and fellow ska blogger Steve Shafer (Duff Guide To Ska) who worked for Hingley and Moon Records during the height of ska's popularity here in the U.S (see picture of Shafer and Hingley below). We also met up with Brett Trach who worked as a business manager for Moon Records and helped manage distribution for the label at the height of its popularity. Both Shafer and Trach shared some amazing stories and anecdotes about the ups and downs of Moon Records and the American ska scene which will hopefully be recorded at some point for a book or documentary about the label. These are tales and memories that really tell the story of ska in the U.S. and deserve a wider audience than just those of us having a pint or two together at the bar.


While Hingley is the only original member of the band, he never fails to attract a strong backing band of talented musicians. The current lineup on display last night was tight and talented. In particular, drummer/vocalist Jesse Hayes and bassist Thaddeus Merritt (formerly of Boston-based Westbound Train) make a tight, nimble rhythm section. Trumpeter Rich Graiko (also formerly of Westbound Train) in particular played a number of outstanding solos and long-time keyboardist Dave Barry (who has returned to play with the band when they are on the East Coast) added organ and piano that filled out the normally stripped down sound of the band. And in the middle of it all, Hingley (in his trademarked New York Yankees baseball cap) held center stage with his choppy rhythm guitar and his grainy tenor.

The Toasters’ songs may not be widely known among pop music fans, but to ska enthusiasts, they’ve become true classics. As an old school fan of the band I was happy to hear a few older songs from the band's catalog which took me back to all those shows I attended 25 years ago including 'East Side Beat (an homage to the band's old Manhattan neighborhood),' 'Two-Tone Army', 'Run Rudy Run' (a personal favorite of mine) and 'Weekend in L.A.' (which tells the story of the band's first visit to play Los Angeles). You can see live video of these songs below.

After nearly thirty years, over three dozen changes in the lineup, and just about every frustration and setback that a working musician can endure, Hingley shows no sign of slowing down. The Toasters are wrapping up a European, U.K. and U.S. tour that has kept them on the road for most of 2010. You can expect the same from Hingley and the band in 2011.

The Selecter Announce Special London Show To Perform 'Too Much Pressure' Album

For anyone who loves 2-Tone era ska and reggae, 2010 has been an amazing year to celebrate the music's legacy and longevity. With 1980 as the high point of many iconic releases, 2010 has been a bonanza of 30th anniversaries. With The Specials now actively touring and planning a new release, Madness announcing plans for a new album of material in 2011 and UB40 touring to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the 'Signing Off' album, its now time to turn our attention to the 30th anniversary of one of 2-Tone era ska's all time great albums, namely 'Too Much Pressure' by The Selecter. To celebrate this milestone, Pauline Black's version of the band (featuring her original co-vocalist Arthur 'Gaps' Hendrickson) will perform the album with her new band, in its entirety, exclusively at the Bloomsbury Ballroom in London on Saturday November 13th.


I love the idea of a band performing an album in its entirety and I think its a clever way for a band to market a show or a tour. The Selecter's first album (like UB40's 'Signing Off' and The Beat's 'I Just Can't Stop It') is certainly a worthy collection for this type of showcase. The history of The Selecter is in many ways the history of 2-Tone. The band was a microcosm of many diverse parts of both the 70's white and black music scenes in Coventry, with all the main players in The Specials, The Selecter and various other bands having had some some musical connection with one another. Though the band only burned brightly for two albums worth of material in its original 2-Tone incarnation, their first album remains a classic of the genre (though I remain partial to their second album 'Celebrate The Bullet'.) The show is timely too as ‘Too Much Pressure’ successfully reflected the social and political issues of the early Thatcher years and gave a voice to disaffected youth across the racial divide. Thirty years later the U.K. is confronting some of the single largest budget cuts in its post-war history as overseen by a newly elected Conservative government.

Though the show is meant to be a celebration of The Selecter and their enduring legacy, sadly the band remains divided. Black and Hendrickson's former band mate Neol Davies unveiled his own version of The Selecter earlier this summer. Though the reality of two version of The Selecter is intriguing, its a shame that the members remain unable to patch up their differences and come together to properly honor their legacy. Nevertheless, fans of The Selecter now have the choice to see competing musical visions for the band as laid out by Davies on one side and Pauline Black and Gaps Hendrickson on the other.

