Famous For 15 Months: The Story Behind The Rise & Fall Of Musical Youth

I have nothing but great memories of Musical Youth and I distinctly remember being very excited to hear them played on American radio at exactly the same time that I was becoming totally obsessed with all things ska and reggae (Madness, The Police and UB40 were also getting some American radio play at the time which heartened me to no end).  Though my family didn't have MTV, the video for 'Pass The Dutchie' (which was directed by Don Letts and became the first video by a Black musical act to appear on MTV) was bright and fun and it was hard not to like the band who despite their young age were actually playing their own instruments. While most everyone knows 'Pass the Dutchie' (even Homer Simpson referenced it in an episode of The Simpsons) few people have any idea what happened to the British-Jamaican kid group after their 1982 hit—or are aware that they were not just a pop novelty act but actual musicians who played all of their own instruments and wrote some of their own material (namely 'Youth Of Today' which is very catchy).

First a very quick bit of history on the band.  Musical Youth was founded in Birmingham by two sets of young brothers, Kelvin and Michael Grant and Junior and Patrick Waite. The Waite brother's father, Frederick Waite, was a former member of Jamaican ska and rocksteady group The Techniques (who had several hits in Jamaica) and he sang lead with his son Junior at the start of the group's career in the late 1970s. The band recorded and released a double A-sided 7" single in 1981 with the songs 'Generals/Political' that caught the attention of many UK music insiders for its sound but also because the 35 year old singer was backed by a band of youngsters who were no older than 12 at the time.  Have a listen to the song below which was far more political than any of the band's later material.



An appearance on BBC Radio 1 disc jockey John Peel's evening show brought further attention to the group, and they were quickly signed to MCA Records. By that time, Frederick Waite, on the urging of the label, stepped out and was replaced by Dennis Seaton as lead singer.  The original Musical Youth line-up was now set and the band then recorded their version of 'Pass The Dutchie' (originally recorded by The Mighty Diamonds as 'Pass The Kutchie') and their first album 'The Youth Of Today.'

U.S. cable network TVOne recently featured Musical Youth on its excellent musical documentary series 'Unsung' (which is a mix of 'Behind The Music' with bits of 'Bands Reunited' thrown in), and the story that was depicted was far from uplifting. Sadly the band's career was over almost as quickly as it began. With very little actually money for their success ('Pass the Dutchie' reached No. 1 in the U.S. and the U.K. and other countries) reaching their pockets, several members resorted to petty crime and drug abuse. Bassist Patrick Waite died from a heart attack in 1994 while awaiting a court appearance on drug charges; drummer Junior Waite, his brother, is permanently consigned to a psychiatric hospital and guitarist Kelvin Grant is estranged from his brother and Seaton.  The Jamaica Gleaner did an excellent profile of the two remaining members of the band Michael Grant (keyboards) and Dennis Seaton (vocals) in conjunction with the airing of the episode on TVOne and its definitely worth a read as is a piece featured in The Guardian in 2003.

Below is a long trailer for the 'Unsung' episode as well as a link to watch the entire episode.  I highly recommend it.



Here is the link to watch the entire episode: Musical Youth On TV One’s Unsung

Despite severe trials and tribulations the good news is that the three remaining members of the band are still active musically.  Seaton and Michael Grant still perform as Musical Youth (they just performed a show this past February with more planned for later in 2011).  Though estranged from his brother and Seaton, Kelvin Grant is also active again musically.  Watch a very recent video interview that Seaton and Grant did in conjunction with the TVOne documentary.



Finally, as a special treat, below is a 4-track session the band recorded for John Peel right before they hit the big time with their version of 'Pass The Dutchie'.

John Peel Session - September 18, 1982
1. Heartbreaker
2. Children Of Zion
3. Rub 'N' Dub
4. Young Generation

Ska Brewing Co. Launch Special 30th Anniversary Beer for The Toasters

Ska music has a long running love affair with beer.  In fact there are a number of iconic 2-Tone and Third Wave ska songs written as tributes and warnings about the gold elixir. Special Brew by Bad Manners , Beer by Reel Big Fish and 40 Oz. To Freedom by Sublime come to mind as do Stereotype by The Specials and Alcohol by The Special AKA.