Tickets for Black and Hendrickson's version of The Selecter are available at the AGMP Web site. If you end up attending the show, please feel free to share a review, photos or video here on the blog.

Blue Riddim Band Return With First Album In 25 Years - 'Tribute' Pays Respects To The Titans of Rocksteady and Dub

Blue Riddim Band, America's original reggae band have returned to action for the first time in 25 years with a stirring collection of songs that honor the artists and songs that have influenced them throughout their nearly four decade career which includes a 1986 Grammy nomination for best reggae album. The inspiration behind 'Tribute' is simply that, a tribute, to the band's fallen comrades who have passed away (Scott Korchak and Bob Zohn), and to the originators of rocksteady and dub that have guided the band throughout their long career. 'Tribute' is similar in some ways to UB40's 'Labour Of Love series of albums, in that the 10 songs featured on the album are a tip of the hat to the band's Jamaican mentors who recorded some of the genres most well known and iconic tracks during 1965-69.

While reggae has become a global phenomenon, the idea of an authentic American reggae band has often been hard for a lot of music fans to comprehend. However, very few groups have played reggae as convincingly as the Blue Riddim Band who hail from Kansas City. Drawing on influences from Coxson Dodd's Studio One label and Duke Reid's Treasure Isle label, Blue Riddim has flourished for four decades by mastering the rhythms that are the basis for all Jamaican music. While other non-Jamaican reggae bands have fallen into the trap of trying to reproduce the crossover sound of Bob Marley and The Wailers, Blue Riddim became students and later experts who could play a range of ska, rock steady, and rockers reggae like the originals they pay homage to on 'Tribute'. Their performance during the 1982 Reggae Sunplash Festival remains legendary.

The new album features three original members including Steve “Duck” McLane (drums) and Jack “Blacky” Blackett (sax) and bassist Todd 'Bebop' Burd (who joined in 1983). It also features a cameo appearance by Jimmy Becker on harmonica who played on the band's Grammy nominated 'Alive In Jamaica' album. The band is rounded out with Jack Lightfoot (trumpet), Chris Bartak (trombone), Dan Bergner and Joe Miquelon (keyboards), Jimmy Dykes (guitar) and Edward Turner (vocals).

To keep an air of rawness to the sound, Burd and co-producer Leonard Dstroy did not inform the band what songs were to be recorded prior to the actual recording session. To add even more authenticity to the proceedings, the air conditioning in the studio was turned off and a minimal amount of mics were employed to capture the recordings. Burd believed that the recording conditions should be a bit physically uncomfortable to re-create some of the actual conditions that existed at Studio One in the 60's and try to catch a vibe that way.

Below is live video of the band performing tracks from the new album including the Rico Rodriguez classic 'Ramble', The Jamaicans 'Ba Ba Boom' (featuring Turner on lead vocals) and a ska version of Duke Ellington's 'Caravan':

The boot camp approach has worked wonders and the songs which include a mix of well known and obscure tracks from the Studio One/Treasure Isle archives are fantastic, among the best ska, 60's era reggae and dub you are likely to hear in 2010. McLane's drumming in particular is sublime, and he may be one of the most underrated reggae drummers of all time. The band's horn section (always among its strongest features) remains at the fore and continues to carry the memorable melodies of these classic songs. Vocalist Turner is a great addition to a band that was always identified by the unique vocals of its original singers Zohn and Korchak.

The track listing from 'Tribute' includes:

1. 'Illiterate Dub' is a Channel One instrumental version of a Horrace Andy song. Original title track unknown
2. 'Black Stick Rock' is originally 'Love Without Feeling' by The Heptones.
3. 'Only A Dub' is an instrumental version of the classic, 'Only A Smile' by The Parragons.
4. 'Skaravan' is a ska version of the classic 'Caravan' by Duke Ellington.
5. 'Ba-Ba-Boom' is by The Jamaicans.
6. 'Money Maker' is an instrumental version of The Heptones, 'Fatty Fatty Riddim'.
7. 'Ramble Dub' is by Rico Rodriguez
8. 'Dub Drifter' is an instrumental version of the “Mudie” label classic 'Drifter' by Dennis Walks.
9. 'Dub and Learn' is an instrumental version of the Alton Ellis classic 'Live and Learn'.
10. 'Queen of the Rub' is originally 'Queen of the Minstrel' by Cornell Campbell.

I'm hoping to help arrange a performance by the band in New York City sometime in 2011. In the meantime you can listen to or purchase a copy of 'Tribute' from Amazon.com:

Fred Perry Launches 'Tell Us Your Story' Photo/Video Competition: Winner Receives £5,000

Fred Perry. Two words that inspire an intense emotional response from the myriads of musical sub-cultures all over the world that have embraced its iconic laurels: Mods, Punks, Rude Boys, Skinheads, BritPop and Indie fans. I count myself as a devoted fan of the brand. Nothing looks better or sharper and when I wear one I feel part of something bigger but also something special and select. And when I see someone wearing one I can assume we have a few musical things in common.


To tap into this loyalty, Fred Perry is celebrating its heritage with a 'Tell Us Your Story' interactive social media competition that invites fans of the brand to share their own personal stories accompanied by pictures or video that highlight you wearing their clothes. So what are they looking for? According to Fred Perry: Ideally, they would be images, video or cine film (converted to a video clip) from your own family albums – or shots taken with friends. The brand started in 1952, so they can be from that date - through to the present day. They might be of you at a music festival, club rally, on a beach or in your back garden. You may even choose to take a shot that has been inspired by the images you will see on this web site. This site is for you to share your affection and affiliation to Fred Perry or the many music subcultures associated with the iconic laurel logo: These include Mods, Rudeboys, Suedeheads, Ska/2-Tone, Reggae, Punk, New Wave, Casuals/Perry Boys, Alternative, Britpop, Electronic/Rave and Indie/Electro clash. This is not a ‘technical’ photographic competition – so family album snaps, camera phone pics or videos have just as good a chance of winning as a technically proficient shot. Visitors to the site vote for the picture/story combination they like the most for this to win a monthly prize and 4 final cash prizes.

I entered the contest (see my pictures and stories here and here and feel free to vote for me!) and I suggest that you do too! The key is select a photo or video of yourself wearing Fred Perry. If you don't have any Fred Perry shirts, track tops or shoes, than by all means beg, borrow or steal some and enter the contest! It's all in the creative composition of photo and words that describe the picture. Show some humor, sentiment, nostalgia or love. Nail the setting and you might earn quite a bit of cash, all for having fun writing about a shirt! Prizes will be awarded with £5,000 for the most interesting story and three runner ups will receive £250.

Fancy telling them your story? You can do so right here.

Below is a link to amazon.com where you can shop for and purchase a variety of Fred Perry shirts and clothing:

Keith Richards & Justin Hinds Collaborate On 'Wingless Angels II': Album Features Rastafarian Folk Songs & Drumming

Hot on the heels of the release of The Jolly Boys new album 'Great Expectations', comes 'Wingless Angels II' an album of Rastafarian folk songs, chanting and Nyabinghi drumming featuring the singing of Justin Hinds (of Justin Hinds & The Dominoes fame) and the guitar playing of Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones.

Like The Jolly Boys and their update of Mento, its an album that explores the original sounds of Jamaica and the musical and cultural traditions that had such an important impact on modern reggae. Its the second such album following on an a similarly self-titled first record that Richards released on his own in 1997. Richards' love for all things Jamaican was born when The Stones recorded there starting in the mid-'70s . The band dabbled in reggae, including a version of Jamaican singer Eric Donaldson's 'Cherry Oh Baby' on 1976's 'Black and Blue' album.