Enter Dave Thibodeau and his partners at Ska Brewing Co., a craft brewery based in Durango, Colorado, who have combined their passion for ska music and brewing.  Founded in 1995, the brewery now produces over a dozen award-winning beers including the Pinstripe Red Ale, True Blonde Ale and Steel Toe Stout. Three Ska beers are now widely available in cans: ESB Special Ale, True Blonde, and Modus Hoperandi IPA. The beers all have ska-styled imagery and designs and are available for sale in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, North Carolina and New Mexico.

To mark the occasion of The Toasters 30th anniversary this year, the brewery has whipped up a batch of Toasters 30th Shebeen Black IPA (see the bottle label above).  Ska Brewing has also produced a very funny short film titled 'Brew Minions' about creating the Toasters brew which is a parody of the Discovery Channel’s recent series 'Brew Masters.' Bucket from The Toasters makes a very humorous cameo in the film.

Watch the film below while you enjoy a delicious beverage!

Steve 'Cardboard' Eaton Passes Away - Model For Iconic Rude Boy Featured On The Selecter's 'Too Much Pressure' Album Cover

Some sad 2-Tone related news. The legendary Coventry ska DJ Steve ’Cardboard’ Eaton has passed away after a long illness.  Eaton was best known as the rude boy on the cover of the The Selecter's first album 'Too Much Pressure' and the image of him hiding his head in his arms with his pork pie hat on the ground near him became as popular a symbol of 2-Tone as the well known Walt Jabsco logo.

The Selecter's first album cover was part of the overall design aesthetic developed by Jerry Dammers along with David Storey and John 'Teflon' Sims who worked in the art department at Chrysalis Records. According to Storey, "The Too Much Pressure sleeve was based on a picture we found in a vintage advertising book that John Sims owned. The album cover collage, featuring the crestfallen man, probably looks like it was done in 2 minutes, in reality took several days of minute adjustments and tweaks until Jerry was 100% happy. As usual when the proof came back from the printers we could all see that the extra effort had paid off." Below is an article from the March 22, 1980 edition of Sounds which provides a behind-the-scenes look into all that went into creating the album cover. Thanks to HPSKA for the article.

Eaton was a Coventry music scene mover and shaker and one of the original DJ's at the popular Hand & Heart venue in the city which played host to the emerging Coventry punk scene in the late 70's. The club also played an important role in launching many of the early embryonic versions of early 2-Tone bands. According to Coventry music historian Pete Chambers, reggae band Hardtop 22 played at the club and a few months later key members of the band would form the core of The Selecter.  On February 23, 1978, a band called the Coventry Automatics played the venue and on Friday December 1, 1978, they returned as The Specials.

Pauline Black of The Selecter was in contact with Eaton shortly before he died. She said,  "I am so sorry to hear of Steve's passing. This is a very sad moment indeed. Only four days ago, on Tuesday evening we were discussing The Selecter on a Facebook thread. His last words to me were that "he'd like to bang mine and Neol's heads together".  A fighter to the last!" Black dedicated The Selecter song 'They Make Me Mad' to Eaton during a show last night in Brighton, U.K.

According to Paul 'Willo' Williams the author of 'You're Wondering Now - The Specials From Conception To Reunion' and a 2-Tone expert,  the image of Eaton on The Selecter's album cover is a universal symbol for 2-Tone, "Steve will always be remembered simply for his iconic pose on the front cover of The Selelcter's Too Much pressure album. That image has been as much used around the world as Walt Jabsco himself. He was without a doubt , the worlds best dressed man who had plenty of time for everybody. He will be missed by many."

Our Lips Are Sealed: The Story Behind One Of The Greatest Pop Songs Of All Time

It was 29 years ago tomorrow (March 5, 1982) that the Fun Boy Three comprised of three ex-members of The Specials (Terry Hall, Lynval Golding and Neville Staple) released their first self-titled album.  The 11-track album had a distinct African influence that was heavy on drums, percussion and Jamaican-styled vocal harmonies.  The album was a complete departure from The Specials 2-Tone sound and quickly established Fun Boy Three as pop stars and household names across the U.K.  They quickly followed-up with 'Waiting' released in January 1983, which in my humble opinion may be one of the best albums released in the 80's.  Produced by David Byrne of the Talking Heads, the album was a beautifully produced and sleek-sounding collection, filled with tales of life's trials and tribulations covering subjects from child-abuse and drug smuggling to racism, divorce and infidelity.  In honor of that record, I'm taking a closer look at the story behind of the most popular songs from the album, 'Our Lips Are Sealed', which was named one of the 100 Greatest Pop Songs of all time by Rolling Stone in 2000.