The idea for the Wingless Angles project was first hatched by Richards back in 1972. The Stones had escaped to Jamaica after their post-Exile On Main Street U.S. tour to begin work on 'Goats Head Soup' at Byron Lee's Studio in Kingston. Richards later bought a house in Ocho Rios where he met Justin Hinds who had just had a hit with 'Carry Go Bring Come' who was part of a loose collective of Rastafarian drummers and singers. Slowly over time Richards was invited to sit in on some of the musical sessions as a guest listener. Much later he was eventually given the nod to join the circle. It was at this point that he decided the music needed to be recorded. You can read more detailed accounts of Richard's Jamaican experiences and the genesis of Wingless Angels from an article in The Guardian and Spinner.

Richards describes Wingless Angels as making 'marrow music.' He says, “I think everybody knows what they have to do day in and day out, and this music is a way of separating from that, and getting as pure a spirit going as you can. Everybody knows that you’re still living on this earth, and you’re still gonna have to go through whatever you gotta go through, but it’s a release—an uplifting moment where you can actually forget all your sorrows and cares.” This is real soul music and the core of the songs is the sweet singing of Justin Hinds, who had been one of the key figures in the rise of ska music going back to the '50s and remained prominent in the transition to reggae. The new album serves as a loving tribute from Richards to Hinds, who died of lung cancer in 2005 at age 62 (listen to Hinds sing the ska classic 'Carry Go Bring Come' that was later covered by The Selecter).



Below is a video of the song 'Oh What A Joy' from 'Wingless Angels II' featuring the sweet soulful singing of Hinds and the understated guitar playing of Richards:



You can listen to and purchase a copy of Wingless Angels Volume II from Amazon.com:

Marco On The Bass Live Review: UB40 At BB Kings in New York City

Though it was just a short hop, skip and jump on the subway from my apartment in Manhattan to see UB40 at BB King's in the heart of Times Square, it had been 26 years and few blocks since I had first seen the band during their very first 'Labour Of Love' Tour in 1984 at the Roseland Ballroom on 52nd Street. A lot has changed over that time, but one thing has remained the same -- UB40 still put on a great live show!

I met up with my fellow ska/reggae blogger Steve Shafer (Duff Guide To Ska) at the venue a few minutes before 8 pm and right on cue the band came out on stage and kicked into 'Train Is Coming'. The close to sell-out crowd welcomed them warmly. From there it was a 90 minute trip through the band's extensive catalog with a set list that was definitely crafted for American audiences that included most of the songs the band placed on the U.S. pop charts including 'Red Red Wine', 'Can't Help Falling In Love' and tracks from all four Labour Of Love albums which did quite well here in the States (see the set list the band's sound engineer let me scan below).

New singer Duncan Campbell fills his brother Ali's shoes with ease, and he seemed to get looser and more comfortable as the set went on, really coming to life on the older material. He has a strong, soulful voice and hits all the notes his brother made his vocal trademark. The band's MC/toaster Astro was definitely missed (he was denied a visa by U.S. Homeland Security), but his bandmates filled in for him. It was great to hear album cuts like 'Reggae Music' and 'Baby' where bassist Earl Falconer took over lead vocals and the dancehall sounds of the tunes were a nice change of pace from the band's mostly mid-tempo set. Falconer is an animated performer with a great falsetto voice and it was nice to see him come out from behind his guitar. I also enjoyed hearing 'Dance Until The Morning Light' that the band recorded with Maxi Priest from the 'Twenty Four Seven' album, which had cant miss pop hit written all over it when it was released a few years ago.

True to their word, the set did include 'Tyler', 'King', 'I Think Its Going To Rain' and 'Little By Little' from the 'Signing Off' album in swift succession (see videos below). It was great to hear songs from the album that the band will be playing in its entirety during a U.K. tour which starts later this month. It was the real reason I was most excited to see the band, as that album and 'Present Arms' (the band also performed 'One In Ten') were both huge parts of my musical education. Sadly there were no tracks from the vastly underrated 'Who You Fighting For' album.

Below are videos of 'Tyler', 'I Thing Its Going To Rain', 'Little By Little' and 'King' from 'Signing Off' which I shot on my Flip Video. The visuals may be grainy but the sound quality is very good. Either way you will get a sense of the band live:

Fans in the U.K. should be excited. You are in for a real treat with the 'Signing Off' tour. Enjoy!