While many casual fans of the song are probably familiar with the 1981 version recorded by The Go-Go's for their 'Beauty and The Beat' LP, the song was co-written by the band's guitarist Jane Wiedlin with Terry Hall (which helps explain why two separate versions of the song were released within 2 years).  The Go-Go's version made the Top 20 in the U.S. while the Fun Boy Three version hit #7 in the U.K. According to an interview that Wiedlin did with the Songfacts website, "Our Lips Are Sealed' is actually the story of a secret romance based on a short 'tour affair' that Hall and Wiedlin had when their respective band's toured together:

'In 1980 we were playing at The Whiskey on Sunset Strip, and The Specials were in town from England, and they came to see us, and they really liked us and asked us if we would be their opening act on their tour. I met Terry Hall, the singer of The Specials, and ended up having kind of a romance. He sent me the lyrics to 'Our Lips Are Sealed' later in the mail, and it was kind of about our relationship, because he had a girlfriend at home and all this other stuff. So it was all very dramatic. I really liked the lyrics, so I finished the lyrics and wrote the music to it, and the rest is history. And then his band, The Fun Boy Three, ended up recording it, too - they did a really great version of it, also. It was like a lot gloomier than the Go-Go's' version.'

Wiedlin and Hall's versions offer insight into their personal take on the  affair (one upbeat, poppy and sunny and the other very dark and claustrophobic). Speaking about her relationship with Terry Hall, Wiedlin added:

"Like I said, he had a girlfriend in England, and they were talking about getting married and all this stuff. So I don't know how I got in the picture. And, you know, that's something that I did as a teenager, maybe I was 20. That's something I would never do now, knowingly enter into a relationship with someone who was with someone else. I mean, it was completely screwed on my part. Although I think when people do that, you really have to look at the person who's in the relationship, and they have to take the burden of the responsibility as well. Anyways, it was one of those things with the tragic letters, "I just can't do this." You know, "I'm betrothed to another." All that kind of stuff. And I think he ended up marrying that woman, and having kids, and of course now they're divorced, so… ."

The Go-Go's version:


A rare promo version by Fun Boy Three:


The Fun Boy Three also recorded an Urdu version of the song (yes Urdu, one of the main languages of Pakistan). There are two possible stories behind the recording of this rare b-side version. The first is that Ingrid Schroeder, a member of the Fun Boy Three backing band, read and recorded phonetic Urdu lyrics (which seems plausible given the rather flat sound of the vocal delivery). The other story (which I prefer!) is that the band brought an older Pakistani woman into the studio and had her translate and then record the lyrics. The band may have been prompted to record the Urdu version by the album's producer David Byrne, who  had recently recorded  'My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts' with Brian Eno which featured a lot of 'found' voices mixed with danceable beats. Have a listen below.



'Our Lips Are Sealed' continues to have legs nearly 30 years later. The song was re-worked by Nouvelle Vague and Terry Hall a year or so back. The video features an old Louise Brooks movie. Nouvelle Vague's singer Marina Celeste has also just recorded a new album called 'The Angel Pop', which is a collaborative project with Hall out on April 18th.

Gig Alert: Reggae Meets Ska in Orange, NJ This Friday March 4th - Bigger Thomas & Pidgin Droppings In A Combination!

Here is a heads-up to any adventurous music fans looking to venture a little bit outside New York City this weekend to hear ska and reggae music and eat some amazing food. This Friday March 4th,  Hat City Kitchen in Orange, New Jersey is featuring a double-bill of the reggae/hip-hop sounds of Pidgin Droppings and the old school 2-Tone sound of my band Bigger Thomas (who will be joined by special guests Roy Radics of The Rudie Crew and Dave Barry of The Toasters).

Hat City Kitchen is a relatively new venue anchoring an arts district that is helping revitalize the East Orange and Orange area (its name has historical roots -- a century ago, Orange was known as Hat City when the Stetson brothers, among more than 30 other firms, operated hat factories there).  It serves 'comfort food with soul' (the fried chicken, jambalaya and bread pudding get rave reviews!) along with a broad mix of bands and musical performers and has quickly established itself as an upcoming destination for music fans across the New York metropolitan area.

This is the first Bigger Thomas show of 2011 in New Jersey, so here's to hoping all you Jersey folks who have trouble getting into New York City will come out and enjoy the food, vibes and music.  Here is a little taste of what you can expect if you do. The song 'I Can't Remember My Name' is on our new CD 'Steal My Sound' which is available as a 'pay-what-you-want' download.



Hope to see you at the show!

'Superstonic Sound: The Rebel Dread' - Film Documents Don Letts and his Family's Musical Legacy

“Superstonic Sound: The Rebel Dread” is a new documentary by Raphael Erichsen & Edward Dallal which profiles the legendary Don Letts. As a member of Big Audio Dynamite, director of “The Clash: Westway to the World” and “Punk Rock Movie,” and hundreds of music videos, the film documents Letts role in helping to merge reggae with punk. Letts remains both an active musical and film making force and a highly memorable character. He may be best remembered for the famous picture of him walking by himself towards a line of riot police that was used as an album cover by The Clash on 'Black Market Clash'.

Following in Letts footsteps is his 24-year-old son Jet Letts, an aspiring DJ and producer of dubstep, which is a musical genre that is a direct descendant of the dub and reggae championed by his father and his grandfather (who started Superstonic Sound System as the very first reggae sound systems in the U.K. when he arrived from Jamaica as an immigrant). As such the documentary traces the Letts family musical heritage that mirrors the history of Dub, Reggae and Punk and its direct influence on 80's and 90's pop, Hip Hop and Dubstep.

The doc has been making its way around the world via screenings at a number of important film festivals (most recently at the San Francisco IndieFest in mid-February) and has been receiving good reviews (read a few here and here). Watch a preview clip below and definitely go see the film if it is screened where you live.

Superstonic Sound: The Rebel Dread (Trailer) from Edward Dallal on Vimeo.

Introducing Wayne 'Lotek' Bennett: 'International Rude Boy' Brings Ska & Reggae To Australia

One of the new features of this blog in 2011 will be to highlight current ska and reggae artists that you might not be familiar with, but who deserve your attention and recognition. The next artist that I want to profile is Wayne 'Lotek' Bennett. His debut solo album 'International Rudeboy' seamlessly combines reggae and ska fueled guitar riffs and bass lines with reggae-inspired hip hop beats and witty cockney lyrics from the Jamaican-born Londoner who recently re-located to Melbourne, Australia. Lotek initially gained recognition as the producer of U.K. Hip Hop artist Roots Manuva's 2009 Mercury Award-winning album 'Speech Therapy.'

'International Rudeboy' features a selection of self produced dubs complete with live horns, trombone, guitar, keyboard, melodica and bass via a ska, dancehall and dub-fused sound system vibe. Highlights include 'Dreader Than Dread' (featuring Jimmy Screech) which is a scorcher and kicks off the album with a mash up of hip-hop and reggae in a dub style.  Its followed by the 'Rudest Dude' which has one of the catchiest choruses on the album and features a great mix of 70's era reggae with a memorable roots horn line (the track is garnering airplay in Australia!). ''Mile High Dub' reflect Lotek's globetrotting experiences (he used some of the award money from the Mercury Award to travel through Eastern Europe where he recorded and produced hip hop and dance artists). Lotek takes listeners on another trip around the world with the title track 'International Rudeboy', where he illustrates his musical journey from rejection to acceptance and he ends the album with 'Rudest Dub' which brings the album full circle.

Below is a video of the track 'The Rudest Dude' from the album which includes some great archival footage of Bunny Lee and King Jammy from the 1970's that Lotek spliced in giving it a great old time look and feel.  The original video that Lotek used is taken from the Delroy Wilson song 'Dancing Mood' is just below. Note that Lotek went as far as to dress like Wilson and to recreate the studio booth he is singing in to look just like the one Wilson is using.





You can stream the album below and purchase it directly on Bandcamp: